Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 20.pdf/251

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QUALITIES OF THE OREGON PIONEERS

An Address

At the unveiling of the statue "The Pioneer" on the Campus of the University of Oregon, at Eugene, Oregon, May 22, 1919, by Frederick V. Holman, President of the Oregon Historical Society, and former President of the Oregon Pioneer Association and of the Sons and Daughters of Oregon Pioneers.

Mr. President, Mr. Proctor, Mr. Teal, the Faculty and Students of the University of Oregon, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am not on the programme for an address, and I was not aware that I should make any remarks until my arrival in Eugene at noon today. But since I have been asked to do so, I cannot refrain from saying a few things which I have in my mind, for I am a native son of Oregon, and I have been for many years President of the Oregon Historical Society, and I am familiar with the early history of Oregon, its settlement, its upbuilding, and its making, and the kind of people the Oregon pioneers were and are.

Ever since its organization the Oregon Historical Society has been engaged in determining the facts and the truths of history, particularly relating to the history of Oregon. It examines traditions and folklore. It endeavors, as it were, to separate the grain from the chaff. It studies the motives, the ideals, and the acts of people in regard to the settlement and upbuilding of Oregon. It seeks to know the truth. Mr. Proctor in this statue, typical of the Oregon pioneers, has portrayed truth in a way which should give to him the thanks of every student and lover of early Oregon history. This statue is a gift to the State of Oregon by a son and grandson of true and worthy Oregon pioneers. Great credit is due to Mr. Teal for his patriotic and unselfish generosity in making this gift.

The Anglo-Saxon race is a branch of the Teutonic race. It was and is a liberty-loving race. It believes in the protection of life and of liberty and in the rights of property and the pursuit