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conquering and to conquer the land for American homes, the colonial homes of our eastern ancestry of a succeeding generation, together with their resolute and happy occupants and defenders, and the later homes of their descendants, with the bright and hallowed picture of the wife and mother, the prattling children and the baby in the cradle, or tossed on father's knee, the generations of sturdy American boys and girls who went forth to the log school houses of a former, and the district schools of a later generation, and who, when equipped to "the rule of three," have gone out in life, ever ready to do and dare, and to establish and multiply in their turn, the American Home, which even in the face of the horrors of the Civil war with its frightful carnage, has ever proved and has ever been, the greatest safeguard and palladium of our American Liberty.

And now, during the passing year, we have had the grand spectacle of the Blue and the Gray and their descendants, assembling a hundred thousand strong, on the semi-centennial of the battle of Gettysburg, coming from thousands of American Homes, "those temples of virtues," from both north and south, and as citizens of a re-united country, having reached a fuller understanding, declaring this nation to be once again, a united people, one and inseparable.

And the fields, which were once trampled with battles, saturated with blood, torn with the ruts of cannon, have again grown green and show now only the blazonry and bloom of peace, and are crowned with happy, contented American Homes, ever the safeguard and cradles of our liberties.

So the hearts of men, once torn with strife and contention, have, for and through the teachings and love of our American Homes, been washed of all bitterness, schisms have been forgotten, and the new nation has been born, whose only rivalry of sections is that of high endeavor and noble enterprise, and whose altar is the hearthstone of the American Home.

It is in the American Home that we learn that Peace hath her battles and victories as well as those of War. It is in that home that we learn the necessity, as citizens of this republic, that we must prove ourselves worthy of our birthright if we would perpetuate the blessings of a free and enlightened government, "Of the people, For the people and By the people," to our posterity. That we must live up to our opportunities, recognize the responsibilities of government that go with the duty and dignity of citizenship, that proclaim the sovereignty and the majesty of the law respect the inalienable rights and liberties of mankind, which work for that peace and prosperity, which shall bless our common country and make for its general weal.

It is in that home that we learn "that justice is the bread of the nation. That it is always hungry for it, and that it is the insurance we have upon our lives and property, and that obedience is the premium we must pay for it."

It is there that we learn that we must practice for ourselves and inculcate in the rising generations those grand tenents of ethics,

government and religion, which will make of us men and women of irreproachable character and standing, pure and patriotic, just and generous, virtuous and forgiving, and make us fully conscious of the greatness and goodness of God, and of the blessings which we and they may enjoy under His Divine favor.

In the American Home we are taught to inculcate in our daily life and character those virtues which admonish us to lead pure and honorable lives which tend "to peace on earth and good will towards men," and which develop in both ourselves and the society around us all that is best, most fit and perfect; and which apply our talents to the creation of works of beauty, grandeur and art, and which in turn shall lift the lowly and degraded, educate the barbarian, enthuse the learned and sanctify the saint.

In the American Home we are taught the lessons of humanity, humility and love, the virtues of patience and obedience, the dignity and worth of labor. It is there that we acquire self-command and learn to triumph over adversity. There that we acquire and inculcate those cardinal virtues which, in truth, lie at the foundation of all good and true government and society. For, as we "shall love our neighbor as ourself and do unto others as we would that they should do unto us," so then shall we make it possible for the existence of the home, The American Home and family, and the prevalence of such doctrines as protect the weak against the strong, and make for the existence of free and enlightened government and communities of happy and contented peoples.

It is through the American Home and its loved ones that we learn to so interpret our conduct as shall ever perpetuate our common country, with its glorious institutions and traditions to bless mankind; so that we, together with our posterity, shall enjoy the full complement of noble lives, replete with duties fulfilled, high aims, lofty aspirations, and holy pleasures.

It is in that home that we shall obtain those high ideals in government, in national and domestic life that shall redound to our greatest usefulness and glory and which shall lead to, and make for a most worthy civilization, one that shall long live in the annals of mankind, and prove most worthy of emulation.

Then let us continue to strive for the American Home, "That spot of earth supremely blest, A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest," The American Home, the Safeguard of American Liberties.

"If you would succeed in business never spend a cent more than you earn. No matter how small your earnings, you should master this art."-Marshall Field.

"The man who cannot and does not save money cannot and will not do anything else worth while."-Andrew Carnegie.

Hamilton County League Meeting-A Memorial to Its Late President, Mr. Fred Bader.

The annual meeting of the Hamilton County League, which was held Friday evening, January 9, was converted into a memorial meeting in honor of its late beloved president, Mr. Fred Bader. A sense of personal loss pervaded the delegates as they gathered in the hall, for the familiar figure of their leader, so long in their midst, was missing. Many and sincere were the regrets expressed at his unexpected death and the tributes paid to his memory. Speakers of prominence were present to give public utterance to their appreciation of the life and services of the departed. Mr. Charles Eugene Clark, the scholarly president of the Kentucky, State League of Local Building Associations, delivered the following beautiful memorial address.

The Persian's lament, that,

"For some we loved, the loveliest and the best,
That from his vintage, rolling Time has pressed,
Have (but) drunk their cup a round or two before,
And one by one, crept silently to rest,"

is but a poetical expression of that truth in Holy Writ, wherein we are admonished, "that in the midst of life, we are in death," "For none knoweth the hour when the Son of Man cometh."

As we are busy ourselves about our several affairs, in this old work-a-day world, we are called to note and mourn the sudden demise of our late beloved associate, Fred Bader, who but yesterday was apparently in the pink of health, so that it seems to us that "We are truly such stuff as dreams are made of, and (that) our little life is rounded with a sleep."

Yet He, who holds us in the hollow of His hands, 'Tis His province to command, and though,

"The blind Fates spin year out, year in

Yet 'tis Purpose clips the cord,
For, He who stands and guides the hands,
Within the shadow, is the Lord."

And so in the seeming untimely death of our much beloved friend, we have another of those endless experiences that have ever confronted Mortality, and marks its limitations, attesting the uncertainty of human life, while it proclaims the Omnipotence of Him, who doeth all things well, and to whose decrees we must humbly submit, "Because the judgments of the Lord are righteous altogether."

And though bowing to the inevitable, it is an evidence and a badge of a noble humanity, that we can pause to mourn the loss of our friends, and pay our tribute of affection to their hallowed memory.

And so I feel tonight, as we gather at this memorial, to do honor and remembrance to Fred Bader, to recall with gentleness and tears, his kindly deeds and many virtues, to bestow on him our bit of laurel, that we can sincerely apply to him, that praise so fittingly spoken by that master of two books, unknown to many profound readers, the Book of Nature and the Book of man, "That he was a gracious man, one who continued long in the peoples favor, and who did justice for Truth's sake, and his conscience, so that when he shall have run his course, and sleeps in blessings, his bones shall have a tomb of orphan's tears wept o'er them."

My friends, for full twenty-five years Fred Bader filled most efficiently and graciously the presidency of the Hamilton County League of Local

Building and Loan Associations, and worked as a co-laborer, neighbor and friend with you in that cause that has meant so much to the struggling masses, and has made so largely for the uplift of the toiler and saver.

As to the efficacy and faithfulness of his endeavors, which bore not the slightest taint of selfishness nor greed, let the countless thousands of happy homes, which through his help have reared their hallowed roofs in this community, attest.

As to the wisdom of his counsel in shaping the oft intricate affairs of your association, and solving its many problems, you can best answere, for you found him an ever faithful and unerring pilot. As a public official, he was without reproach.

His services were ever in demand, and his voice was always raised in your behalf at the State Capitol as he championed your cause, urging such wise legislation as was germane and beneficial to your interests, and combatting with might and main all measures that were inimical to you, and which tended to limit and minimize your field of action.

He had much to do in shaping the building association statute laws of your state, under whose wise and ample provisions you have been enabled to put Ohio in the very front rank of building associations' advancement and accomplishment, and write the very highest water-mark in building association annals in this, our common country.

For Ohio, by reason of the wisdom and intelligence that has prevailed in her building association laws, has become a beacon throughout the land, one whose radiance has not only shown the path of progress to the associations throughout the confines of your own great commonwealth, but also to those throughout the nation.

All honor to those brave, sagacious and worthy leaders in the cause, among whom was found Fred Bader, who wrought so faithfully and well, as to make it possible for Ohio to take the lead in this mighty movement that has wove so much of happiness, prosperity and contentment in the warp and woof of the domestic and economic life of this, our common country.

You know of him and his labors in your mindst, and in Ohio, we, of them throughout the nation, for he was ever a potent figure along with Rosenthal, Cellarius, Rankin, Purinton, McKay and others of that bright galaxy of the membership of your State League in the counsels of the United States League at its annual conventions. And whenever and wherever problems were to be met and solved, and difficulties of moment to be overcome, and which called for prompt and energetic action in their solution, was found Fred Bader and his brilliant associates.

In the affairs of men great results do not just merely happen, they are the fruition of wisely laid plans, many sacrifices and much labor.

And so the colossal growth and attainments in your domestic building associations, which now exceed two hundred million dollars in Ohio, and more than a billion throughout the nation, are the result of the work and leadership of such men as Fred Bader.

"For God gives no value unto men,
Unmatched by meed of labor,

And cost of worth, has ever been
The closest neighbor."

Death has stilled his voice and stayed his hand, and you have tenderly laid away all that was mortal of this leader, neighbor and friend; and he will be seen of men no more.

But though dead he is not absent and not forgotten, for he has left with you as a priceless heritage, and as the embodiment of his life and toil, the memory of his unselfish service and the fabric he helped so largely to rear and perfect, the many local building and loan associations operating under wise laws and faithful officers, not only in your own state, but the many thousands throughout the Union whose purpose and aim is the economical betterment of their members, and upon whose happiness and contentment is founded in a large degree that of our country.

Such a life spent so largely in the betterment of the conditions of his fellow men is really crowned with a benediction, for its results are not

merely counted in gold and weighed in silver, but are measured by the happiness and contentment that it has wrought; the characters that it has broadened, enriched and ripened; the degree that it has elevated human nature and advanced human civilization.

Lives so spent emphasize the obligations of human brotherhood and duty; they teach that though

"Men like visions are,

And time all doth claim,
He lives, who dies,

To win a lasting name."

For though men may die their work, if founded in truth, shall live forever.

Mr. H. F. Cellarius, secretary of the United States League, and a personal friend of Mr. Bader, paid the following tribute to his memory:

It is with a heart full of sorrow and with a deep feeling of the personal loss we all have sustained, that I rise to pay a feeble tribute to the memory of one whom I accounted a pleasure and a high honor to number amongst my loyal friends. I am conscious of my inability to fittingly and adequately do honor to his life and character, not due, however, to a lack of knowledge on my part of his splendid faculties, and his varied achievements or a want of familiarity with his sterling character and lovable traits. Indeed, it was my good fortune to be on terms of intimate acquaintance with him for a period of over twenty years, and I learned to know and appreciate the generous qualities of his mind and the noble impulses of his heart. It is a realization, upon my part, of his sterling worth that forces acknowledgment of my lack of suitable words to fittingly express that tribute which he so richly deserves. "The heart can feel what the lips cannot utter."

He was a just man, a patriotic citizen, a faithful public servant, a sincere and loyal friend. He was true as steel. Always steadfast and sincere, modest and most unostentatious, of clear vision, whose judgment it was always safe to follow.

I shall not attempt to detail the incidents of his life; but I cannot refrain from saying a few words concerning his great interest in building associations and the value of his services in that connection. He was intimately connected with all the organizations furthering the object of these institutions, and he was an active worker in each. We all know the deep interest he took in the affairs of this League, guarding its destinies with an almost paternal care. He was equally active in the affairs of the Ohio League and of the United States League, having served as president of the latter and a member of its executive committee. It was through the influence of the late Judge Seymour Dexter, father of the United States League, that Mr. Bader was honored with the presidency of that body. Judge Dexter recognized his great ability, and his unselfish interest and fidelity to the co-operative movement. He, himself, placed him in nomination, and his choice was unanimously ratified by the delegates. Ohio had not expected that honor at that time, but it was received as a well deserved and highly appreciated compliment.

To Mr. Bader more than to any other man was due the credit of securing the first favorable recognition of the right to exemption from taxation by building associations from the Congress of the United States. This fact was duly emphasized by Senator Foraker in an address before the United States League at its meeting, held at Detroit, in which he accorded to him that distinguished honor. He with others worked hard for subsequent exemptions, but the fact that the precedent had been established was always of the greatest value. Whenever the interst of building associations were assailed he was always in the front ranks of its defenders. He gave freely of his time and means to the home building movement, and we owe him much more than we can ever hope to repay. He was devoted to the cause, had a full knowledge of the underlying principles of these institutions, and

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