Political Quotes

“I am honored to stand and speak today on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the legislation establishing Alaska as our 49th State. I continue a tradition of sorts: A former Idaho Senator, Frank Church, stood in this same chamber 50 years ago, May 5, 1958, to be exact, to call for Alaska's statehood. Let me begin, if I may, with the words Senator Church recited that day: Wild and wide are my borders, Stern as death is my sway, And I will wait for the men who will win me-- And I will not be won in a day; And I will not be won by weaklings, Subtle, suave and mild, But by men with the hearts of Vikings And the simple faith of a child; Desperate, strong and restless, Unthrottled by fear or defeat, Them I will guild with my treasure, Them I will glut with my meat. Send me the best of your breeding, Lend me your chosen ones, Them I will take to my bosom, Them I will call my sons. These lines come from a poem entitled, ``The Law of the Yukon,'' and were written by Robert W. Service, a Canadian poet who traveled north, caught up in the fever of the Klondike Gold Rush.”