Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in 1614, 6 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Captain John Smith--explorer, soldier, navigator, and adventurer--landed at Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine. I wish to commemorate the 400th anniversary of that discovery and to congratulate the people of a truly remarkable community as they celebrate their quadricentennial. In the very first sentence of his remarkable journal of that voyage, Captain Smith names the ``Isle of Monhegan,'' the Wabanaki Indian word for ``island of the ocean.'' In reference to the shared latitude with his home country, he coined the term ``New England.'' As the Wabanaki had known for centuries, the fish were plentiful. In addition, Captain Smith used the stands of timber to make small boats to explore the inlets and rivers on the mainland coast. So, Monhegan can rightly claim to be the birthplace of three industries that built the State of Maine--fishing, boatbuilding, and logging. Certainly, there were disappointments. The whales proved elusive, and the gold Captain Smith sought was nonexistent. But the potential was everywhere. In addressing the question of what it would take to settle the untamed region, the captain's log contains these lines that define Monhegan today. It would take, Captain Smith wrote, ``the best parts of art, judgment, courage, honesty, constancy, diligence, and industry.'' Maine's island communities are an essential part of our State's identity.…”