our lead, and the entire sisterhood of states may form one great co-operative nation. But we should advance to the accomplishment of our purpose, in this state, with wisdom and caution. “We must make as few mistakes as possible. Our endeavor must be to understand and strictly conform to the law. We must respect the opinions of those who do not agree with us. We must not disturb any citizen in the enjoyment of his property and it should never be forgotten that the Commonwealth depends for its growth solely upon volunteers. You have, my friends, nominated me to be the first governor of Co-operative Idaho. I have consented to accept this dignity only because I now believe that he who acts as President of the Co-operative Commonwealth should also be the governor of the state, until every vestige of the old system is removed from Idaho and all its people have voluntarily entered the new system. We must have a dual government, but the Co-operative Commonwealth must control it. “Idaho, the name of our state, is said to mean ‘Light on the Mountains.’ We will strive to give it a still broader signification and, God willing, it shall be a light to all the people. “The Co-operative Commonwealth was conceived by men who believed the human race capable of advancing to the highest ideal of civilization. It never depended, for its success, upon those philosophers who chose to believe that because they themselves did not feel the pinch of want therefore none others need feel it, nor of those philanthropists who were always going about giving that sort of temporary relief which only served to make the source of poverty all the more prolific and the cause all the more obscure. They did not ask advice of learned students of history, who by that dim light discovered only the passions and sins of great sinners, and being diverted by the monsters whose careers filled the world with their unhallowed fame, failed to observe the patient, law-abiding, industrious and sober millions who toiled unobserved in the background.