The Transitory Nature of Earthly Accomplishment
The transitory nature of mere earthly accomplishment is well illustrated in the recent death of George K. Fitch, who spent fifty-seven years in the work of building up the great city of San Francisco, and lived just long enough to see its most valuable improvements wiped out. He came to San Francisco in 1849 as a journeyman printer. It was a time when the best artisans of all trades came to California from every state in the Union. He made an enviable reputation as part owner of the Bulletin and the Call. Being a newspaper man of the old school, which was characterized for integrity of purpose and independence rather than the pursuit of political influence, he achieved a goodly share of that influence as a natural result of the confidence of the public. It is noticeable that the great fire covered the territory that was improved under the supervision and by the effort of the pioneers, and their labors in this line went down and out while many of them were yet alive. The new San Francisco will be built by other hands. And it is a fitting symbol of all the merely temporal works of man. Why not build for eternity?