Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-09-04
LAYING THE CORNER STONE.
Patriotic and Beautiful Sentiments of
Gen. Lawton, Orator of the Day


Gen. Lawton, Orator of the Day.
ATLANTA, Ga, Sept 3.-On the occa-
sion of laying The corner stone of the new
state capital, yesterday, Gen. A. II. Law
ton of Savannah, who was recently ten
dered the Russian mission by President
Cleveland, delivered one of the most elo-
quent and feryid speeches ever heard in
this city. During the course of his adj
dress, referring to the late civil war, the
orator said:
" In the United States the experiment
of free government has reached its ma
turity. We have passed through second
war with England, the war with Mexico
numerous contests with adjacent Indian
tribes, but last, and greatest of all, war
between the states, the Severest and
mightiest ever applied TO the energies,
the resources, and the endurance OF a
great people; and now the capacity of
man for self-governmcnt is no longer an
experiment. We postponed the evil day,
but 1t came at last, and the developments
OF four years of devastating war exhibited
apower in this new American government,
and every part of II, in resources, genius,
patriotic endeavor and heroism, which
caused the whole civilized world to look
on in amazcment.
'Fcllow Geor@lanS, sad and dTcary as
were those four years of devastating war,
and painfully conscious of the intense
strain upon our manhood, the dcSolatp
homes which never can be gladdencd and
broken hearts which can never be healed
yet looking to the education and future
development OF Il great people, the les
sons taught In those years of struggle
and the equally valuable lessons in years
that have since come and gone, now
venture TO assert that the struggle was
worth all it cost. The people of the
various sections OF this country may UNI
derstand each other better than they ever
did before; the North knows that the
South Is not altogether given to cXhibi-
tons of fiery temper and capable only of
much ebullition and explosion without the
capacity for prolonged effort and cndur-
ance.h
"Four years of war and at last four
more of mourning and poverty which fol-
lowed have satisfied them and the whole
world knows how wrongly we were
judged. The South, too, has learned
that the North is not so absorbed in its
its money bags that II will not shed its
blood and risk It's all, even for senti-
ment. The political effect and result of
the war between the states has been to
show conclusiyely that II is not the inten-
ton of the great majority of the people OF
the country to permit any state to with
draw itself from the Union, and that they
have physical power To prevent it. That
much has been settled by the
war, but no fundamental principles of
government have been changed. As
Georgians, we are also citizens of the
United States, and claim TO be now as
loyal to that great government ms any
portion of the Union since we are no
longer called TO surrender our self-re-
spect, nor to do violence TO our most
sacred sensibilities.
elm making that claim, we are ready
and willing to render service TO defend
her honor, TO fight her battles, to give
every man of every section his Just dues.
In that sense, we know mo North, no
South, no East, no West but thank
heaven the time is past when any right
thinking man of the North expects
that we shall not love our own fomilies
and neighbors better than strangers; our
own city better than another; our own
state better than others of the thirty
eight" Yes, my friends, they know If,
and respect us forit.
While we joined in good faith in the
tribute paid TO the great soldier of the
United States recently borne TO the tomb
in Riverside park with such displays and
demonstrations as Roman emporers never
received, yet at our own homes, In the
the tenderest moments OF our lives, we
mourn the illustrious sons of the South,
who sleep in modest graves at LeXing-
ton, with sorrow and pride which are
all our own