The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-04-25

II has often and truly Deen sdlu1 'no
greatness of nation rests on her great
men, but it is none the less true that moth
mo tends SO much to keep alive deep ana
Iite breathing patriotism as the cherisheu
recollection and perpetuatlon or FORMER
plories and devotion to the living ana 10
The memories of the dead. 1t is the re-
membrauce of these times and of these
men that nerve the arm and flame the
speech; it makes the old man young again
and gives to youth msnller life.
or the veterans of Texas independence
nothing can be said that would add either
to their renown or their glory;
the one is as world wide as
the other is eternal. For you,
fathers of Texas, and for those of your
brethren VINO have gone before you, no
towering monument is needed to make
your names and your deeds immortal
The wresths you have won are green Tor
ever and your fame rests on the cherish
ing love of grateful people; time as 1t
sweeps new generations to eternity Will
throw a still brighter halo around your
memories.
Texas has owed and yet continues to
owe increasing obligations to the veterans
by whose valor and heroism it has been
made possible for US to be here to-day.
The vast domain OF Texas-this mighty
empire-was once their domain. 1t was
their swords and rifles that carved it from
the side of Mexico. Did they divide it
among themselves, as they might have
done, when there was none to question
the right of their acts? No, they gave it all
to Texas; they gave it to the generations
who should come after them. The remnant
of your band of veteran heroes IS bowed
with age, and your heads are silvered with
the frost of time. Many of your comrades
In their old age are homeless and helpless,
while strangers live in peace and plenty
apon the fruits of their service. Shall
these things continue? God forbid! The
honor of Texas forbids! The efforts for
the relief of the veterans of Texas may
not always have been as earnest and per-
severing as they might have been, but
believe the day will soon come when Texas
will do justice to the old pioneers, and
when it has been done it will be one of
the brightest tablets in all of our bright
annals. Let it not be said of the pioneers
of Texas, like Moses, they led the pilgrim
army and like him they saw but did not
enjoy the fruits of the promised land.
This occasion is one of special interest
it is your first meeting in this grand build
ing, one of the graudest in Am erica, which
but for you, veterans, would never have
been erected. May it last as long as time
as monument to your valor and devotion
to your country.
Upon the right and the left are the por
traits of two OF the greatest actors in tht
drama of Texas independence. Nc
brighter names can history SHOW, NJ
grander spirits ever fled the earth. Sepa
rated by the prism of time their virtues
seem more divine, their excellencies purel
as each is seen in its own lustre and radi
ance. Like those starry worlds whose
beams only reach our earth after countless
ages, it is but when years have passed
their true glory is seen-the1r real great
ness felt. Together they toiled up the
rugged path, together fought the good
fight; both have long since passed from
their labors on earth; each went to his
grave full of honor. The winds o.
heaven sobbed for them the same requiem
the same dew of evening wept over theil
graves; the same sun gilds their tombt
with soft and lingering light, before he
too, sinks to rest. Austin and Houston
One planted the tree of liberty on Texa
soil; the other defended it and watered i
with his blood. In them was the embodi
ment of virtue, of patriotism and of cour
a Ie; all that can ennoble or dignity man
May the star of peace and concord shin,
over the temple of liberty erected b.
them. And, like that glorious sunshin,
sometimes seen in mid.ocean, may tn,
names of Houston and Austin rise twill
orbs in grandeur and majesty; not for ONT
to fade away, but both to shed the efful
gence of their greatness over an undi
vided Texas.
The invitation to address the fathers O.
Texas on this occasion was accepted b,
me with mingled feelings of pride, snt
fear;--not personal pride but a loya
pride in our state, born of a con
seriousness that in an estimate of the worl
accomplished by the Texas pioneers, on
state can show results of magnitud,
which her most sanguine sons of earl!
days never hoped for in their widest
dreams of the future; and linked with thi
pride is the knowledge of my inability t.
do justice to the subject in any efforts Il
recapitulate the dangers, difficulties anc
duties surrounding them, and the glorious
results achieved by them.
If it was the spirit OF adventure thai
planted the germs of civilization upo1
the plains Of Texas, it was the same spirit
that civilized England centuries ago; it wa
the same spirit that crossed the Atlantic
ocean and infused the hot blood of ligh
and liberty into new born world; it wa
this spirit of adventure that tinged tn,
prairies Of Texas with the golden glow o
freedom; it was the same spirit that Ii
the beacon fires of the Alamo and gave tt
the world new Thermopylae; it was tn
same spirit that painted the plains o.
Goliad with crimson hues; it was the sam,
spirit at San Jacinto that gave to tn,
world a new Marathon and poured
flood of hope and radiance into the hear
and home of every Texan; it was the sam,
spirit that cheered and sustained the Mel
prisoners at Castle Perote; it was the sam,
spirit that led Dawson and his noble banC
into the jaws of death and immortality
1T was the same spirit that repealed tn,
incursions of the Indians and the inva.
sions of more civilized but not les
dangerous enemy; it was the sam,
spirit that has at all time
In Texas been shown from her earlies
colonial days.
When we consider the incidents of tn,
Texas revolution; when we reflect tn,
total white population of Texas in 1886