The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1890-05-15

ldSt ~ tIC uSuIdIlu tiidt tiSiN oiiooiN
be incorporated into the fundamental
laws of our country, that sacred and
elementary principle that each State
shall have guaranteed to it ce-tain in
alienable rights. These proud memo
ries, we as North Carolinians, should
never forget, and we should see that
they are properly handed down to
posterity, remembering that
"A land without memories,
Is a land without liberties
Eyes. give me land that is blest by the
And bright with the deeds of the down.
trOdden just.
Yes, give me the land that hath legend and
Enshrinins the memories of long vanished
days.
Yes. give me land that hath story and
To tell Fi Of the strife, of the right with the
wrong
So much, if you will pardon me, for
our early history. Coming later to a
time when most of you l see before me
were actors, l claim our record is even
more glorious. Furnishing to the
maintenance of cause we believed to
be right more men than any other
eleven States which confederated with
US. and consequently baptizing that
cause with more blood, we made his
tory that, swear to you, until the
stars pale before the judgment blaze of
burning world, shall be to us as
proud as Thermoyle was to Greece, or
Pharsalus to Rome, or Cressy to Eng
land. l am aware, my friends, that l
am shooting wide Of the range, and
as we are wont TO say, l am not stick
ing to my text, but l am taking ad-
vantage of that allowance that am
sure my audience is cheerfully willing
to grant in lingering SO long in affec-
tionate remembrance of the glorious
past of our own Carolina.
Remembering, as remarked a while
ago, that North Carolina filled more OF
the blanks of the enumerator's list than
any State in the Union, and with a
climate unsurpassed, neither too hot
nor too cold, with potentialitics, almost
incalculable, what, am led to inquire,
prevents our being the first State in
the Union in the march of industrial
progress? The climate is ours, the
natural resources are ours, the condl-
tions are all favorable. Then why not
the results? 1t might be time wasted
to tell that it was in our power to
make Weldon or Fayetteville the
Lowell OF the South; that we might
create Pittsburg at Greensboro, or an
Evansville at Raleigh, or a Grand
Rapids at New Berne, or Rutland at
Charlotte, or that Wilmington might
be made of more commercial import
ance than Norfolk. These are all in
the range of possibilities, if Drawn and
brain, native and to the manner born,
be found commensurate.
Then, my friends, the point l wish
to impress is, that the future of North
Carolina as a manufacturing State is
Just what you and I declare it shall be-
There is a Latin proverb, "quisque SUI
fortuna faber est.'' This is no less
true of communities and States. NORTH
Carolina, famous in history, as l have
already intimated, should lead the var
in the march of industrial progress, and
listen, if she does not, we, as NORTH
Carolinians, are alone to blame. We
are due to our State, to ourselves, te
posterity an obligation that we are
permitting every day to go to protes
in the eyes of the world. We can
and we ought to put North Carolin:
with her great potentialities in thf
forefront.
Allow me, for your encouragement
along this line, to mention commu
nity in our State that when most of u
came to manhood was unknown to thu
map-makers. To-day the hum Of ma
chinery in that community is heard
each recurring morning around th'
world, and her commercial travellers
visit every civilized and semi-civlllzee
country upon the globe. Yes, far OF
Australia, prints in her directory th'
name of a family, resident represen
tative of that community, who was a
one time chief of the police depart
ment of the city of Raleigh. Surel,
what man has done man can do. ane
it is within the range of possibllitle
for the clever citizens of magnlflcen
Raleigh to declare that in Australia, II
Africa, or even far-off Japan, her cltl
zens shall represent some Raleigh IN
dustry. And allow me to deal frankl.
with this Chamber of Commerce mum
bering, as you do, some of the fines
commercial talent to be found any
where. when l declare that you ar
greatly at fault that such is not the case
Take, gentlemen, your talents iron
their napkins and bestir yourselves
creating manufacturing industries.
Yes, men of North Carolina, l tel
YOU our manufacturing and industrla
interests, in the hands of brave ant
courageous men such as l see abou
, me tonight, can do Tor Nortn Nalo
) liua that the arts and sciences hav
: done for the world. We are all ia
miliar with the story of how Hamilca
, took his son Hannibal, when onl
twelve years of age, and made hin
t swear eternal vengeance against III
arch-enemy, Rome. Somewhat IN tn
: same spirit propose to teach my thre
. sons to be forever loyal to North Car
olina. shall tell them as they gaz
t at our grand old Appalachian range
mountains, banked there by the Grea
, Architect of the Universe on the morn
! ing of the creation of the world, of tn
: untold wealth the great Creator ha
hidden there, only to be developed b
: the energy, the industry and the at