The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1891-04-30
go SOUTH, YOUNG MAN.
SPEECH GENERALJOHNG GILL,
OF BALTIMORE.


SPEECH OF GENERALJO JOHN GILL,
OF BALTIMORE.
Delivered at the. Martinsviile Banquet
in Honor IF thel Completion of the
X. g. s, II, ad 10 That Place.
Among the speeches made at the
banquet at Martinsville last week
upon the opening of the Roanoke
and Southern Railroad to that point
was one of unusual grace and worth
by General John Gill, of Baltimore,
upon $50 South, Young Man. We
have secured it for publication and
present 1t to our readers with the
gratified assurance that such senti-
ments coming from one so promi-
nent as an advanced thinker and
leader, will do good here among our
own people in elevating the ideas
of their own country, and will serve
to open the eyes of many not so ia
miliar with the resources of this, our
so greatly favored section. General
Gill said:
Mr.. Chairman and Gentlemen of
Virginia and North Carolina
though entirely unaccustomed to
public speaking, I could not deny
myself the pleasure of being with
you on this occasion and participa-
ting in these ceremonies.
1t was not many years ago, when
no less a man than Horace Greedy,
gave utterance to those memorable
words, go West, Young Man"
The significance of those words
were well known to you, they were
uttered at a time when our own
South had been devastated by war,
and the West was the promised land.
The Government of the United
States was lending its credit for the
construction of Western railroads,
and subsidizing them with public
lands.
The hidden treasures of gold and
silver had already made fortunes for
many, and others allured with the
same hopes pressed on the conquest
for wealth.
European crops were universally
short, and the surplus raised in this
country, principally in the West,
could be marketed at good prices.
Cities were springing up East and
West of the Mississippi and dotting
over territories hitherto untrodden
by civilized man. Those days had in
deed irresistible charms for Ameri-
can adventure.
Great were the strides, both rapid
and wonderful in Western develop
ment, but this state of things was
not destined to continue, and has
suffered a marked change, those
once virgin lands no longer produce
the abundant crops of former days,
and each year brings things of dis
tress and ruin to the once thrifty
settler.
His lands are emortgaged; climatic
influences operate against him the
rapid change in temperature Injuries
his crops and the blizzard sweeps
destruction in its tracks.
The West is no longer the Ell Do
rado of America. Where then shall
we look for new home, may we
ask Is there any foundation or
justification for rearing this new
empire of the South Is it to be
lasting Shall we encourage CAPT
tai, labor, home and foreign money
| to seek investment within her Dor
der9 Invite good citizens of
our common country to come
and abide with us' l answer the
| question by saying: $50 South
Young Man"
| Gentlemen, it was in 1861 that ]
first responded to this call. l came
and enlisted in your Army as a pri
vate soldier. 1t was no easy task to
follow Lee and Jackson through
those four long dreary years. You
] know the trials and privations we
/ endured, and whether the cause was
right or wrong. / have the consola.
tion of having been a confederate
soldier. and the memory of this is a
heritage I shall ever be proud to
hand down to my children.
| Gentlemen, the South Is to be the
riches. country upon the face of the
| globe. Show me any country which
has equalled her development during
the past ter years
| Here Gotten is king. 1t has the
monopoly of the world to-day Rice
and sugar cane; these productions
are on the increase, inexhaustible
timber and mineral resources keer
pace with the Appalachian range
Along its great water powers thu
thrifty spinner builds his mills.
The North must now come to tn,
South if she wishes to continue II
compete in the manufacture of cot
ton fabrics; likewise the competition
of Southern iron in Northern mark
cts has further directed the atten
ton of Northern capitalists to tn
advantages offered by the South, an,
this fact alone doubtless proves
great stimulus to the more active dc
velopment of these sections in tn
future.
Then the greatest of all Ter attrac
tions is her climate. Nature indee,
seems to have done her best for thi
favored land. The orange groves
and the ash, and the weeping willo1
mingle their sighs with the surge O
the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico
There at ST. Augustine and man,
other equally beautiful resorts tn
tired and shattered man of bushes
seeks relief, which to him is almos
itself, when compared to the Ion,
and dreary winters Of the North.
Here in the South you posses
every element of success. 1t is onl
necessary for your people to have
purpose, to be honest and true t
themselves to develop your materia
resources, and the results of pros
/, perity and happiness are sure to fol
low, as certain as the night follow
the day.
To-day gentlemen we assemble t
inaguFate the opening of the Roa