People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1892-07-15
GENERAL WEAVER ON OUR DEAD.

General Weaver was a speaker
At the mention of bis name a
mighty cheer rent the air. AS he
walked to the front men leaped to
their feet and waved their hats as
they cheered for the man who is re.
cognized as one of the leaders of his
party. He spoke as follows:
Truth is the longest lever in the
universe. 1t is within itself the pow
er to elevate the human family, to emo
BILE it in the scale of human excel
ence and power, and all that the peo-
pie or any individual needs 10 this
world to make them successful and
powerful is to lay their hand upon
the lever. This is sad occasion, yet
there are ideas connected with it that
are within themselves exalting. For
it needeth the death, brothers, of Col
onel Polk, as it requires the death of
all the great and good to turn upon
the conscience and the emotions of
the people, their virtues and excell-
ency in their great character. Col
onel Polk was the most transparent
person with whom | ever became
acquainted He lived the truth, and
despite the fact that he had a perfect
knowledge and complete understand
ing of the great wrongs under which
the people of this country are suffer
ing, yet his faith was superior to all
difficulties and he saw in the future
that triumph which is certain to come
to the people who are now striving
to relieve the struggling and down
trodden of this nation. He had a
faith that was superior to all difficult
ties knowledge is power, truth is
power, but faith is more powerful
than both combined. In fact it is the
instrument in the hand of knowledge
and love. Truth gave hm that faith
that was his. Have you never noticed
that there are some circumstances in
life that seem to be completely sew
ering us from all the surroundings of
our nature and to give us a glimpse
of God and at the same time a COM
plete impression of the grandeur of
human nature. | remember on the
battlefield of Shiloh / came to dead
Confederate boy, not past sixteen,
with his golden hair tinged in blood,
a smile still PLAYING upon his face and
in his right hand he held a testement.
| looked upon the open page next to
where he held his thumb. Tread the
words 81 am the resurrection and the
life, he that believeth on me, though
he were dead yet shall he live again"
and the very sweet look of his face
seemed to reflect the hope of all man
kind as [ looked into that dead face
of that confederate boy aud read
these words of the scripture. His
faith rose superior to battle and death.
SO was L. L. Folks faith in the ulti-
mate triumph of principles which we
advocate. 1t rose superior to all I'M
toward circumstances by which this
movement is surrounded. 1t was the
triumph of his faith of the realization
in this life, in the present generation
of our great ends, the glorious tri-
umph of the people of this country.
Listen to the grand words which fell
from this mans lips on the 4th of
July, 1890, in concluding an address:
''L am standing now just behind
the curtain and in full glow of the
coming sunset. Behind me are the
shadows on the track before me lies
the dark valley and the river. When
I mingle with it's dark waters [ want
to cast one lingering look upon a
country whose government is of the
people, for the people and by the
people"
These were the words of the great
and good man, and although he was
not permitted to behold the triumph
of the people, yet he did live long
enough to see the forces organized
that will in the near future wrest the
government from the grasp of plu-
tocracy and restore it to the people
to whom it belongs. Great cheer
ing. We owe to Col. Polk and to
his memory more than we could ever
pay. have said in his own pres
ence, in hs own State last September
in addressing an audience as large as
this, that | believe that he has done
more than any man living in this age
to exterminate the feeling of ami
mostly among the North and South,
and how did he do it? By his great
intellectually. He did it by his
heart power, by releasing the pent-
up feelings of love that existed be-
tween the common people of the two
great sections and permitting them
TO meet as brothers and fellow-men.
He did it by simply releasing his feel
ing, which was held in abatement by
permitting it to solidiiy into a solid
feeling of love and fraternity. l feel
on Cunb occoLiopC oyo1 IN tho OrnC