The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-05-22
PRESIDENT L. POLK.
AN Address Delivered by Bro. Meg
Dunn, in Cumberland County, on
Polk Memorial Day.

speaker, but this occasion, which was
ordered by the N. @. Farmers Alliance
In session in Greensboro last August,
was set apart as a Polk memorial day,
1t being the birthday of the Iamented
l.. l.. Polk, to raise funds to erect
monument to his memory, the thought
OF which should bestir us to action.
Therefore raise my voice, and let me
congratulate myself that though I am
poor speaker have subject to talk
upon which is to you very interesting;
yes, to you very dear. And I am as
sured that any shortcoming on my
part will be condoned and overlooked
oy you on account of the great love
that you bear for the name whose
memory we have met to commemorate
this day. Yes, the depths of the foun-
tains of pure, patriotic love that well
up from the hearts of this people are so
untathomable, that streams of charity
from the hearts of grateful country
men never cease to flow out to encour
age, strengthen and hold up the hands
OF him who would wreath some flowers
to sweeten and perpetuate the memory
OF him whom the people love. They
love him whom we commemorate,
first, for the great model which he
chose after which to perfect himself,
Christ. the blessed saviour of the
world. They love him for his human,
ity, yet the proud, the arrogant and
the oppress sors of the people fed from
his presence when be defended the
cause of the downtrodden. They love
him for his charity, which was so
boundless that it overspread this fair
land until it's influence and shadow
overhangs the Rocky Mountains, and is
felt alike on the Pacific as on the At
lantic slopes. And the forces of love
and charity which he put in motion
have vibrated and reverbrated until
the Southern man is interested in the
welfare of his brother of the West to
that extent that his wrongs and their
redress are considered with equal care
as his own. And the brave, hardy
people of the West will ever look with
faith, hope, love and charity upon the
land that has produced an L. L Polk
And he who would engender hatred,
malice and strife between the farmer
of the West and his brother of the
South will find at the mention of the
name of Polk that the bloody shirt will
blanch and the banner upon his flag
staff will be the emblem Of love, purity
and peace, and the motto to be read
upon it's spotless folds will be ''equal
rights to all and special privileges to
nOne."
Standing here to day in the gloom
cast over North Carolina by the demise
of Vance, ..one of the greatest statesmen
of North Carolina, that great tribune
of the people, who departed this life
the other day in Washington, wearing
the highest honors that his people could
bestow, and finishing long life of use
fulness as a statesman that had been
rewarded with all the honors and
emoluments within the gift of CRATE
ful people. We are assembled to
thank our Creator, the God of Moses,
who made him the meekest of all men,
the leader of His own chosen people, to
go with them, to encourage them as
they groaned beneath the burdens of
the taskmasters of Egypt, to lead them
through the Red Sea and the Wilder
ness and to stand upon the summit of
the Mount of Horeb and point his peo-
pie to that land of promise where he
himself was not permitted to go. And
as we stand here to day, with our
heads bowed in sorrow, yet our hearts
are overfowing with joy that our
Heavenly Father has sent him whom
we commemorate to be with us for a
season, to come among us and teach us
over again the great lessons Of patience,
forgiveness and self sacrifice, and to
arm us with the olive branch of peace
and the breastplate of love, and to put
our columns in order and turning our
faces westward. We were by his in
structions put in motion to join that
great people of the sunset land, and
then pooling our interests, which are
identical, and uniting our hearts,
which are true and brave, we were
commanded by him to stand together
and to contend together until we shall
have won this fair land and taken off
the neck of this people the tyrant heel
of monopoly and unloosed the gripping
fingers of the minions IF the gold power.
We rejoice in that we believe that
though the coming historian may not
speak of him as the greatest North