The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-06-12

Delivered by w. H. Alien Before Green
Vile Alliance.

lu COuDlla4C0 WILL bHO NO@A
President of the N. F. A. and I. u, we
have met to day to contribute to the
memory and pay our respects to n
of the greatest men, in my humble
opinion, that North Carolina has ever
produced. By special request OF this
Alliance and in accordance with my
feelings, l am prompted to say some
thing, in my weak way, towards eulo-
giving the late L. L. Polk. Yet / am
fully sensible of the fact that words at
my command are wholly inadequate
to give due praise, or to do justice to
that noble, patriotic, broad-minded,
~sagacious, and most distinguished
statesman and leader of the people.
His staunch friendship and inestimable
services to the masses and toiling mil
lions are justly entitled to recognition
and celebration from this class Of citi-
zens that will keep fresh in the minds
of the people the record and history of
this immortal hero. In doing this we
are rot only keeping custom with all
true and courageous people from re-
hottest antiquity, but we are paying a
proper tribute of honor to n whose
time, abilities and life were devoted to
our cause and to our interest. More
over, it is an incentive to the living to
strive to initiate his example, and an
encouragement to all honest patriots,
who are trying Il break the shackles
of the money power, to fight on and
fight stronger until a triumphant vic
tory shall reward their labors.
shall not attempt to give the full
history of our much lamented friend
and advocate; yet I deem it but mete
and appropriate that I mention some
of the events of his life on this occasion.
Gathering my information from brief
sketches of his life by men who knew
his career, I find that it is 81 years ago
to-day since he first saw daylight in
Arson county, this State. He was
born on a farm and trained for that
~avocation. At the age of fourteen he
was bereft of parents by the loss of
both father and mother. He managed
by his energy and industrious qualities
to acquire q common school education,
but with his great mind eagerly point
ing towards industrial advancement
and progress he was not content to
stand still, besides his noble aspirations
and laudable desires to see his favorite
andadopted occupation raised in stand
ard and to promote it's interest
prompted him to take a two years
course at Davidson College relative to
the science of agriculture. With this
training of the schools, together with
his natural abilities and talents that
would be frightened and quickened by
continued study, be was fully equipped
to stand up for the rights of the people
and demand for the farmers and labor
ers an open field and an equal chance
in the race of life with all other pur-
suits and professions against opposi-
ton however skillful or intelligent.
This being quickly discerned by his
home people, we find him a mere
youth, at the age of % years, in the
legislative halls at Raleigh represent
ing his native county with dignity and
honor. This was in the days of 1860
when the perplexed questions and diff
ferences of policies between the North
and South were agitating the country
and which finally led to the dissolu-
ton of the South from the Union, and
bathed this country with the blood of
our ancestors, and left their widows
and orphans on the ravaged fields of
poverty to stem the tide of ruin and
devastation, Col. Polk, an open and
avowed Union man. He did all in his
power to suppress the rebellion and
oppose secession until North Carolina
was called upon for troops to invade
her sister States. This broke the oppo-
sition to secession with him and others
and he decided to enter into the con-
fict of arms in behalf of the Confeder-
ate States. He served in the army
from 1852 to 1864 with distinction and
valor, being in many of the most mem
orable battles fought during the war,
and on leaving the army to accept the
honor done him by his home people, in
~electing him again to the legislature,
the officers of the regiment to which he
belonged passed resolutions of praise
and regret at his departure.
After the war Col. Polk accepted the
situation Of the country with good
grace and returned to his private home
and went to the plow-handles. But his
rare gifts of oratory, eloquence, ex.
planatory and argumentative powers