The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1897-05-06

(Winston D
The South owes a debt of gratitude
to the Hon. John l.. McLaurin, OF
South Carolina, for his able speech,
delivered in the House Of Representa-
tves on March 31st. He spoke to the
bill to provide revenue for the Govern
ment and to encourage the industries
Of the United States. His subject was
the development of the industries of
the South. 1t was no partisan effort;
rather an eloquent presentation of the
wonderful progress which the Southern
States are making on material lines,
and a patriotic exultation that the sec
tonalism of twenty five years ago has
given way before the march Of advance
ment and the coming of Northern cap
ital and people to aid the Southerners
to build up the waste places laid waste
by the changed labor and social con-
ditions growing out of the civil war.
Mr.. McLaurin's speech recalls the day
when the noble Henry w. Grady, of
Atlanta, electrified the whole country
with his famous speech amid the brain
and enterprise of New England, when
he declared there was a New South,
and demanded in the name Of sound
business judgment and safe financial
investments, that her advantages, op-
portunities and material interests
should be recognized. Mr.. Grady
proclaimed the New South and ap-
pealed for its development, while Mr..
McLaurin told how since Grady's da y
all that he appealed for and longed
tor has come, and that the Southern
march is still onward. Referring to
that famous Boston speech, Mr.. Nc
Laurin said:
"With an eloquence never surpassed,
with facts and statements uncOntro-
vertible, Henry W. Grady electrified
and astonished his hearers at the prog
ress and standing of the South. While
making no apologies for the past, but
asserting loyalty to her traditions and
memories, he proclaimed a New South
anxious for development, ready TO well
come immigration, and prepared to
protect all in life and property. Throw
ing aside sentiment, casting beneath
his feet all prejudice, he manfully de-
ciared that the South should henceforth
be considered a part Of our commercial
system; that she had shown herself
competent, had proven herself worthy
of the considerable Of those who held
the power to develop her incompatible
resources. 1t was wise act, nobly
and eloquently performed, and earned
him the love and everlasting gratitude
of every true Southern heart.
"With far less eloquence, but with
all the earnestness l possess, | desire
to reiterate the sentiments of the Ia
mented Grady and supplement his g lor-
ious efforts with the feebleness Of my
own. Mr.. Speaker, the longer remain
in public life, the more learn of other
sections, the more firmly l am con-
vinced that the South should strive to
extend her material interests. It is a
duty she owes to herself, to the balance
Of the nation, and to the generations
yet to come.
"Some may contend that such senti-
ments are sordid and do not appeal to
the nobler instincts of our people. To
all such 1 would reply that disguise it
as we may, depreciate it as we should,
yet the fact remains that the surest
passport to individual independence,
with much that term implies, lies in a
well-flled pocket-book. Love in a
cottage, with ones neighbors luxurat-
ing in palace, is usually a myth.
Contentment with a crust of bread.
while others are living upon the fat Of
the land, is delusion, and the indlvid-
ual independence said to come from
poverty and want is seldom, if ever,
met. The world is becoming more
practical and hard-headed every day,
and as a result theory and sentiment
are retreating before its aggressive ad-
vance. To get on, push along, and do
something, no matter whether it be in
religion, politics. science, or upon any
other lines, are just now the standards
by which men are judged.
"In my opinion, the future happiness
and contentment Of the people OF the
South will be measured by the increase
or decrease in the value of their mate
rial INTERESTS
Among many quotations given by
Mr.. McLaurin, we only have space to
refer to the following:
The New South will he less cele-
brated in ballads, but better known in
the markets and exchanges Of the
world. She has reused herself to grap-
pie with difficulties which no Northern
man can fully appreciate without a
visit to her soil. 1t would be impossi-
BILE to exa.erate the prostration which
prevailed at the close Of the war. Hel
citizens were unaccustomed TO labor,
her laborers untitled for citizenship,
her capital had been consumed and her
credit had disappeared. But her inde.
pendence and courage were indestruct.
ible. She asked no sympathy and she
never craved indulgence. She set
herself painfully to learn the hard les.
son of toll aud economy, and slowly
and surely the new LIE Is rising from
the ashes of the old. In her heroic
struggle she will have the love and ad.
mira.ion of every generous soul, ano
our children will yet see wealth ant
abundance flourish where their father:
saw the ruin, desolation and havoc o
war. Inter Ocean. Chicago.
1.-The South is vast country will
the best climate in the world, will
conditions of health which are abso
lutely unparalleled, with vast forests
untouched. with enormous veins o
coal and iron which have yet not known
anything beyond their original coudi
ton, with soil that under proper cult
walton for little capital can support {
tremendous population; with conditions
in the atmosphere tor comfortable liv
! ing. winter and summer, which exist