The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1898-09-15
Correspondence Manufacturers Record J

DUCK IIOIuS AxdlO.
Correspondence Manufacturers Record }
One of the most gratifying mani
festations Of whole generation-one
which goes straight home to every
Southern hearts the universal dis
position on the part of the press and
people of the North to give credit
and do honor to the brave men and
true who went forth from the South
to fight the battles of the nation.
Here in New York. for instance, every
man one meets and every newspaper
in town is giving to our own Joe
Wheeler the Instituted need of praise.
They are recognizing him not only
as the hero of heroes among generals,
but as the real military strategist of
the campaign. They are unhesitat-
ingly saying that it was his refusal
to yield one inch of captured ground
in front of Santiago, which other
officers were urging, that saved
probable defeat and led to Cervera' s
attempt to escape, which gave our
ships chance to sink his fleet.
While all this makes US who belong
to the South prouder than ever Of
this typical example of Southern
manhood, though it doesn't make us
whit less proud of our Hobsons and
Schleys and the rest of our heroes,
its only effect upon General Wheeler
himself is to make him glad that the
opportunity to serve his country was
given him, and glad that he has been
placed in position to help dis
sipate the last lingering cloudlet of
doubt concerning the genuineness,
the intensity of the broad-minded
national patriotism which wells up
in the hearts of men throughout the
land which, when he did his first
fighting, composed the Confederate
States.
Speaking of this true-hearted,
unassuming gentleman and his splen-
did achievements at Santiago and the
light in which he looks at all that
he has done, suggests mental query
concerning the Impressions made
upon General Wheerler's mind and
conclusions reached by him as to the
true inwardness of the members of
the so-called class to which belong
the Astors and the Roosevelts, Of
heroic young fellows like Fish and
Tiffany and dozens of others from
among the rich and recognized of
this great city. I doubt not that the
dissemination of General Wheeler's
new knowledge of the admirable
money power'' sent forth to fight,
suffer and die for native land will
have a harmonizing effect on the
popular mind by clarifying the glass
through which a lot of good people
have of late years been seeing so
very darkly. venture to say when
General Wheeler goes down home
and begins to hear, as he surely will,
the small politicians, some of them
whithal loyalty marching in the
triumphal procession of his own re-
election to Congress, meaning well
enough, but seldom knowing whereof
they speak, doubt not when he
hears these breathing out threaten
ings against that Gmagined) most
ruthless of all devouring beasts, the
New York "money power" he will
put quick, but kind, quietus on
their mouthings. can almost hear
him uttering words like these: "You
are all wrong, boys. Besides having
the best of everything else, America
has the best rich folk on earth, and
to tell you the honest truth, l don't
any more believe that the rich are
engaged in a conspiracy to multi,
Cypress and prey upon the poor.
Indeed, l am almost persuaded that
even the dreaded "money power" is
but a bugaboo. 1t would take all
winter to tell you of the heroic self
sacrifice of these rich mems sons
around Santiago, where man worth
far on toward hundred million dol
lars bore the brunt like any farmer
boy or hornyhanded son Of toll.
And then when we came to Camp
Wykoff and the impression got out
that there was lack of many things
sorely needed by our tired, sick, en-
feebled soldiers, millions could have
been raised in day to supply their
wants if way had been provided to
get to them the luxuries which those
millions might have bought
Today the Seventy-tirst New York
the emaciated remnant of that
splendid regiment--marched, as
MANY as could march, up Broadway
and up Fifth avenue, to the manifi-
cent armory on Murray Hill. A
million grateful men, women and
children, the heart of hearts of each
one aglow with patriotic fervor, min
gled with tenderest human sympathy,
stood for hours along the line OF
march waiting to welcome the ere
turning brave" the surviving four
hundred, and to help make them
roo1i1a how proud Of them New York