The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-07-11

splendid influence that great instrument
has had upon even the thrones of earth!
July the fourth, ITO, was an epoch in the
worlds history which created America
and blessed every nation of the world.
Our heritage is unspeakably great. Every
American citizen should preserve it in
violate and inviolable. The patriotic spirit
in Ohio greatly impresses me. 1t is very
genuine. S
As to Georgia? Yes. sthat is another
portion of the great country, far from
here. How about patriotism there? If
the Southern sca is hotter than the
Northern sun has been for some days past
Southern patriotism must be near to the
boiling point. Down in Georgia there has
existed one institution from time almost
immemorial, viz, the Fourth of July bar
thing to kindle patriotism in fellows
breast and to fan that which was
already kindled Think of it, 5000 citizens
men, women, boys and girls-gathered
in some shady grove by large, cool
spring. to celebrate independence day.
Yonder, a little distance away rises the
smoke from the fires, where beeves,
lambs. kids. and porkers are being roast
ed for the dinner. The incense OF the saw
DRY meat fills the air. imparting a patri-
otto appetite. The ladies have brought
enough breads, cakes. jellies and pickles
to make the great dinner complete In
comparison with those barbecued meats
Amour's roasts and a Palmer House
cook are not to be mentioned When one
recalls the delicious taste of one OF those
barbecued kids, he can almost excuse
Isaac for giving Esaus blessing to ia
coo.
After eating that barbecued dinner a
man felt like quitting all his sins, except
his pet one, and felt like forgiving all his
American enemies. and like whipping
everything not American. He felt as IL
he could lick the world before sunset II
he had a mother-in-law he forgave her;
| If not, he was brave enough to risk one
| from that day forth. Yes, sir that was a
dinner far-reaching in it's influence
Across the space of twenty years and 500
miles ones memory of 1t makes him hun
| cry.
After dinner came the speeches
speeches of at least two political moguls
| The writer has heard such men as Unit
ed states Senator Ben Hill (matchless or
| ator) and Congressman Crisp speak on the
occasion of the Fourth of July barbe-
| cue" And what oratory! One can never
forget the impressions Of some of those
speeches In them the history of mans
struggles for freedom was reviewed. De-
mosthenes, Pericles and Greece were done
In good and eloquent style Then the ora
tor passed to Rome and paid his respects
to dear old Cicero; then he struck the
monarchy of England, knocked IL out
with George Washington and Thomas
JEFFERSON, swept down to 1875, brought
out Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson
| paid glowing tributes to these heroes
and then with consummate skill and some
! connecting sentence such as ''but, nv
eountrymen, in the Providence of God
| the ruler of the destinies of men and Of
nations, the Confederacy was not to sue
Union" etc.
The Stars and Stripes were duly
brought out, and the eagle was made to
soar proudly and scream as he SCARED
| BY the time the last orator of the day
reached his climax some man who did not
like him would say: He thinks he is
smart, but I've got a yellow dog that
come nearer havin' the squirrel up the
tree when he barks.' Then some friend
OF the speaker took ii as a personal in
suit, and a free-for-all fight followed.
Patriotism had whipped somebody, and
had wholesome impressions enough to
| last a year.
! There is another institution in. Georgia
| connected with the Fourth of July. IA Is
the all-day Fourth-of-July singing This
Is uniquely impressive. This is a rural in
stitution entirely. But the rurals in
| Georgia are the descendants of the old
colonialists, they are of pure blood, and
a solid people. At some large country
/ church the. people meet in great throngs
on the Fourth of July to hear sing a
half dozen well-trained ichoruses from as
many different communities. Often you
viii find a chorus Of hundred voices
the members Of which have been so well
| trained in vocal music as to render al
most any of the best anthems at sight
BY 10 o'clock the crowd has thronged the
church and the yard, and the choral mu-
| sic begins.
To that music 1 wish could pay proper
| tribute. One who has heard the music OF
thousand voices in concert halls and
the chorus to which 1 refer, can appre-
ciate both keenly. But one is unique
| Every one In those country choruses is
| there because he is lover of music. He
has learned to sing because he loves mu-
| sic. l have heard that chorus In the
house strike the old, glorious America.
And 1 have heard 1t caught up by the
hundreds out under the trees, and the
echoes Of IL sweled and died away
| among the sylvan forest-covered hills till
it sounded like heavens minstrelsy play
ing hide-and-seek among earths hills,
| only to be caught up again by the blue
skies which lowered to listen and enjoy
those rapturous strains Of harmonious
melody.
The difference between the patriot Of
the South and the patriot Of the North Is
not essential, If only he is a patriot. The
writer has had exceptional opportunities
of studying these two great sections Of
our country. Each has its problems, great
and far-reaching, to solve. The South has
tremendous racial problems to deal with,
problems that would stagger the North
were the conditions transferred here. In
the South 1t is Anglo-Saxon and african.
Hence, problems But In the North 1t e
Anglo-Saxon, African. German, Irishman.
Frenchman, Swede, Italian, Russian, Pole.
Barbarian and Scythian. Hence, even
mora dangerous problems to our flag than
exist in the South. What the North and
South both need is true patriotism. And
each needs the largest confidence in the
other, and the widest, fullest sympathy
with the other in its efforts to do it's duty
under it's own trying difficulties.
This article may be concluded by the
observation that more and more through
coming years all true Americans in whose
souls burn the fires Of patriotism will need
to stand Loyalty together for the conserv-
alton of four essentials OF free people
viz, the equality Of its citizens before
the law, the rigid enforcement Of the Law,
universal education, and the honest busi-
ness methods which our colonial fathers
expressed in the sentence: I'm the name
of God Amen" Here our children's chill
dren must live ana he hannv M aufPar ha