The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1901-10-10
IS DIXIE DYING?
VIII Still Survive.
AN OLD SOUTH DIXIE STILL.

The power of music to move a peo-
pie has always been acknowledged.
With every great war there has been
an exciting cadence, to the notes OF
which the men would step more brisk
ly and feel the rejuvensnt power of
youth. Such was the "Marseillalse'
to the Frenchmen of the revolution,
the "Wacht Am Rhein" to the Ger
man of 1871 and "Dixie" to the hero
who followed Lee.
Whether the influence of these airs
is permanent, whether they live and
die, or possess the spirit of immortality
is question hard to determine. If
ever there was a tune which had en-
tered into the hearts and feelings of
people 1t was that of "Dlxie," to the
notes of which the weary confederate
marcher gained inspiration, and the
power Of which, crossing hostile lines,
captured place even among the ad-
versary. The Times Democrat, of New
Orleans, comes out with the declara-
t1on that the "Dixie" to which the
fathers trod does not possess the same
inspiring influence for the sons. "Not
since the pacification OF the seeded
states," says The Times Democrat,
"has there been such a display of con-
federate sentiment as was found at
the recent reunion at Memphis" Con-
tinuing:
And yet "Dixie" blasted from every
band, thumped from every drum and
footed from every horn, was not the
same old ''Dixie" which the veterans
knew in the erstwhile. There was not
that same enthusiasm which one might
have heard in the yestertime, when
bands hammered out the tune of the
confederacy.
"Dixie" Is really a national anthem.
1t is the musical representation of the
old south and the lost cause. The
south to-day will join with the nation
In singing:
"My country, tits of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
OF thee I sing"
But there is still an old south. "Dixie"
is still fact, pulsing, living thing.
And while the air may have waned in
popularity, the same old sentiment
lives today as 1t lived yesterday. The
old veterans who have yelled so vocif-
erously In the past when the air Of
"Dixie" was played may slip into tho
shadows and the silences, but there are
men hving-young, lusty, stout-lunged
fellows-who will in one way and an
other cheer the old air long after the
veterans have passed from the scene Of
earthly things. "Dixie" dying Yes,
Dixie" is dying. But "Dixie" is not
dead.
But there are other views. There
may be moments when the march has
to give way to the hymn, when the
human mind, weary ct the rivalry OF
action, seeks the composure of medita-
ton but let the alarm be sounded, let
the occasion arise and the old notes
will regain their force, and the same
response will come from militant man.
hood. We confess to feeling in SYM
pathy with old Dan Emmet, the au-
thor of the popular "Dixie," when he
says:
I cannot believe that "Dixie," my
dear old "Dixie," 1s lost. I believe it
will survive the present revolution In
southern sentiment and mean again to
the south what it did in days gone by
when it thrilled the "boys in gray
in victory and cheered them in defeat.
But If my dear old song is dying, /
hope it will survive myself, its aged
composer, for I am slowly but surely
passing away. I hope that "Dixie"
will live in the hearts of the southern
people long after "Uncle Dan" Is dead
and forgotten.
"Dixie" will stir generations yet un-
born