The Savannah morning news., 1902-03-18
THE STATE OF GEORGIA.
Mr.. Walter c. Hnrtridge's Eloquent
Response.

Response.
Mr.. Walter c. Hartridge, in the alb
sence Of Gov. Gambler, responded to
the toast Georgia" 1t was an eloquent
response and was received throughout
with applause.
when against the weaknesses of
man, many and varied though they be-"
said Mr.. Hartridge, ARE placed the
qualities which have raised him in all
ages above the level of Gods other
creatures, none stand out holder or
stronger than the love of country. For
the sake of the state, heroes, in every
cline, have made the way for liberty
and left to posterity ennobling tradi-
| tons to cherish, and patriotic deeds to
| emulate. Each of the peoples of the
earth seeks to make itself worthy of
the heritage of ancestry, and to hand
down to future generations that devo-
ton to the commonwealth which
makes of sacrifice thing to be de-
sired.
And what is there in the past of
the great state which gave some of
us birth and to others opened wide her
loving arms to receive as her own chill
dren the oppressed and heart sick from
lands beyond the seas. to commend her
TO our pride and to make her name our
boast? From where the broad waters
lap and roll and toss on her hospitable
shores, to the accompaniment of never
ceasing music, to where her mountains
pierce a kindly sky like hands beckon-
ing to higher endeavor and mightier
EFFORT; and from the golden Savannah
bearing to earth's uttermost corners
Georgia's tribute to the commerce of
the world, to the Chattahoochee flow
ing between the mother state and her
eldest daughter, and singing to both
tales of former days when Georgia was
not from the haunts of man and from
the waste places where the feathered
choristers sing in never ending strain
the te-deum of Gods lowly things for
the delight of living and being. comes
the response that this, indeed, is a
community worthy of all devotion.
The Pride of Every Heart.
"And from our own hearts comes the
same answer when memory reveals the
past, splendid and stored with suffer-
ing and sacrifice, strife and success,
dark days and bright, all blending to
make perfect picture. Let the ten
der hearts of the Irishmen throb with
pride for the Ireland whose memory
is ever as fresh as her native green;
let the Germans and the French and
the British, and all the peoples of the
earth speak with pardonable boast of
the places occupied in history by their
countries, we, too, are citizens of no
mean state and fear no just compare
son.
AS nations measure their lives. one
hundred and seventy years is but
brief space. And yet, within that Tina.
covering the entire period of her exist
ence as colony and state, Georgia's
contribution to American history. in
war and in peace, has been such as to
justify the pride of her children in
their heritage. From the day that
Oglethorpe planted his outpost of civ
ilization on Yamacraw bluff, all the
way down through the years of sun
shine and stress, there is naught in her
record that requires explanation or
apology. Even when her people, along
with those of twelve other sovereign
commemorative, are charged, as they
have been recently, by an eminent
American citizen occupying at present
the highest official position in the, ma
ton, (the recollection of whose ances-
try should have frozen the words on
his lips before they found utterance). |
with participation in four years of an
archy. it is not necessary to do aught
than to appeal to facts of history with |
in the knowledge of every student of
the American system of government. |
and to reply to the distinguished gem
tleman that the same form of success
full anarchy made possible the position
of President of the United States.
Growth of the state
When the colony of Georgia. after
almost a half-century of dependence |
upon the British crown, threw off its |
allegiance and rose in righteous revolu-
ton, her sons began the movement that |
placed upon her brow the crown of |
statehood. Harassed hunted, pro- |
scribed, imprisoned. at times shattered |
by defeat. her lion-hearted children |
stood true to the faith that inspired |
them, and with the magic word of |
liberty upon their lips gave up their |
lives at the lannon's mouth that the |
blood of heroes might consecrate for
ever to freedoms cause the soil from
whence they sprang.
When Bunker Hill and Yorktown
are lovingly proclaimed. forget not that
patriotism's tale would be incomplete
without Cowpens where Georgia's
ragged Continentals' held the front
line, and Savannah. where willing
hands and sturdy courage did all that