The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-04-30


young cities, that you may, n and
all, find kindred hearts and congenial
souls, and be able to recall the days
spent with us as among the most
pleasant of your lives. In welcoming
the old comrades of our States, with
of whom for four long years we
shared the tolls of the midnight march,
the dangers of the morning fight, can
do so with the assurance that the Con-
federate soldiers'of Texas, both as citi.
zens of the State and of the great re-
public, have not proved false to their
record in the past.
"To the Sons and Daughters of the
Confederacy, l extend to you q double
welcome, for you are bone of our bone
and flesh of our flesh, and TO your hand
is committed the task of helping to
vindicate the truth of history when we
are gone and L charge you today, Sons
and Daughters, that you never grow
weary of the trust committed to your
keeping. Remember how long it took
the Silent, fought, for what Horn, Eg-
mont and thousands of others died, and
that there is surely sleeping in the
womb of time the pen of some other
Motley which will dive through the
musty records of the past as it tells the
true story of the rise and fall of the
Southern Gonfederacy, and when it is
told it will live embalmed in story and
in song until the English language
dies"
| AT 1.15 p. m. Commander.in-Chie
| Gordon arrived. The manner of his
entrance into the vast auditorium was
dramatic. General Van Iandt had an
nounced that all hope of the presence
of General Gordon had been abandoned,
and the meeting had been turned over
to General S. ID. Lee, commander of
the Army of the Tennessee.
General Lee was in the midst of his
speech, when a number of voices and
stamping of feet were heard from the
rear of the hall. The oar grew to
~thundorous proportions, and above it
all could be heard the magic word,
" Gordon ~ AT that namo the veterans
rose to their feet.
"l will speak no more," said Cen
eral Lee, when the commander had as
cended to the platform. "Our beloved
commander can say to Jou words that
will please you more han those of any
other man."
ct was no fault of mine," said
General Gordon when the applause
had subsidized, "that was twenty hours
late. Maybe you boys can remember
q time when 1 was not late"
General Gordon's speech vas as fol
lows
"Governor, Mr.. Mayor, Gentlemen
OF Committees and My Fellow Coun.
trymen of Texas How shall L tell
you what We think of Texas, of her
great hearted people, her broad prairies
and still broader hospitality +? L but
poorly express the thought of these
veterans when L say that whether we
look at her geographically, historically
or sentImentally, Texas ls about the
biggest thing we eve saw. She can
raise cattle enough on her wild lands
to furnish all the canned beef for the
armies of Uncle Sam, John Bull and
the German empire, and still have fer
tile lands enough LETT, il planted in the
tleecy staple to make more bales of
cotton than are now produced by
America and Egypt combined or, ii
planted in grain crops, TO feed every
man, woman and child in the Union.
"With such a territory-almost equal
to that of the Original Thirteen States
which threw off the yoke of bondage
and wrenched freedom from the great
est of empires-this great common
wealth holds today within its borders
a population devoted to those same
imperishable p~rinciples-a population
which, it the occasion should come,
would wage another seven years. war
in defense of this inherited republic,
its flag, its laws and its regulated lib.
critics.
"ln the few moments in which pro-
prlety permits me to speak, L dare not
trust myself to make more than the
b~riefest allusion to Texas history. L
Cannot survey even the confines of
that vast field, made SO rich and 80 in
spring by the great deeds of her mar.
tial sons. Indulge me just long
enough TO say that from her birth,
through all her costly experiences as a
struggling republic, and through SUBJ
sequent wars, the sons of Texas,
whenever summoned to the sacrifice,
have poured out their blood freely on
Liberty's affairs. From Goliad and
San Jaclnto, from Buena Vista and
CerrO Gordo, from Chicamau9a's hills
and the shlvered rocks of the Round
Tops of Gettysburg, from the charge
of her cowboys and rough riders up
the wire girdled sleeps of Santiago,
from every battlefield made memora-
BILE by American valor comes the thrill
ing answer of Texas to freedoms call.
No wonder she has inspired her neigh
bors beyond the Rio Grand with such
wholesome respect for her prowess. No
wonder that the Lone Star is so daz-
cling to Mexican eyes. You know
that the Mexicans claim they could
stand up fairly we'll against the whole
of the United States If IL were not for
Texas.
But not only lie Texas great his
torically and great in her geogra.
phical expanse, but she can do more
in a small space than any other ccun-
try in the world. As proof, 1 point
you to little Spindle Top where's few
acres can pour out of the greasy
threats of boiling, laundering gushers,
oil enough to light every hamlet in the
land, and at the same time, if govern
ment experiments are successful,
enough oil to kill all the mosquitoes
from the jersey shore TO the Mexican
border.
"Again, Texas has the biggest cities
Of THAR aiza i'm oil Tho ,p;yo,no CLun |