The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1902-11-27
PRESIDENTS SPEECH
Address TO the People at Memphis,
Tennessee
OCCASION WAS LARGELY ATTENDED
President Called Attention to the
Fact That Much Honor iias Been
Won By Ex-ConfsGera!es.

$4,000
the festivities Wednesday celebrated
the homecoming OF Gensral Luke E.
Wright, vice governor Of the Philip
pines, ii is no reflection upon the
warmth of the welcome extended TO
him that President Rocsevelt's pres
ence was the overshadowi1s feature
OF the day. Excursion trains were rUn
into the city and a number OF dis-
tirguished people were present to par
ticipate in the celebration. Among
them were Governor Benton McMil-
Ian and General Joseph Wheeler.
The President was welcomed By a
large CROWD that showed great en-
thusiasm. In speaking he said in part:
It is a real ell great pleasure to
come to thi, typical city Of the South
EN- Mississippi Valley in order to
greet a typical American. a citizen CT
Tennessee, who deserves honor not
only from his State but from the en-
tire coun.ry-Genecal Luke e. Wright.
We have a right to expect a high stan
dard of manhood from Tennessee. i
was one OF the first two States created
west CT the Allegheny Mountains, and
it was N this State thai the first self.
governing community Of American
frceEaen, was established upon waters
flowing into the Gulf. The pioneers OF
Tennessee were among the earliest in
that great westward march which
thrust the nations order across the
continent to the Pacific. and it is emf
nently fitting that a son CT Tennessee
should now play so prominent O part
in the further movement Of expansion
beyond the Pacific. There have been
Presidents Of the United States for
but one E1nd-ed and thirteen years,
and during sixteen Of these years Tel
~nesseeans sat in the White House.
Hardihood. and daring. and irCr reso-
luton are CT right TO be expected
aEcng the sons CT 4 State which nur-
tured Andrew Jackson and Sam Hous-
ton; which sent into the American
navy one Of the most famous fighting
admirals Of all time, Fa-ragut.
There is another reason why our
country should be glad that it was
General Wright who rendered this
service. General Wright fought with
distinguished ~gallantry among the
gallant men who served il the armies
of the C~onfederacy during the civil
war. We need no proof CT the COM
p~leteness Of u reunion as a people.
When the wal with Spain came the
sons of the men who wore the blue AMI
the sons of the men who wore the gray
WED with one another in the effort to
get into the ranks and face a foreign
foe under the old flag that had been
carried in triumph under Winfield
Scott and Zachary Taylor and Andrew
Jackson. 1t was my own good fortune
to serve under that fearless fighter,
old Joe Wheeler, a memory Of which
/ shall always be proud But II we
need any proof Of the unity OF our in
terests II would have been Afforded
this very year by General Wright, the
ex-Confederate, in his administration
as acting governor of the Philippine
Islands. Upon him during the months
Of summer rested a heavier burden OF
responsibility than upon any other
public servant at that particular time:
and not the least Of his titles to our
regard is the way in which he was
able to work on terms of cordial good
will with the head Of the army, him.
self a man who had honored the blue
uniform as Wright had honored the
gray.
General Wright's work has been as
difficult as it was Important. The
events of the last four years have def
nitely decided that whether We wish
to or not we must hereafter play a
great part in the world. We cannot
escape facing the duties. We may
shirk them IL We are built Of poor
stuff, or We may take hold and do
them if we are fit ons Of our sires-
but face them We must, whether we
will or not. Our duty in the Philippine
Islands has simply been n of the
duties that thus have come upon us.
We are there, and We can no more
haul down our flag and abandon the
islands than we could now abandon
Alaska. Whether We are. glad or sorry
that events forced US to go there is
aside from the question; the point IS
that, as the inevitable result of the
war with Spain, we found ourselves in
the Philippines and that we could not
leave the is lands without discredit.
The islanders were wholly unfit to
govern themselves. and if We had left
there would have been a brief period
of bloody chaos, and then some other
nation would have stepped in to do
the work which We had shirked. 1t
cannot be toe often repeated that there
was no question that the work had to
be done. All the question was, wheth-
er we would do it well or i'll; and.
thanks to the choice of men like Gov
ernor Wright, it has been done well.
The first and absolutely Indispensable
requisite was order-peace. The reign
of iawless violence. of resistance to
legitimate authority, the reign OF an
archy. could no more be tolerated
abroad than 1t could be tolerated here
in our own land.
The American flag stands for or
derby liberty, and it stands fer Il
abroad Is it stands for it 1t home. The
task of our soli!crs was to restore
and maintain order in the islands. The
army had the task to do. and it did
1t well and thoroughly. The fullest ana
heartiest praise belongs 10 u sol
diers VINO in the Philippines brought
70 q trinmDGant cOucllSiOO a war.