The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1903-10-22

sovereignty Of the State and the lib |
erty of the individual had been pro- |
vided for by the proposal of the first |
ten amendments to the Constitution |
of the United States. But once in the |
Union this State loved it. The gov
eminent was one of our own forma-
ton and our people have ever been |
willing to yield obedience to the laws |
of their own enactment. Even when |
the people thought the Constitution
had been violated and their rights
infringed, their love for the Union |
was SO great that with singular
unanimity they determined to re- |
main in it and secure, if possible. I'M
der the Stars and Stripes, that pro-
lection to which they felt themselves
entitled. But when the other South |
ern States went out of the Union,
and we were brought face to face
with the necessity of taking sides,
then our people, in convention as
sembled, without a single dissenting
vote, went out of the Union and
sought at every cost to secure again
that independence which our fathers
had won. Late in going out, this
State offered the first life on the altar
of the Southern Confederacy. Hav-
ing made up her mind to fight for in
dependence, she sent to the front
more soldiers than there were voters
within her borders. She lost more
men in killed and wounded than any
other Southern State; charged farth-
est at Gettysburg; laid down the
greatest number of guns at Apo
mattoX, and quit the fight with as
deep regret as any of her sisters. |
care not on which side one fought in
that great contest, the achievements
OF North Carolina soldiers were too
great to excite bitterness in any
breast that loves heroic sacrifice and
daring deeds Her men won for hu-
mainly still higher place for stub
born courage than had heretofore
been gained They went into the
fight reluctantly because of their
deep love for the Union which their
fathers had cemented with their
blood. They went to the front we'll
clothed, well-fed, in high spirits, GER
tain of success. They left at the end
in tatters and rags. foot-sore and
hungry, but their tears watered the
ground where the greatest leader of
soldiers, the highest type OF Christian
manhood, the purest and truest and
the best of men, General Robert E.
Lee, surrendered his sword. They
came back to the State weary, worn
| and sorrowful They found the pop
ulation depleted. Their farms had
gone to, ruin, their fences were down,
their bitches were filled, their stock
| was slaughtered, in too many III
stances their houses We're burned.
But they did not sit down in the des-
| olation of their despair. With a
courage worthy of the great men
who fought during the Revolution,
| they turned their faces to the morn
ing, put their trust in God and reso-
lutely determined to build again
their homes and do honor to their
mother for whom they had suffered
SO much. And right well have they
wrought. Today our fields abound
with harvest. From the mountain
to the seashore there is abundance.
There are not from Hatteras to
Murphy, from Virginia to South Car
DINA, Il man, woman or child Whe is
hungry today. North Carolina and
South Carolina manufacture 60 per
cent. OF all the cotton manufactured
in the South. and of this 60 per cent.
this State claims over half. Within
this county the forty furniture fac
tories, giving employment to thous-
ands of skilled laborers, sell their fur
niture in Grand Rapids and take
tribute to their superior workman
ship from every State III the Union.
The census shows that we more than
doubled our investments in lnanufac-
ture in the last decade. We grow
more cotton on less acreage than
ever before, while our tobacco crop |
in value exceeds that of any State in
the Union. Our vegetable gardens |
have grown into fields, and we feed |
the crOwding multitudes of the East
ern cities. In every department OF
human activity your brothers here
are forging to the front We stand |
in the morning with our faces to the
light and gladly hear the command |
that we go forward
Il have thought it not inappro-
pirate to tell you these things on
your return to your old home, for it |
is the right of one who has gone out |
from underneath the shade of the |
family tree to hear when he comes |
back what the folks at home have |
been doing. Above all, it is your
right to know what we are Whether |
we are sustaining the ideals OF the
past, what sort of structure we are |
rearing upon the foundation laid by |
your ancestors. In your travels YOU |
may have run across the scorners
who scott at and the witlings who de-
fame this State. You may have !
heard that she is ignorant and pro-
vincial, but | have the pleasure to
INFORM YOU what your affection al |
ready knows, that there can be found |
nowhere within her borders IL man |
known out of his township ignorant |
enough to join with the fool in say
ing there is no God There is no |
man amongst us whose hand is so |
unframed that it does not instinc-
lively seek his hat in the presence of |
woman. There is no ear so un-
taught that it does not hear the cry |
OF pity, and no heart SO untutored |
that it does not beat in sympathy |
with the weak and the distressed. IL |
llterate We have been, but ignorant, |
never. Books we have not known. |
but of men we have learned, and of |
God we have sought to find out. A
gentle people, and open, frank and |
courteous, passionate when aroused. |
and dangerous in conflict; capable of |
sacrifice, among warriors the first
praised by men as warriors only be- |
cause of the high courage manifested |
there, giving promise of the wonder
full achievements which lie before us