The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-09-27

The most important work when the
1,n;ted Daughters of the Confederacy
now have in hand, the object to which
ali their energies are bcing bent until
It's completion Is the building and the
,;nveilinr of the Jefferson Davis memo
rial
All along through the years In which
It Inns been planned and labored for, the
women of the South have striVen, not
only for a monument which should fifty
embody the universal feeling towards
the President of the Confederacy, but
they have also str!ven for the concep-
non and execution of design so I'M
1shed and so placed as to meet the wishes
and to add to tho happiness of Mrs.
yarina Jefferson Davis, the lonely and
AIRED survivor of her distinguished hus-
rand and of her lovely daughter Miss
Winnie Davis indivdualized in 1856 by
General John b. Gordon, who fixed her
title in the hearts of the survivors OF
the Civil War. as the First Daughter
OF the Confederacy."
Now Mrs. Davis lies seriously III IN
Buffalo, N. Y, and the hope that the
unwilling of the memorial which is'to be
reared in Richmond-the war home OF the
Confederate President and his familN'
the birthplace OF Miss Winnie Davis: her
little brother-seems clouded with the
grave anxiety, begotten of he serious
nature Of Mrs. Davis condition. agra
waited by tho natural feebleness and IN
trinity Of grief-ladcn years through
which she has passed.
On the grassy slopes OF HOLLYWOOD,
now frightened by September suns, IS set
1he Winnie Davis monument placed there
by the Virginia Daughters of the CON
federaoy. When tho cornerstone OF the
Winnie Davis Memorial Hall, dormi-
tory for the daughters OF Confederate
soldiers 1T the State Normal College,
erected by the Georgia Daughters, was
laid In Athens, Ga. November LIST. 1902,
Mrs. Davis wrote In response to an ur-
gent invitation for her to JON the DIS
fincuished company which the occasion
brought together:
INV Dear Friends,--I shall be with
you in spirit when you moot to honor
nv darling's memory. Perhaps she and
her father may be there vlewless, but IN
deep sympathy with you and gratitude
to you"
It must have been a solncing realization
to the mothers heart. still mourning
over the loss of her who had como be-
fore and refusing to be comforted. that
forever entwined In the thoughts OF
Young Southern womanhood. striving for
the attainment Of what Is best and high
est in an institution of learning, must
be the example set by the First Daugh-
ter of the Confederacy," whose sunny
smiles and artless pratuc beguiled many
weary hours of her fathers imprson-
ment at Fortress Monroe: who was her
fathers comrade, confidant and secre-
tAry at "Beauvoir in the home lite
succeeding the war; who forgot her own
,t,,;, Is 6o, yIriT
and whose last public appearance was at
the Confederate Veterans reunion in At
lanta.
Still fresh in the minds OF Richmond
women is the sorrow with which Mrs.
Jefferson Davis came to lay this fair
flower Of the Confcderacy to rest In
Hollywood. reuniting her to her father
and awakening the thought of the psalm
ist in the hearts of saddened thousands,
who mourned with her: Lovely and
pleasant were they In their lives; even
In death they are not divided.
While the developments of the last
few days could not deepen the devotion
of the Confederate Daughters, nor add
to the purpose of years in regard to the
Davis memorial, 1t is believed that they
have sounded a call to action; for they
must serve as n reminder that the years
nre passing swiftly, and that what is to
be done should be done at once. Next
month will bring the first meeting OF
the United Virginia Daughters. Though
this meeting,;is considered largely as one
Of ADJUSTMENT, yet..it is considered also
as a preparation for the general assem-
KY TO follow at Charleston, S. c., in No
vember, when the preliminary steps to
the erection of tho Davis memorial VIII
DO taken and the inauguration OF the
great patriotic work Of the South will
be fairly entered upon.
Could the unvoiced prayer of thousands
OF Southern womens hearts for the
weary sufferer at Castle Inn But
falo. N Y, prevail, the shadow OF the
Death Angels wing would be lifted and
Mrs. Davis life would be spared, Sc
that she might join in the paenns Of re