The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1904-06-15

the gray, without thinking of the great
soldier and orator upon whom TINS
duty would have fallen, II he mad not
been taken from us. 1t was IN his' OH,
Nashville, seven years ago, that ms elo-
uuent voice gave utterance TO the graz
itude of our hearts to the citizens OF
this beautiful city for the hospltaiity
for which they are famous, ana %n Ich
today has laid us under new obliga-
lions. 1t was here that he placed IN
your hands hS commission as your
chieftain, and sought to retire n,,h lnto pr Of
loyal devotion, resistless as the wnlri-
wind. YOU again called him to be your
leader, and gave him the commission
of your unmeasured love ana CONN
'sHe was true to your service to the
last. His noble voice is hushed 1or,
ever He has answered the great ron
cali He has conquered the last en-
envy. He has joined his great COM
mander in the white hosts or peace.
The armies of the Confederacy nave
marched to fame eternal +o osHips nre
only the belated stragglers OF that
mighty host who have entered into
their Immortality. -,
The living are brave and noble,
But the dead were the bravest OF all.
"As I listened to the eloquent and
comforting addresses of welcome IL
was impossible for me not to remem-
her an occasion now nearly forty years
past, when some of us yearned TO en-
low the Hospitality of Nashville. Many
of her citizens would at that time have
been glad to see us, but not half as
much so as we would have been to see
them. Between us and these hoSpltal
homes there stretched a wall of fire,
and instead of your cordial greetings
we heard the thunder OF guns,
The Changes of Time.
"This time, however we have kept
I I'D
will has made us more than conquer.
ors We have entered into this city Of
great men and great memories. We
have beheld your educational instltu-
lions, sending light and hope into the
remotest corners of our beloved land.
We have made pilgrimages to the
| graves of your mighty dead-we have
been refreshed by your hospitality.
| 1.-THE Confederate soldier does not
| forget that from the bosom OF this old
| commonwealth came hundred and M
| teen thousand men, to follow the ban
ners of Lee and Johnston. and that
more than thirty-one thousand were en-
| listed In the armies of the Union--Ten-
nesseans believe with their hearts
blood. They did not count the cost.
! Nation had to be settled with drawn
swords. They spent the last drop Of
| blood, the last mite of treasure, for the
defense of Tennessee. their mother and
eve the witnesses of that great sac
| rtAce can never cease to honor Tonnes
see. for the blood of her sons, Tor the
| tears and prayers of her daughters, for
| the indomitable spirit which rebuilt the
ruined homes, which sowed the blasted
fields, which has wrenched prosperity
from field and mountain and mas mace
| this wonderful land, once more thing
of beauty and pride to every southern
heart. You have done well, men ana
women of Tennessee. with peacelul
hands. you have won back more than
YOUR fathers lost.
81 wonder sometimes whether, when
the great balances of the universe al
poised. and the great judgments OF the
ancient of days are rendered, whether
| even when the last human history is
| written of the War between the States
| and the slow verdict of remote pos
terity Is taken, the cause we IoVeu;
will seem as lost as 1t once seemed
to us 1t may be that in the providence
OF God, and the development of human
ity, these fearful sacrifices were neces-
| sary for the highest good OF this ma
ton and of the world. Truly In human
experience. without the shedding oil
blood, there is no redemption. Rather
let us believe that the world is rlchel
and better, purer and greater for tins
tragic story of forty years ago, an
that the shed blood has brought bless
ing, honor. glory and power. lncorrupt'
lble treasures of which brave am
noble people can never be despoiled.
Prosperity Assured.
TT is a source of joy to every on
of US. as we make our annual pilgram
age to meet together; when we SCI
how prosperous our country has grown
At last l think we all feel that tn
| prosperity of the land is assured. Whe'
the savings OF all previous generate
were consumed in the common disaa
ter, II seemed for a while as II tn
South had to face the bitterness o
poverty for generations to come. States
manship. literature. art, culture, flow
, ers of leisure and opportunity. Swere &
remain forever withered on the sol
! once so congenial; nothing was to b
left but the hard struggle with adver
sity till the bitter end.
= II think we are convinced now tina
! the South is fully on its feet again. Ii
E material prosperity we have now no
D Ionly reached, but surpassed the achieve
D ments of our fathers; yet. when ! lool
/ about me for the men, who are to ente
= into the garden which you, my braV
comrades. have made bloom under sue
hard conditions. l cannot but be sen
sible to the Incompatible loss whic
| the South sustained. The tongue
| | which would have commanded the ap
D plause of Senates were never heard AT
e ter the cry of battle was over; tn