The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-27

best of everything, and in the next
 to life everlasting. Hs
 At our last Reunion the committed on necrology reported. that in one | short twelve months, with a member.
 ship of less than two hundred, four I teen of our comrades had passed tc the great beyond. more than one a
 month had been called from labor be- low to rest above. Deal with the old soldier gently, supply his needs. bring | few flowers while he lives; he Is
 passing away. fast passing away. He will be with you but few years
 longer. Oh! Make his last days his
 happiest days.
 If I had time in this connection l would dwell upon the work done by that great and good Confederate sol dfer, Capt. J. M. Falkner, who conceiv- ed the idea, and has given so much of his time and means to secure, for the
 needy Confederate soldier home to spend In comfort his last days; a home in which In sickness he can prop
 erly be administered to; a home from l which he will have. at least a decent
 burial But must pass on, history
 will do him Justice and record his deeds
 of love and benevolence.
 Tribute to General Gordon. Since last memorial day two Lieu tenant Generals of the Confederate Army, have also passed away; Gen.
 eral Gordon and General Longstreet.
 Of Gen. John B. Gordon shall speak at some length. The South mourns Cor don as 1t mourns no other man. He
 laid down his sword in the service of
 the Confederacy. so he laid down his
 life in the service of his comrades-in- arms% As his young manhood was | c hn <.ff E.n .F-I
 eracy, his latter days were spent labor
 ing for reunited people and a re-
 united country.
 General Gordon was in every sense
 of the word a typical Southern man, proud spirited brave, patriotic, cultur- ed, noble and yet tenacious of those things which peculiarly mark the Southern gentleman. He was muster ed in service in this beautiful Capi- tai City of Alabama as Captain of the Raccoon Rangers. By devotion to duty he steadily mounted the rounds of the military ladder; soon he was promoted for bravery to Major. then to Lieuten- ant Colonel, then to Colonel of the Sixth Alabama. then to Brigadier Gen eral then to Major General, then to lieutenant General, and at the end of the Confederacy the councillor and adviser of General Robert E. Lee.
 It has been said of him. That he never made 8. mistake in his whole military careers There was never an occasion that he was not on time. there was never place where he faltered, or battle in which he hesitated. or opportunity to serve his country which he did not meet to the fullest. His en- tire service was narrowed down to Northern Virginia--was begun and ended under the greatest military lead CT of the greatest war of any age. He was fortunate enough to see the begin ming, he was fortunate enough to see the end; and 10 be witness and ad- wiser in the pathetic scenes at Ap- pomattox."
 As Commanders Chief of the Unit ed Confederate Veterans. I knew him best. I have attended nearly every annual reunion at which he presided. Many times he asked the convention to relieve him of the onerous duties of commander-in-chief, but the boys on the convention. floor would howl him down with rebel yells, and nothing but his acceptance to continue to serve them would quell the tumult. I have often seen the great Auditoriums in which the convention of the Confede- rate Reunions were held, one strug- giing mass of humanity-when parti- Sdh WOulu 0lku UT BOul6 res olutton was read tending to widen the breach between the two sections: and hundreds on their feet clamoring for recognition, Gordon would rise, and with one majestic sweep of the hand the great audience was hushed and men stood mute before him.
 Two Great Objects in View.
 There were two great objects that he constantly kept in view ,and as constantly, he tried to impress upon the people of the South, and especially the Confederate Veterans: One was the importance of the organization and growth of the Sons of Veterans and the Daughters of the Confederacy, and the other was to see all sections of our common country reunited. To this end he bent all the energies of his last years.
 At every annual reunion he would urge and press these matters in speech before the convention. He showed the greatest consideration for these organizations: he pleaded with his comrades to give to the Sons of Veterans and to the Daughters of the Copfederacy all the encouragement possible in their power He with burn ing eloquence, would tell them that we were fast passing away, and that the greatest heritage we could bequeath to our sons and daughters was a privilege and duty to keep alive by these or ganizations, after we were dead and gone the memories of the past; the devotion to duty; the patriotism, and magnificent heroism of the. Confederate soldier.
 As platform orator Gordon was one of the greatest His famous lecture, ''The Last Days of the Confederacy," which he delivered in nearly every State of this great Union. has done more, North and South, to obliterate partisan feeling between the two great sections of our common coun- try, than even the touching of the el- bows of the Northern and Southern sol diers in the Spanish-American war. In every part of this great Union. the clarion voice of Gordon rung out in clear tones. the gospel of Peace and National Unity.
 These are Gordon's own words: The bloodiest war of the ages. with its embittered alienationss all in the past; it's lessons and immortal memories a | guide and inspiration for the future; from this era of passion, of l strife, of carnage, with a National | life more robust. a National peace more l serene, and a National union more com plete and enduring. we call the fet- | tered millions of Earth to follow our lead and strike for Republican Iiber-