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

genius that might have directed the
counsels of nations, breathed its last
upon some forgotten skirmish line. The
very flower and pride of our people
persisted In the battle front, and the
blood of our race lost much of its most
magnificent strain when they went to
their graves.
81 hold no view of Southern degen-
eracy, but l deplore the irreparable loss
to my country and the coming genera
tions, when those splendid men, the
braYest and best the world has ever
held, went down in death. Some one
has said that every generation must
have It's war II so, in Gods name let
II not be real war. The burning
houses, the wasted fields, the ravaged
cities--I could see them all go until
the wilderness was back again, and
contain my grief; but can never bear
TO think of the strength and beauty,
the manly courage. the stubborn nerve
the pure chiyalry. the peerless DEVOTION
the unstinted faith and loyalty. which
went into the battles deadly front and
never returned. Tt Is the loss of men
like these that made the South poor
indeed, loss that can never be re-
stored, not in forty years. No! not in
forty centuries.
Revelation to the World.
But. my comrades. it is great COM
| fort to know that the South had such
men to lose. 1t was revelation to the
world. 1t was a revelation to our
selves. What a magnificent race OF
| ity; what courage; what grandeur
of spirit; what patriotism; what tselt-
sacrifice. 1t was sublime: 1t Is Won
derful beyond compare. Not all were
conquered. Some of these men came
back. ! see them before me now. God
has bountifully prolonged their days,
that they may Illustrate to the next
generation the civic virtues, that they
| may tell the wondrous story of those
| days. that they may stir up in the
| hearts of youth the emulation of vir-
| tue. the passion for noble achievements.
| the spirit of sacrifice.
| "As the close of our days draw near,
| and the work of upbuilding our coun-
try passes on into younger and strong
| err hands. let US make II our mission
| comrades to tell the story. Do not let
| your children and grandchildren for
| get the cause for which we SUFFERED.
| Tell 10 not in anger; tell 1t not in grief;
| as fits a soldier. There is no shame
in all the history. Dwell on the gal
| liant deeds, the pure motives, the unset
| fish sacrifice. Tell of the hardships en-
| dured the battles fought, the men VINO
bravely lived, the men who nobly died.
/ Your dean comrades shall live again
| in your woods.
all will awake the hearts of those who
| listen, and they viii never forget Tell
them of Albert Sidney Johnston, Of
his waving plume, of Forrest with his
| scorn of death. Tell them of Wade
Hampton and Gordon, the Chevalier
Bayards of the South. Tell them of
| ZollicOffer. of Pat Cleburne and Frank
Cheatham, of Pelham, Of Ashby. Tell
the of the great soldier with the spot
less sword, and the spotless soul. Wso
sleeps at Lexington, in the Valley OF
| Virginia Tell them of the great Presi-
dent who bore upon his sad heart the
SORROWS of all his people, and upon
WHOM fell all the blows which S2assed
them over.
The Last Commission.
This, M comrades, is your last COM
mission. Do this for the dead, that
they may be loved and honored still
Do this for the living. that they may
Do this for your country, that wher
the time is ripe. she may again be rich
in heroes and in noble deeds.
Shall not the self same soil .brins
forth the self same menu
when the great account is taken
which page, think you, my country.
men. win the South most willingly
spare? viii it be the old page tori
and ragged stained with blood anC
tears, which tells the story of seces
sion and defeat-or will it be the new
page of her latest census, with its mag
nificent figures of wealth and pros
perity? Whatever she chooses, Civ
us old soldiers the old page to reaC
and read again. This blood and thos,
tears mean more to US than to all tn,
, world. The cause In which they wer,
shed will never be lost to us, and tn
love we gave II will not die till tn,
last gray jacket is folded, and the las
gray head is buried beneath the sod.
My comrades, neither do l believ
our descendants will ever hesitate L
make the same choice. The people o
the South would not exchange the stor!
of the Confederacy for the wealth o
the world. At their mothers knee
the coming generations shall lear,
: from that tragic history what deed
make men great and nations glorious
A people who do not cherish their pas
= will never have a future worth record
, Ing. The time is even now, that tin
: whole people of the United States ar
proud of the unsurpassed heroism, self
| sacrifices and faithfulness of the sol
diers and people of the Confederacy.
. Hon. II. NJ. Owen Speaks.
Hon. Thomas NJ. Owen of Montgom
: cry. Ala. commander OF the Alabam
: Division Sons of Veterans. spoke Il
: response to welcomings for the Sons
C Continued on Page Ten.)