The news & observer., 1905-12-31
EUIOGY OF MARTYR EDITOR.

Elsewhere in today's paper we pub
lish the oration delivered by Rev.
Samuel s. Smith, of Columbia, S. c.,
at the recent unveiling of the monu-
ment erected to the memory of the
late N. G.. Gonzales, editor of the CO.
lumbia State, who lost his life fight
ing for good government in his State.
AS a literary production, the Grafton
is we'll worth the reading. AS the
faithful story of an editor who did
his duty it should be read by every
man who is strengthened and helped
by courageous and successful fight
for clean government and the elimi-
nation of unworthy men from posi-
tions of public trust. There would
be no unfit and unworthy grafters to
make government mockery il every
editor had the same conception of
public duty that controlled n. G..
Gonzales. 1t is true he lost his life
by exposure Of an unworthy man and
his murder was not avenged. But the
question of length of days is a small
one when weighed in the balance
with public duty, and n. G. Gonzales,
though dead, still speaks for clean
government more than nine-tenths of
the timid editors who are afraid to
speak out when only the publication
of the simple truth would save the
public from an official who would
not fill the position with unselfish
fdelitxy tO the public veal
Two monuments have been erected
in the closing year-One in North
Carolina and one in South Carolina
that teach the lesson in the newer
ideals of the people of the Carolinas.
Early in the year the people OF
Laurinburg, Scotland county, reared
a monument to the memory of Prof.
w. G. Quakenbush, who died in the
prime of life. He was school
teacher in a village of two thousand
people He never carried a musket.
he never held public office; he never
did anything that was spectacular in
his useful life He was not widely
known outside the community in
which he lived and his work as
teacher threw him in contact mainly
with children. And yet he so i'm
pressed himself upon the life of that
community and SO wrote his name
upon the hearts of old and young
alike that Mr.. Quakenbush won i'm
mortality, and handsome monument
was erected to commemorate his vir-
tues
Mr.. Gonzales had wider field of
usefulness and taught in a larger
school-room, but it was career or
his own making. He never sought
public office, he owed nothing to the
accidents of war or of politics, or to
any special thing that makes a man
popular idol. He was simply an edi-
tor i'm small Southern capital, who
made great newspaper solely
through his ability and pluck, and in
the face of financial and other OBJ
stacles that would have taken the
spirit out of any man, except man
who had been called to do a work
that was SO important that he lived
in his work and was only stimulated
to greater diligence by obstacles. The
people of South Carolina reared a
monument to that editor because he
fought their battle and because he
was the foe to public men who do not
have the high conception of public
office as a sacred public trust
We have long been accustomed to
see monuments erected to the SOL
dier and the orator-two classes of
men who have long been the popular
idols and who earn their reputation
under the calcium light of publicity.
But it is new conception of the man
to be thus honored to go to school
room or to the sanctum to find him,
and to select for the men worthy of
the immortal honor two young men,
who had been permitted to live and
labor only about forty years.