The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-18
COLUMBIA HONORS THE MEMORY
 OF EDITOR NARCISSO G. GONZALES

which was best and strongest in the life of a great editor. It was a re- markable address--mayhap. the sub ject gave the inspiration. Seldom be- fore has there ever been such an ora tiop and so forceful. so incisivc. go real was what he had to say that many were the tear-dimmed eyes. This is one of the orations that will live in after years. but with such a mind and such a man, with such record why should he not have thrilled hearts: .. Dr. Smiths oration is given In fnil and follows: A land without memories is a land without heroes. The best of all me- morials is a monument worthiiy oe' slowed. Wherever you find land rich in memorial shafts. testifyinE a peo- ple's appreciation and commemoratins the character and registering the deeds of those whom the people de' light to honor, there you will find, too, a land likely to be rich also in the emulation of the character and the deeds thus commemorated.
 As long as the noble men arc the , most priceless possession Of any peo- pie, the basis of it's prosperity, the pio- neers of its progress, the bulwark or it's defence---as long as lofty citizen ship is the choicest asset of any na- tion, so long must monuments ever prove good investment; no capital can yield a larger and surer return. The erection of a worthily bestowed monument Is, therefore. cause for just congratulation. If men celebrate the organization of great factory. the building of a railroad, the opening of | boat line, should not the unveiling of a monument dedicated to the in- spiration of noble living and high en- deavor, be signalised? It Is meet that I Ao 1A "A zinr honor, remembering the while that m
 thus honoring the occasion they are honoring also themselves.
 1 The greatest of all proverbial phil osophers has said:
 | "As the refining pot for silver and
 the furnace for gold: so is a man to
 his praise"
 spoken of man the individual. it is | equally true of man in the mass. A people may be judged by the men that | 1t honors; though an indirect test. II
 is a just and valid one. and by Il every people ought to be wiling to Dc
 weighed. It is proper then that on
 nal honor we bestow, and vindicate l our choice of this man whom we select
 and hand down to posterity as worthy | of everlasting remembrance. This
 fudge to be my office to-day, chosen. as I am honored to be, the spokes- man of those who rear this monument With rare exception such memorials are erected in honor of those who have gained the eminence in war or In politics; these are the two great paths leading to renown in this country; the successful soldier and the successful | statesman, (the latter frequently de-
 velopment of the former) are those 1 oftenest commemorated by statue or monument, and this usually after a long season of continued eminence; many years spent in the lime-ltght of | public leadership is the condition ot such perpetuity of remembrance Tn
 stone or in bronze
 | It is worthy of note that in this in-
 stance we commemorate private citl-
 zen, one who never held public of- | flee, and so far as we know never
 sought elevation at the hands of his people. He lived and he died in pri- | vate station; whatever Of leadership he exercised came by divine right, by
 virtue of intrinsic personal character
 alone, and was not in any sense or to 1 any degree due to the accident or in cident of official position: no glamor
 of station. no power of place, no in- l fluence of office supplemented the nat
 uraI inherent force of the man.
 In this connection it is equally worthy of note. and is of even greater
 significance. that the man whose name | we desire to perpetuate pdsSeu away on the hither side of his maturity. died | just in the near edge of d splendid
 prime, about thirty years short of the | time usually required to earn such an honor as we do to him today.
 When these two circumstances are
 accorded, each its full value, they
 mark the instance as very unusual and
 invests it with a character which we | cannot but consider extraordinary. Once more in this same connection let 1 if he remembered also that this man | owed nothing to the affable arts of
 the would-be popular man. whose | agreeable facility and familiarity of
 intercourse woos ana wins Wloe TOT | lowing by a tactful considerateness Tor the foibles of frail humanity and Ju-
 dicious compromise in all difficult or
 delicate situations! He was not one | of those wise. practical men who never
 lose a friend nor make an enemy There were things he valued more highly than friendliness, there were things he disliked more than enmities
 He was no pIiant favorite of the popu- lace and so he does not owe this mon- | ument to-day to personal popularity
 as "A man whom everybody liked.
 There were some who disliked N. C. Gonzales; we mention the fact with
 utmost frankness' but we hasten m m the same breath to add that this is one reason why we unveil this memor-
 ial to him to-day.
 Pluck.
 Any thoughtful student of the ca reer of MT Gonzales must be impress ed at the very beginning with char acteristic which we shall call by that
 short, good homely old Anglo-Saxon word Pluck" It Is a comprehensive term. many attributes lie wrapped within it's narrow folds By deriva- ton it suggests the Good Books pict- uresaue description of the wise man
 .whose heart Is at his right hand;' one who does his work "con amore;' from which root idea the word natur- ally grew to express energy, decision persistence, unremitting. dogged de-
 termination, patience and strength
 the spirit that recognizes difficulties
 but declines to yield to them; that ap'
 preciates dangers, but quails not be-
 fore them; that meets disappointment
 with equable temper. that faces mis
 fortune with calm confidence an'
 keeps steadily to its purpose animated
 by the assurance that ultimate vic
 tory is sure and strengthened by thu conviction that it will be worth all tha
 it costs or at the worst sustained ant comforted with the persuasion that fl great, just cause even defeat Is | ] crown of glory.
 Such pluck is a quality that deservel , and wins universal admiration. and N c. Gonzales had it in abundance. Hii l childhood xyaa haptI1ad vuifh thil