The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-03-17
GEORGE DAVIS.
Peerless orator Of die Cape Fear.
Cicero w. Harx1ss IN News q Obj
se<ver.l


a state a long linz of capable leaders.
some of whom are not to be ranked
with statesmen. In the Revolutionary
period CasweIl and Willie Jones were
conspicuous as popular ~farorites. per
haps the former is to be classed In &
large sense among our most eminent
statesmen. In the same epoch there
were Harvey. the Speaker in the PRO-
] vincial Congress, Hooper and Iredell.
| Harnett, Waddell. Ashe, Caldwell, Polk.
Brevard and several others. Later there
We're Macon, Yancey, CASTOR, Murphy,
Branch, Mangum. Reed, Badger. era
| ham, Morehead, Bragg, Biggs, Cling
man, and others of the ante-war period
| and Davis, Ellis, Clark Vance and
others of the Civil war time. Since the
| great struggle and reverse OF the sorsl,
we have no shortening of leadership.
Conspicuous in stIte n United States
| have been Worth, Varee. Ransom, Jar
Wis, Merri1non, Waddell, Turner ito
siah), n at present Simmons, AycoeK.
| Glenn, Overman arj Others.
Taking the popular leaders by I'll an
selves it seems that Willie Jones, Reed
n Vance have o-en, perhaps, most
influential in their generation. Jones
| organized the masses in the Revolr-
tionary epoch II the first Democratic
| party just afterWarI. Governor Reel /.
leadership secured free suffrage. Gov
emo" Vance was he soldiers idol, The
bulwark OF his D%1ple in all times of
| storm and stress. He redeemed the
state from he spciisman and he lost
a Icrtion of eyes.gLt III his tremendous
lab. rs for tax reform which he sacslr-
I'd in the United States Senate.
emitting the leaiers proper and he
POI ular favorites n the usual accep.a-
t. n of those word. there are % La
ndcled probably 1t the head of the list
o-eer of their appearance, Cornelius
IIarnett, Nathaniel Macon, William
CASTOR, Willie P. Mdngum, George z.
Badger, William A. Graham, Thomas
Bragg, George Davis, Zebulon Baird
Vance and Matthew Whitaker Pan
SOM This appraisement will not strike
all alike; it will not strike all we'll
read men alike. On the contrary, many
persons would doubtless exclude one or
two of the names given. My STANDARD
is eminence of public service, combined
with great natural abilities and splen7
dor Ct accomplishments. In the case Of
one at least in this list the accomplish
ments did not figure, but they were
supplied by an impressive national ca
reer and services to the public so large
and shining rs to warrant the inclu-
sion Of the statesman or statesmen IN
any catalogue of American statesmen
Of high grade
In this article I consider n illus
trious man with an approach to care
and with a desire to do all justice With
whom I put him in comparison. That
MAJ is the peerless orator of the Cape
Fear, the lawyer and statesman. the
almost Incompatible citizen, beloved
and venerated by his friends and
neighDors and highly respected by all
with whom he carle in contact. L en-
.tirely agree with the estimate OF the
personal character, the varied ability
and the public service of the lace
George Davis as expressed in chasta,
unaffected language, but with dis
eliminating care by his kinsman and
former fellow '~cftizen, Samuel A. Asho..
Rightly to appreciate the great Will
m~inglonian n has to know him as|
he was at home and performed his
labors, public and private, among the
people whom he owed best on earth
and who knew best his own transcer. |
dent worth and glorious talents. Tor
eight years / had this pleasure. It was
said with truth several times that M.
Davis did his very greatest work there
IN the presence and hearing of his own
people. that his finest law arguments, |
most symmetrical oratiOns on histor- |
ical and literary subjects, were daliv-
cred N the old opera house to a Cape |
Fear audience. I think this must have |
been true, and Yet that elegant Chapel
Hill address was worthy of a great nr- |
It is not for this writer to try
to be ornat and critical on such il
subject, even if he could be on any
topic. MIR. Davis sc. commanded the
generation and the deep outward re- |
spect of his true riends that they ore
fer to speak Of him with unaffected !
simplicity. so simple and yet majestic |
his own life hat ornamentatfon il
describing his attributes would be out
Of place. There never was a better |
Illustration of the simple life ever lived
by j man of great intellect and deap |
emotions. He seemed always under |
control. Even the occasional bursts |
of imagination in his speeches were |
pruned of luxuriance. There was al
through his public addresses a rigid
classicism. which, however, was not
chilling, but had a polished surface |
of geniality. Never gushing, he never
repealed. You watched for the noble |
passages, but he INDUCED in unusual
feeling sparingly. Hence his power. |
It was the power of a truly great i'm |
aginative mind. Behind it all, you felt, |
was the genuine heart Of the orator. !
I recollect that the whole packed aud |
fence n night was moved to mighty |
enthusiasm when he a~postrophized the |
Cape of Fear in a short concluding |
paragraph Of what had been one of his
greatest orations. To me Mr.. Davis |
speeches were more moving on the
written page thar those of either Sem
ator Mangum or Henry w. Miller. He |
was more like the great orators of the
Athenian bema and English forum
than of our American orators, I hum |
bly, think Webster had more discur-
siveness, but Webster, as Benton said, |
often needed pruning. He was not Sc
much Demonhtenian (the highest) hut |
Ciceronian ian inferior type) in his ora |
tory. III Mr.. DAVIS there was ALWAYS |
a large body of thought. The speeches |
did not depend merely on occasion or ID i
any considerable extent on his few |
higher fights. He scared and he knew |
how TO come down gracefully. There |
was no fustian, no pathos, no mere al |