The news & observer., 1905-10-19

foot a movement looking to a Wal
ter Raleigh monument 1t establish
ed the Hall OF History in this city.
created North Carolina Day in the
public schools, and has caused public
Libraries to be placed in many OF
these schools. 1t established the claim
of North Carolina that she was first
at Bethel furtheSt to the front at
Gettysburg and last at App0mattox
It's sons have done some research
work. It's labors have inspired pa
triotic woman TO offer a golden cup
studded with precious stones digged
from the bowels Of our mountains to
him who shall be adjudged the fore
most writer in our educational awak>
ening: and tonight we take steps to
fill our too long vacant niche in sta
tuary Hall at Washington with a
statue of Vance. And yet we might
do more and We must do more. This
society needs the encouragement and
support of the great Piedmont and
mountain country stretching west
from Greensboro. Let it be under
stood that ours is a serious purpose,
that we love our State, that We would
serve her intelligently and that her
fame must be commensurate with her
deeds. Then her sons will remain at
home. her influence will be felt in
the national counsels. her universities
and colleges will hold the strong men
Of their faculties. and ours will be the
Empire State of the South. Let us
not finch at a just criticism. And CEN
sure, if eserved-though harsh-let
us welcome, it has a refining effect
even as fire has upon gold. A pride
that cannot endure criticism is not
the right kind of pride. In June. 1885,
Charles Frances Adams at Harvard
closed a spirited attack on that Uni
Versity by charging that it was fail
ure and was sacrificing it's sons to the
blind following of a fetch. and with
bold and fine irony he exclaimed that
the sacrifice of himself would not be
in vain. if what he had just said may
contribute to so shaping the policy of
Harvard that it will not much longer
use its prodigious influence toward in
directly closing for its students, as it
closed for me- the avenues to mod
ern life and the fountains Of living
thought Would you or | have said
that in North Carolina, and would we
have added as Charles Frances
Adams did:
"The slaves Of custom and establish
ed mode
With pack-horse consistency we keep
the road.
Crooked or straight thro' quags or
True to the jingling of our leaders
BELLS
Sidney Smith might have had in
mind some North Carolina critic when
he said that he would not speak dis
respectfully of the equator.
Let us Study. Not Initiate, Other
Systems.
No one who cares TO follow me viii
misunderstood me, | trust. 1t is
proper State pride and more of it that
| espouse. Not the bold. false pride
of the Mexican or OF the Spaniard.
Nor the showy boasting of the French
or the ignorant swagger of the Rus
sian. nor indeed quite so much of that
pride of b.rtn which tcnG5 70 mar the
glory of our mother country and of
our cousins of Germany. But the best
of them all, we should strive to at
tain just as we in North Carolina were
made up of the best of them all. BY
no means shall we become race of
imitatOrs nor shall we endeavor TO
transplant q foreign civilization A
peoples character is of slow growth.
but may we not grow into larger and
better things without losing the warp