The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-05-29
Champ Clark Appeals for
Literary Fairness to South.

dress today. and one these occasions,
spontaneously
He was before a great Southern uni
versity to deliver a message of vital
Importance to the South, and only ear
nestness could deliver that message
as he wanted 1t delivered.
He began by speaking of the work
to which ex-Presidents could devote
themselves. and he asserted that no
ex-President had ever SO filled with
usefulness ms did Thomas Jefferson in
the founding and establishing of the
University of Virginia. Jefferson" he
said. was the greatest statesman the
world ever produced" He alluded to
the dream which was entertained by
the brilliant Garfield when he was shot
down in his prime. the dream that when
his term was ended he would found
great Western University in Ohio. In
the presence of the cultured audience
which he addressed, and among the
classic shades which surrounded him,
Mr.. Clark declared he could devote his
time to no better purpose than to
arousing the people of the South to an
appreciation OF the way in which they
were Disseminated against by the
writers of the histories. the biographies
and the very encyclopedias of the coun-
try "As my brother lawyers would
say, am not only here to make my
complaint but to file my bill of par
ticulars as WE'LL said Mr.. Clark. IF
one of the old Latin writers should
wander among the monuments and in
scriptions erected by the State of
Massachusetts, he would inevitably but
enormously conclude that Massachu
sets had started the war of the revo-
luton, fought 1t to a finish and run
the country ever since. If he were to
read the Massachusetts, books, of which
there are quite a few, this great i'm
preston would be confirmed.
He alluded to North Cardinals rich
portion of the early history of the
United States, the first white child
born in America. the Mecklenburg
declaration of Independence. the bat
tie of Kings Mountain, of Cowpens OF
Guilford court house.
In your school histories you see
but a bare mention of these things yet
If 1t had been for Kings Mountain and
Guilford court house there would have
been no Yorktown and no surrender
by CORVALLIS" said Mr. Clark. Now
If Massachusetts had had all that rich
history the world would not hold
the books she would have written about
it," The speaker compared the SPLEEN
did achievement of General Donald
sons Missourians in their wonderful
fighting march through Mexico to join
Scott. an achievement second to none
in military history and yet not school
child knew of 1t, but the fight that
xenopben and his legions had made
was known to every college boy be-
cause Xenopben had written a history
of 1t. Mr.. Clark took up a standard
encyclopedia and cited entry after en-
try to show the discrimination against
the public men of the South.
The name of Lewis was taken as an
fne nf M ma in
England had every opportunity to be a
lawyer or doctor or a preacher to get
from a column to two columns of bio
graphy. OF the Southern men of that
name there was only one Lewis the
explorer and his biography was very
short He was astonished to find that
not word was written of that great
Alabamaian, DIXON II. Lewis whose
career, Mr.. Clark sketched-
He related an instance of the great
ness of Dixon H. Lewis which occurred
when a ship was wrecked on which the
Albanian was going to Washington.
The passengers were in imminent dang
er and had to be carried off In small
boat. Lewis insisteu on being the last
man to leave the vessel for he feared
his great weight would sink the small
boat. History never recalled a more
heroic deed than that said Mr.. Clark.
He compared the way in which the
encyclopedia treated Rufus King of
New York, and William r. King OF
Alabama. The former received two and
three quarter columns while William
r. King a greater man and vice presi-
dent of the United States was dismiss
ed with three quarters of a column
Only two men in the history of the
United States had ever refused nomi-
nation for vice president. Silas Wright
of New York and BENJAMIN Fitzpat-
rick of Alabama. In that encyclopedia
Wright was given two columns while
the name of Fitzpatrick, the greater
man, was not mentioned. Incident at
ter incident and comparison after COM
parison Mr.. Clark produced In his elo-
ouent and scholarly address. He de-
clared that if he had the wealth of
Carnegie and Rockefeller he would
found a publishing house to publish a
dictionary and he would employ hun
dred bright young men and young
women, such as he saw before him to
write articles for an encyclopedia and
biographies which would do justice to
the South.
III conclusion he pleaded for the has
tening of that time when the South
would have It's histories written
truthfuIly and by friendly authors. He
congratulated Alabama on her arous-
ed spirit of education and he trusted
that the new era would result In perpe-
tuating the truth of Southern his
tory.