Goldsboro semi-weekly argus., 1909-11-13
TAFT IN WILMINGTON
The President Given a Nerth
Carolina Welcome in
This Historic City
The President in His Speech Gives
Expression to Fine Feeling of
Patriotic Pride in South
arn MamOrins
ern Memories.


ern Memories.
President Taft was presented to the
people of North Carolina-thousands
upon thousands of fthem-assembled to
greet him in Wilmington Tuesday
| ornate a speech, of as fine spirit and
prideful patriotic thought and chaste
| language as we have ever heard fall
from the lips of man.
The President, when he confronted
the vast sea of upturned faces, no.
ticeably interspersed throughout it's
vast expanse with black faces, with
out the slightest commotion, thereby
| giving occular evidence to the nation s
chief executive. that down South here
the Democratic South-the race
problem is no perp1exing issue, he was
greeted with prolonged cheers that
came from the heart.
Greeting them with that smile that
abides, Mr.. Taft said:
s1 have visited North Carolina be-
fore and in doing so I have found
that you were little earlier in do
ing verything that had to be done
in the crises of the nation than any
body else. I have found that you
made declaration of independence
at Mecklenburg about a year before
we thought of it in other parts of the
country. And I understand that You
suppressed the stamp tax and emptied
out the tea very considerable time
before they had that tea party in Bos-
ton harbor. 1t is, therefore, matter
of extreme self-congratulation on my
| part to have from your distinguished
men and from the people of state
like this such cordial welcome.
'I observe that you count good
deal on the long-leaf pine, and con-
gratulate you that you are the third
or fourth state in the treasure of tim
Der in the United States. But I urge
upon you the lesson that the history
of the timber treasure of other states
and it's destruction ought to teach you
in the preservation of that which
makes your state rich today among
the states. We have reached a time
in the history of this country when if
we would have timber at all we must
pursue the common sense course of
treating it in such way that it will
reproduce itself; and of cutting it in
such way that we shall not destroy
it altogether. We must preserve it
from destructive fires, and we must
take steps of caution and precaution
in order to do that. You have within
the boundary of your State a gentle
man named Vanderbilt, who has gone
before any one in the science of for
estry, and I congratulate you on hav-
ing that example, that thereby yon
may formulate laws which shall pre-
serve to you the timber of your State
continue your wealth and prosperity
and form a model to other states in
the preservation of that which God has
given you and preserved to this mo-
ment.
"I congratulate the people of North
Carolina that next to the State of Mis-
sissippi it has a population more de-
voted to the soil and it's cultivation
than any other state in the-Union
not think that defect at all in your
civilization. The fact is that the ten
dency toward concentration of pop1-
1ation in the cities is a tendency thai
ought to be restrained. Country life
ought to be made comfortable and at
tractive. The pursuit of agriculture
the profession of farming today may
well attract the mental and manua
activity of men of the highest educa
tion of the highest culture and of the
highest ambitions.
81 had the pleasure today of seeing
and hearing the beautiful songs O.
the children, white and colored, il
in the journey which I have taken o
$4,000 miles that has been an especia
feature of every greeting which
have had. In Chicago we had eigh
teen miles of children, 10000, fro1:
whose swelling voices one took th'
national hymn in a way that inspired
one as nothing else could, and from
that time it has been given to me al
the temporary head of the nation x
see this growing generation stepped
may say, in patriotism, anxious t
render their respect to him who TO
. the time being they regard as repre-
senting the sovereignty of the nation
and foreshadowing what we shall b
the next generation.
"I had the pleasure also of beini
received by the Confederate Veteran
of Wilmington, and I thank them TO
their kindly welcome-silver-hai
some Of them little tottering. but al
of them full Of goodwill, full Of 10y
atty, cherishing the traditions of
noble past, but glad to welcome tn
representative of united country