The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-11-09
THE ADDRESS OF DR.. PAUL BARRINGER

III. Do1 i6C president of
the Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
made the response to Governor Kitch-
ms welcome address. He was happilv
introduced by President Cameron as
2 distinguished son of North Carolina
= leader in the educational life of the
South, who had distinguished himself
IN Virginia and that NORTH Carolina
was proud of him. In his admirable
reply Dr.. Barringer, after acknowledg.
ing the pleasant introduction. said.
Mr.. President, His Excellencv-the
Governor Of North Carolina. Ladies'
and Gentlemen:
I'm rising on behalf of the Farmers
National Congress to thank the Gov
ernor of North Carolina and others.
for their hearty welcome to his old
commonwealth, I am glad in their be-
half to felicitate the State of North
Carolina upon the manifold evidence
of material prosperity which we see
about us. From h I entered
this State at her northern border till
/ reached this city, I was at no time
out of sight Of some new evidence of
industrial activity.
This, Mr.. President, was not al
ways so. Born in the State; living
here to full manhood; knowing her
from CHSTOhec 10 CuIT1tuCk, ana fuII
of faith in her possibilities, I am not
only gratified but ~astonished at the di-
versity and fullness Of her
since I left her twenty years ago. AS
one of an older generation Who has
seen her develope; as one living far
enough away for a good perspective,
and above all as one devoutly inter-
tunity, while congratulating her upon
her success, to point out the forces
and the traits which have made her,
and to plead for their conservation.
without deposits Of coal or iron,
the prime assets OF our present civil
ization, the lowest amongst the real
cotton State in the total production of
that staple, without the opportunity
for maritime which her
neighbors possess; in fact, without any
of the things thought essential to the
making of great commemorative, she
stands today by no means the least
among her sister, because she has
made good these losses by supreme eff
forts.
II felicitate and congratulate
her upon the fact tina her SEEM
ing misfortune in natural equip
ment has really made for her
success. In North Carolina there was
never any great difference in oppor-
tunity; there were no better lands,
ana luoIc We1e 1o OCllCI pSoPIS ~
one part Of the State than in another;
there were no coal barons; no cattle
kings: no preferred class and no arts
tocracy that could continue its priv
leges, except the aristocracy Of merit.
On the other hand, having no cities,
there was none of the vice, degrade
ton and poverty peculiar to popula-
ton in mass, and in the country, ow-
ing to the wonderful uniformity of
conditions there was no submerged
class: there were no "sand-hillers' in
North Carolina; no no
"Hill Billies,' or at least in numbers
sufficient to constitute q class.
But. Mr.. President, it was this
paucity of natures bounty and the
necessary struggle of life that made
her people what they are today. They
became a people of serious purpose;
of simple domestic life, and absolute
freedom in all relations; they devel-
oDed an almost perfect spirit Of de-
mOcracy and this has made North
Carolina. The child; the boy, the fun
damental asset Of North Cardinals
civilization, naturally grew up belleV-
ing that there was nothing anywhere
on earth any better thar he, and
that the highest attainments of sue
cess could be reached right where he
lived. and out of just what he found
around him. AS a result Of this sim
pie philosophy, the young men OF
North Carolina have developed a rare
capacity, a full confidence and a pc
culiar adaptability to conditions. Ihey
meet tne world on the eye-level.
"In North Carolina there was good
water everywhere; good lane ana
good timber, and with rare excep-
tons the prosperity of this State has
been built upon these as
sets of American civilization-tne
measure of her success has lain solely
in the capacity Of her people. Ana
what she has done, she has alone
there was none to help. While new
Western States were rapidly nileu
from an oversee overflow, she a TO