Goldsboro semi-weekly argus., 1909-05-08

coming ages, when generation afte
generation shall come and go, "dowl
into the tongueless silence of tn
dreamless dust" there will aris
high above the horizon of the world
history, clear cut and distinct, tht
majestic figure of Jefferson Davis tt
take his place in the gallery of the
= great.
"Deo Vindice!
And now in behalf of this noble
band of patriotic Southern women, the
Thomas Ruffin Chapter United Daugh-
tiers of the Confederacy, I present to
you, Sir, for the Goldsboro Public
Schools, a portrait of the peerless
Lee and the Incompatible jefferson
Davis
On behalf of the school Superinten-
dent Woltz received the pictures,
speaking as follows:
ct is gratifying to me to accept on
behalf of the Goldsboro Public
Schools these splendid portraits of our
beloved heroes, Jefferson Davis and
Robert E. Lee. One of these proved
himself a hero, when at the head of
charging squadron he led Southern
valor on and on to fruitless victory.
The other, though not as soldier
bravely fighting on the field of battle
do we think of him and love him best,
proved himself nevertheless a hero
whose name will live and be loved as
long as that of the Confederate States
lives, which will be forever; and his
tory will do him justice as having been
a most worthy representative of the
cause for which he stood, whether as
a man, statesman or a soldier.
4 think it is particularly fitting
that the Daughters of the Confedera-
cy should present these portraits to
their public schools. For it was they
who bore the real burden of the Civil |
War, and, since the war closed, it has
been they who have kept alive the |
deeds of glory and valor of the Con-
federate soldier, and have done him
honor from year to year by the devo-
tional services of a grateful people,
When I look around me and see
the tattered remnant of that old army t
of Northern Virginia, grizzled and
gray, some with empty sleeves, some
stumping their way along on wooden
pegs, / can but remember that these
old soldiers were schoolboys once,
who turned their faces away from
home and loved ones with their COM
forts and pleasures, and freely poured
|
field in defense of cause that they
thought just. l remember that it was
this old army that bore for four long
years the revolt upon their bayonets,
constant front to the
mighty concentration of power
blows did not fail to give the like, and
which vital in all it's parts died only
with complete annihilation Then [
say let these portraits hang on your
public school walls, where the sons
and grandsons of those old soldiers
may see and know what manner of
men were these at whose command
their fathers charged the very cannon
mouth and to whom was given the
most loyal devotion this world has
ever seen. Let no vandal's hand mar
their beauty, but let them be perpet-
ual reminders of not only Lee and
Davis, but of Jackson and Johnston,
OF Longstreet and A. P. Hill, of Beau
regard and Hampton, of Hood and
EARLY, and a thousand others whose
names history has inscribed upon her
roll of honor.
My friends, to have lived long,
neutral, purposeless years is nothing,
but to have lived few brief hours in
defense of righteous cause, to have
calmly met the Infinite in defense of
ones home and fireside, to my mind
is sublimei
But why should we mourn for these
our heroes. They calmly sleep in the
very bosom of the land they loved
and their names are enshrined in the
hearts of a grateful people Where
once the very earth shook with the
tramp of contending hosts, they rest,
and their names are recorded in the
grandest history of the ages
Then was all our blood shed in
vain? Was all the agony endured for
the lost cause but as water spilled
upon the burning sand? MOI thous-
and times, No! Those old soldiers set
the world record for devotion to a |
cause. They gave to their children
proud memories and to history new /
names, to be a theme and inspiration
for unborn generations. The heroes
Of future wars will emulate our Lees
and Jackson. We have taught the
armies of the world the casualties to
be endured in battle; and the quail /
ties of heart and soul developed in |
both our women and men, in the
stress and strain of our poverty, and |
in the furnace of our aff1iction, have
made worthier race and have al /
ready borne rich reward in the build
ing up of our country.
Then we commend to our school
boys, as examples of manly courage
and loyalty to convictions the record |
of