Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-10-08

an able effort, characterized by COM
plete knowledge Of the subject dis
cussed, and stirring eloquence that
held the undivided attention Of all the
thousands within range of the doctors
voice, and elected round after round
of applause. Following Is the address
in full:
KINGS MOUNTAIN.
Its Meaning and Message.
Patriotic women, worthy and Sra-
cious descendants Of those who neiped
to make this republic a reality, and
the. republic itself, grateful to the men
who, in this spot one hundred and
twenty-nine years ago, sealed with
their blood their faith in free institu-
tions-the Daughters OF the American
Revolution and the government OF the
United States-have today brought US
together to dedicate this shaft of en-
during granite to the memory OF those
who fought here, to faith in the
principles for which they fought, and
to an abiding love for the country
whose foundations they helped to lay.
In this celebration we are expressing
our human nature-a memory which
will not let us forget, in the clamorous
interests of the present hour, splen-
didly heroic past, q tribute or homage
to those who gladly gave life itself In
devotion to q large and noble cause,
a generous gratitude for this rich her
itage Of free institutions, and a patri-
otism that dedlcates itself atresn TO
the maintenance of these institutions,
In hn or ms
this hour resolves to hand tneL.
down, not only unimpaired, but en-
hanced to bless the after generations.
Memory for an heroic past, homage to
those who served nobly in 1t, graft
tude for blessings received from dead
hands, q new and stronger love for a
country and q cause besprinkled with
blood Of willing human sacriflce-
these are, / repeat, among the tinest
and best emotions Of our humanity.
The mood they bring to us makes TINS
a sacred occasion and touches our
thought with something of the high
passion Of religion. 1t transforms
Inis mill into a shrine Of patriotism
and consecrates US and all Americans
ministrants at its affairs. 1t Is in this
spirit that l shall endeavor to tell
anew the familiar story, interpret
afresh the motives that beat at the
heart OF the men who here acted their
parts so greatly, and bring home TO
our thought, with what clearness and
force may, the profound significance
of october Z, 1880, not only to this re-
public, but to the future Of humanity
itself.
A battle as a battle, in which men
shoot and cut and Slay one another In
fierce, slaughterous lust for blood, is
an i'll thing to consider. No haunting
Of bright banners, no blare or silver
trumpets, no rythmic tramp Of march
ing feet, no glittering of the trappings
of war, no dauntless daring, no light
hearted courage, no glad Willingness
to give up life and all that men hold
dear-none of these things avail to
redeem a battle OF the hideouS horror
of its sheer inhumanity and transform
its CORY field into a sacred spot, to
which men and women Of the after
time journey as to shrine. The bat
tie and it's field get their reoemptio..
from the truth, the principles, the
ideals that animate the combatants.
There is no virtue In mere fighting.
The virtue lies in that for which men
fight.
But these men Of Kings Mountain
were fighting for principles of home,
Of social, of religious, Of political life,
which lift their battlefield, this spot,
from the low level Of physical strug-
gle, with all its attendant horrors, in
to a high and holy place of sacriticial
service. The principles that moved
them and the ideals that cleaned be-
fore them, constitute the very ALPHABET
Of the primer of our social and politi
cal organization, nevertheless no COM
pany of Americans can have the face
to gather together on an occasion like
this without reminding themselves
afresh of those fundamental principles
which furnished the life-givinS spirit
to all their institutions. Moreover, 1t
is the beauty and significance Of these
principles grasped in the thought, i'm
bedded in the conscience, and aglow
in the heart Of the rilemen Of Kings
Mountain that made the grim, relent-
less slaughter Of that October day an
inevitable and glorious necessity.
1t should be remembered, first, that
they were not fighting for some new
principle of government. They were
probably simply conscious that they
were fighting to hold what they had
brought with them from the older
lands over sea. The civilization they
had planted along the Atlantic shore
line was new only in the conditions by
which it was surrounded. The organ
lied form Of government by which
this civilization was protected and fur
thered was no strange discovery flash
ing suddenly upon the American COL
onists as they struggled to make the
wilderness habitable. They were Eng
,ishmen in the main, with English con-
ceptions of home, of individual ana
public rights, with English ideas or
law and order and government. They
knew they were but planting an OLD
seed in new soil, and they felt IT
their hnnn1an 1ntV TO IL that
it should be so cultivated and tended,
as it grew, as not to lose any OF its
power of beneficent fruitage. The
working principles of their organized
and individual life were therefore very
old and very precious. They were
present, in rude beginnings, it is true,
far back on the shores of the German
ocean in oldest homes of the race, when
grim Saxon warriors chose their own
chief by free vote and signed their
assent to any measure by clashinS
swords on shields; they were present
when Saxon thames gathered under the
spreading branches of a great oak on
the hillside, the first English parlia-
ment, and as free and equal men
judged and decided what was best for
all the people; they throbbed in the
heart of those stern baronS who wrung
from a reluctant king. in the meadows
of Runnymede, the Great Charter of
our liberties; their principles actuated
the commercial and industrial classes
of the late middle ages when they re-
fused to be taxed without representa-
ton, and forced and brought tyran-
nical kings to their way of thinking:
ii was the might Of these principles
that won an open Bible in their own
every day speech for the common peo-
pie in the days Of Henry VIII, Eliza
beth, and James H.; it was the fire