St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1910-10-08
ADDRESS OF LOUIS
lANA'S YOUNG GOVERNOR
CONTINUED frem page u

II
for his State as he should have
fought. There is no man in the
world who honors and revers the
deeds of valor done on a thousand
ba~ttle-felds by our Confederate sires
more than |, bat there is another
chapter in the life of the Confeder-
ate soldier more glorious than any
thing he yer did on the battlefield.
There is not a race in the world that
won't fight and die on the battle
field in defence # home, family and
country, but it is not every race of
men that have the courage to face
defeat and out of the chaos of that
defeat to snatch victory itself. And
the way ! love TO look at the Con-
federate soldier is after his deeds of
valor have been done, after he had
worked with Beauregard and Forrest,
after ne had charged with Jackson
and marched with Lee and the
rest love to regard him when at
last tbs flag was furled; when he
came back home after drenching the
South with his blood and found pow
erty where there had been plenty,
chaos where there had been order;
found the fabric of his Government
turned upside down; when he faced
the new conditions and the new sur
roundings with a bravery far greater
than he had ever shown upon the
battle field and on the wreck Of the
South built the splendid Empire that
we their sons enjoy to-day.
love to picture to myself the
thoughts in yonr mind when the ser
vile race was placed upon the top
when the bottom became the top.
When you, a superior man made SO
by God himself, was placed beneath
the feet Of the recently imported
savage from Africa. / shudder to
think Of the awful curse that dam
aged the South from 1860 until 1876,
and love to glory in the manhood
that against the triumphant Govern
ment itself gritted it's teeth and said,
by the eternal gods this Southland is
ours and our childreD's, and by the
eternal we will redeem it and give it
back to the white people where it
belongs. That is where ! love to
picture my father. down in Vicksburg;
that is where I love to think Of the
old Confederate soldier, because many
a Nation and race is great in the
charge but it is poor in ths retreat.
Many a Nation and many . race can
triumphantly charge to the mouth of
the roaring cannon itself but cannot
Withstand adversely, and with our
Of the South upon the eight
years succeeding the war they showed
the mettle of which they were made,
and which wrote their names high ON
the walls of fame, a thougsss that
be q priceless heritage to Us,
their children f
To you Confederate veterans, ! love
TO say it, / have held every o46ce in
The gift Of the people of this State
| have had every title that the people {
Louisiana could give me, and God !
knows from the bottom of my heart /
thank them, and yet there is a title t
have not g0sten from them that / t
love better than Senator, Gownor :
anything else, and that is that | :
say / ana she son of aConfe8srate
veteran. / got that not from yoU, S
aut from my father. | sm proud of
because it shows that my father !
could do what he thought was right c
10 matter what the consequence !
be- that he could give up a life +
ease and comfort and go oat with I
vou his comrades, to fight and bleed n
md if need be die, not for conquest, f
lot for glory, not for reward. but for d
principle. for the right of self gov n
eminent that our old Teut00ic faith t
srs handed down from the fields Of s
Germany. n
There was not a drop Of Southern d
blood that was spilled in vain. When i
he people can give To the world q
lee, a jackson, a Forrest and a 3
3eauregard, then all the blood that b
vas shed was shed gloriously, if for /
10 other reason than that we can say /
,urs is the highest type Of man the /
world has seen.
Ny friends We are all Of US proud d
# you. Perchance some Of you may t