New-York tribune., 1910-01-25
VIVE TENNESSEE
GoUernor Patterson ErtoTs
Lee at Societu Dinner.

From Memphis and Cha+tanooea and
NashNllle and Knoxville and Morristown
an" Niurfreesooro, bur mostly from New
ioih' me Iennesseeans gathered for their
"''' annual dinner at the Waldorf last
night Ihere were also representatives from
that part of Bristol Tenn. Va. which lies
WITHIN the Volunteer State The gIories of
tennessee. all the way from Bolivar to
Bakers Gap Lake were extoUed and an
nreciated. too, Judging from the cheers and
applause
CHARLES c. Cowan. the president of the
tennessee Society. after a speech which
praised the lovely women and the fine corn
whiskey of the state introduced one OF
Tennessee's foremost Americans. Jacob NJ.
Dickinson. Secretary of War, who made
a running fire of comment and hit
happy thought when he said that he
did not see how his state could have sur
vived the loss of the Tennesseeans who now
live in New York. But" he said those
VINO have come here have learned to live
IN New York and keep their hands in their
pockets. like all New Workers do. 1 no.
ticed Mr.. Cowan's hands when he was
speaking
In passing. Mr.. Dickinson praised Gov
ernor Malcolm R. Patterson for the pres
eht enforcement of law and order in
tennessee, the crucial point arising in
connection with the Reelfoot Lake affair
Governor Patterson, who brought "a
message from Tennessee" referred in his
speech TO the controversy over the Lee
statue in the Capitol at Washington. He
said:
We of the South believe that patriotic
men OF the North have regretted that in
tlls day 1t was possible to raise the cry
OF treason, for the man who talks of trea-
himself
all; false to his country.
We believe the name of Grant needs no
perpetuatIon in marble to preserve it in
the minds OF men, for it will live as long
as the annals of time are written and il
DntisS DSeiotisS 70 me south as well as to the
North, Tor he mad magnanin1ity and cour-
age; and these qualities cannot be bounded
by imag aginary lines.
We believe also that the name and fame
OF Lee are as high above the foam of pas
sion as the lighthouse is above the waves
which harmlessly beat upon the rock. That
snaIneSS grows smaller as IL approaches
10 assault, that a place in Statuary Hall
cannot add one cubit TO his greatness, for
there Is not a king who reposes in the
Apoey or a man who ever lived whose
patience was more sublime, whose virtues
were more resplendent
Duty was his guiding star. honor was
his shield and justice was his sword He
saw the sun of the Confederacy rise in
a sky of glory and shine a while through
the dust and smoke Of war, and in his
great soul there was no exultation He
saw the sun go down, never to rise again.
anG his serenity was undisturbed. He
passed through life without a stain and
died as only the pure in heart can die. He
belonged to the North as well as to the
South, for he was the ideal gentleman. and
there is joint ownership wherever his type
is found
The name of Robert z. Lee can never
perish. 1t will live when Statuary Hall is
dust
John Bell Keeble. of the Nashville bar
was another speaker. James c. Mercy
nolds presented a gold headed cane to
Bruce L. Rice, the society's retiring presi-
dent. Then the $50 Tennesseeans took taxi
cabs and turned into night riders.