Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1910-06-17
A SYNOPSIS OF TiIe WELCOME ADDRE SIS
DELIVERED BEFORE THE
MISSISSIPPI PRESS
ASSOCIATION.
BY ROn. C. Lee Crum, City Attorney.

This is the speech to which we referred in
our first letter on the Press Convention al
New All any. and in justice to Mr.. Crum would
stale that he wrote it out since delivering it
atour request, for as he says the Address was
delivered extemporareously. We think that
lis reduction OF it to writing pretty closely
corresponds if it does not almost track
thr9ughoqt the identical ,eFbiage be employ
cd -bn,l
Mr. President, Ladies' AID Gentle
men, Now Albany feels proud ol
the honor Of entertaining the Pre- S.
Convention of Mississippi aud it re-
quires no eXaggeration of orr SEMI
ment to say that it is with keen
pleasure on our par5 that we extend
to you he privileges of our UMPIRE
tentious city
On such occ es'ons as this the
speaker isH>qallF expected t. use a
chain of beautiful IMPRESSIONS and say
nothing, that is, he is required by
the cOnYentlOnalitles al the occasion
to use only pleasing words in saying
only those things about which there
is no issue. IEis is indeed difficult
for a lawyer. who from his training
is required to take one side of ii ques-
ton, TO do, but | shall cndeavor to
so far forget the training Of my pro
fessi0n rs TO say nothing about which
the better element of the press are
at issue.
l had only Intended TO tonder TO
you the freedom of the city in u few
brief words and introduce anoth her.
who would deliver the welcome ad
dress, but who is unavoidably absent,
and | Shall depart from my intended
course to refer to some of the things
that the presence of this character.
Of assembIage suggests to my mind.
The arr Of printing by symbols and
hierQglyphies is aR old one, J'pom
excavations recently made in the
towers of Babylon it IS known to
have existed at least 800 Is, c., when
Assyrian and BabyloniSh civilization
was at its zenith. The art seems to
have made no development from that
date, or to have become totally ex
tinct, until about A d. 1870, when
the present system offOrming letters
on blocks of wood, with one letter 10
the block, was invented by citizens of
Holland and Germany about the same
time. From that time TO the present
there has been a steady advancement /
and Improvement in the art aud
science of printing until today it has
attained its highest degree Of per-
lection in the United States of
America.
Its advent and development mark
ed the breaking away of the Dark |
Ages and the bursting upon the l
world of the light of civil and reti-
gious liberty From A. D. 1890 IN
til about the dawn of the 10Th cent Try
the freedom of the press had been
opposed by those in authority in the
old countries. so much so that many
avs were passed restricting its OPP
Grafton.
This was on the theory that what
ever opposed the powers that were, :"
whatever criticized the conduct of /
those in power. no matter how COP
rnpt or licentious it was, was sedi-
.ious. Corruption in high places can
not now and never could stand the
light of free press. The Importance
of the rcss as a means of promOt-
ng fair administration of govern
nent and good morals was neyerI.
by law until after the
ormation of our federation of states
when the first amendment to the con
,titution of the United States pro
id d that Congress should never
bridge the freedom Of religion, of
he r.yhG 10 pcacea5'y Assemble and
o,t.t;on T. ~ llrsS ard ns he Press.
The press has been hIfs immortalized Ii
~ this sacred association with reli-
.ieus and civil rights of our people
md in this way lis great Importance ,
anna to be first reco rnzad by pure ii
nd 81. an pronle, who b,ctnSe o. theii. IT
'nnd conscience ard 'igh eli irarferI II
I'D no fear OF the exposures OF luis /
,re>s. II i, only those VIII 'preFr
ark lather than Iioht" haf he
ave ever o. posed the flecdon of /
ne pr -. 8
But the C, institution iitr.ty Q, TT
he fr = dues mo- give It lie 'ictfi-, {
+, def i,ne ana 'lihel any mo tn u !,
ne Sti'ntiunal i1gh' - X cp IN Fl
ear arms licenses murd = Fl
Sine.n lie press becrm" i ficf il 3
h history Of the world to h. present. y
av, moth ng in tie arts or scien e
aS b, en- so >trumental in dissent !.
ating know edge and therefor 6
superstition as the print t
20 press. 1t is said that railroads b
re among the greatest civilizars and I
pvelopers OF the latent resources of !
country, bit the literature that {
le railroads carry is the greatest /
luse of civil, religious and political p
lvancement. The daily train would a