St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1910-10-15

OF WELCOME.

$50 4E50SA&h0E|0S D. l.
Opelousas, Oct. %, % and 80.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades:
We're | permitted to indulge the
s%ensibilities Of my nature, I would
most gladly have stunned the distin-
guished honor SO unworthily thrust
upon me by my comrades. but as it is
a soldiers duty to obey, | respond to
the commands of R. E. Lee Camp No.
IA to appear on this occasion in their
behalf to extend You a welcome.
Words of welcome are meaningless
things unless accompanied by the
warm hand clasp, the sincere heart
felt greeting, the twinkle of the glad
eye and the bright smile Of pleasure,
all Of which assure you you will re-
ceive from the hospitable citizens of
the historic old town of Opelousas.
You will hear eloquent words of well
come from the lips Of inspired orators
which | abjure to cherish as the
eminations Of sincere and honest
hearts, for our doors and arms and
hearts are wide open today to receive
with sincere welcome the guests who
have honored us by their presence,
the bravest of the brave heroes, and
the noblest Of gallant gentlemen, .sthe
assembled Confederate Veterans of
the State of Louisiana, and the Sons
of the Confederate Veterans upon
whose shoulders our nantes are soon
to fall, and into whose hands and
charge We shall bequeath as a rich
legacy the perpetuation of the deeds
of their sires. 1t is unnecessary to
say welcCme to the Daughters of the
Confederacy. They are the brightest
jewels in Dixie's crown of glory. The
cardinal principle Of every Southern
ers life is honor and affection for the
Southland's noble women-the worlds
fairest, lovliest and best,
Whose hearts are on their lips, and
snuls within their avps
Soft as their cline, and sunny as their
skies"
] will refrain from a special vel
come to them because women are the
rulers of creation and are cordially
welcome everywhere.
My Comrades, | believe in these re-
unions; they are interesting, they are
impressive. in every sense to me
enjoyable. The memories awakened
by these reunions are pure and ele-
waiting, the promise given is high and
notwithstanding not only TO the
men and the women who had passed
through the storm Of war, but also
and especially to persons who were
unborn two-score years ago-theY
evidence the spirit that sustained the
Confederacy the spirit not Of pug
n~aciousness or of belligerency or Of
sectional animosity, but rather the
spirit Of gentleness and Of courage
and Of constancy-the spirit that
makes men willing to die for an
ideal. You hear it in the gladstone
voices Of the people, it glows in their
happy co~untenances, it shines from
their hopeful eyes. Even things In
animate seem for a moment instinct
with the temper of the hour, as seen
by the decorations, flags and bunting
everywhere with the Stars and Bars
and the STARS and Stripes" rejecting
the patriotic spirit that swept ever
the south nearly fifty years ago, the
shirt that was ~quenched not when
the Conquered Banner was furled at
Apnotomax." II is not permitted,
such a spirit to perish. Like the
breath Of the holy man. it dies not
with the prophet, but survives him.
Il becomes translated and transfused,
prompting men and women every
where TO q wider and wiser humanity
It il today the most valuable asset
that the people Of the South bring 60
q household once discovered but now
happily restored. The South knows
ID; the North feels it; the world IN
derstands it.. II is well that th'si
truth is everywhere appreciated.
Rome built monuments in honor alike
of Sulla and Marius, of Brutus and
Caesar. The red rose and the white
rose are now interviewed in the gar
lands Of Britain's glory. Britishers
love not England the less because
their ancestors charged in opposing
souadrons at Naseby and Marst"h
Moor. or fought under the different