The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1910-01-27
GENERAL LEES BIRTHDAY.
The Birthday OF this Beloved Chief
tain was Observed On Jan. 18Th.

IdIIl WdS uUSCiV6u Uh JGN. l9tH.
In honor of their beloved hero,
Gen. Robert E. Lee, the Buck Kit
chin Camp of Confederate Veterans,
met in the auditorium of the graded
school building on Wednesday, Jan.
10Th, where appropriate exercises
were held.
Commander w. F. Butterworth
called the meeting to order and Rev.
C. A. Jones, pastor of the Methodist
church, led in prayer. Superinten-
dent Ashby w. Dunn, of the graded
school, then read some newspaper
extracts showing the esteem in
which Gen. Lee was held by the 0 fiji
GERS who served with him. Prof
Dunn then introduced the orator of
the day, Rev. R. A. Mcfarland, pas.
tor of the Baptist church, who spoke
in part as follows
Mr.. Chairman, Brethren of my Fs-
Their. Ladies and Gentlemen: Il con-
graduate you most heartily on the
privilege of observing the birthday
of so good and great a man as the
General in chief of Confederate for
ces. No people beneath the blue
canopy of heaven has the privilege of
honoring a better man, truer friend
drawer soldier nor a greater gener-
al than R. E. Lee.
He was born Jan. 10, 1907 in
Westmoreland Co., Va, Of splendid
parentage. He maternal as well
as his paternal ancestry was of the
truest nobility. The Lees -but why
need say more? They are known
to every child in North Carolina.
The Carriers were a splendid people,
able, honorable and eminent in both
private and public service.
Roberts father died when he was
but eleven years of age but his moth
era woman Of rare beauty of char
acter, gentleness Of disposition and
strength Of personality and
trained the to-be- eminent son in the
ways of duty and usefulness. Oh,
would that we could pause today to
watt our affections to the spirit Of
this remarkable woman as she min
giles in circles unknown to US!
''R. E. Lee was a good child, a
model boy, dutiful son, favorite
in the neighborhood, in school and
in life; ever scattering sunshine and
cheer by his rich and bright person
atty. He grew to manhood as one
of the most symmetrically personal
tiles of the western hemisphere. He
served the Federal Government for
with marked fidelity, ability, distinc-
ton and honor. He then served
the Confederacy with such great a.
bility, courage and success as to chal-
lenge the admiration of the entire
civilized world, and to place himself
in the constellation Of the great gen.
erals of the world where he is des-
tined to glow with increasing bright
ness as the centuries move on. AT
ter the war, he served the nation
and his generation as a model citi-
zen, useful educator and Christian
gentleman until his death on the
morning of Oct. II, 1870.
Gentlemen, | am cognizant of
the fact that am speaking to an au-
dience that knows the history of Lee
far better than l know it, for you
knew the history in its making. l
shall therefore content myself by
simply suggesting some lessons from
the life of this fallen chieftain- this
prince among men and heroes of the
great Civil War. There is beauty
and charm in the study of a great
character. 1t does us good to gather
thoughts from the biography of some
Christian nobleman. My life he s
been made the better, my thoughts
have been made the purer, my emo
tons have been made the nobler
and my soul has been made the whit
er by this brief study of the match
less Lee.
eve notice in the first place, THE
ADVANTAGE OF AN EARLY TRAINING.
Lee was reared in a cultured Chris
tian home. All, his culture began
with his ancestry. And too, he had
the advantage Of splendid schools.
Think of what this means to child
Every child has the right of training
and it is incumbent upon us as par
ents and as citizens to see that every
child is blessed with the privilege of
his just rights. AS the plant or
fruit tree that has good start his
vantage ground on the one that has
not, so the child with an early train
ing has the decided advantage of the
one who has been denied such privi-
leges. Every child should have the
very best advantage of home, school,
society and church, and we should
do our best to see that every chilli is
blessed with such.
1--WE notice in the second place,
LEES SCIENTIFICALLY DEVELOPED
POWERS. Do you not remember his
splendid physique? DR.. John A.
Broadus, who was one of the leading
theologians Of the world, said he was
at Gordansville, Va, on one occasion
waiting for train, and when he
went into the waiting room he saw a
man whose body was so erect and
his physique so splendid that he was
curious to know who he was. Some
obstruction kept DR.. Broadus from
seeing the face of the man, so he
walked around the obstruction and
behold it was Gen. Lee. His physi-
cal powers were we'll developed. But
along with this development was the
training Of his mental powers, and
with the development Of his mental