Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-07-22

an honest loyalty to a restored I'm
ION that we retain proud memory
OF that nation (Which rose so pure
and fell so free from crime" 1t Is
not an evidence Of ultra conserva-
tism, or clinglng to the idols of the
past, that we hold In grateful re-
membrance the heroic actions Of the
men and women Of the past, and, by
the erection of monuments to them
and the preservation Of truthful his
tory, defend their names from tho
oblivion OF time, and hand down to
posterity the untarnished story OF
their fame.
I'VE did amiss when we did wish it
And over. Sorrows humanize our
race;
Tears are showers that fertilize the
world;
And memory Of things precious
keepeth warm
The heart that once did hold them:
They are poor
Ihat have lost nothing; they are
poorer far
Who, losing, have forgotten; they
most poor Of all
Who lose, and wish they might for
get
Therefore, young men and women
or this generation, hold fast to the
memories of that past wherein your
fathers and your mothers played so
noble part, upon stage upon
which all the world sazcd, and in Il
tragedy where human hearts and
Scene.'
However much men may forget, ,
since the dawn Of the world there
has been one safe repository in
which the best and holiest memories
of life have been safely treasured
the heart OF woman. If, pcrchance,
some cynical poet has caught the
tickle fancy Of the world by writing
'Woman, thy name is frailty," mil
lions of honest and grateful hearts
attest the contrary, and ioyfully pro-
claim woman, thy name is loyalty
and fdelity!" Sometimes the fear
grows strong that the demands of
lhls strenuous age upon the time
ana attention OF those who live in its
rush and hustle may thrust aside
the duty we owe to those OF the past
ana TO future generations But 7
take heart of hope when | recall that
IN those awful days Of anxious stress
and alterations, of hope and fear,
the women Of the South, in their
lonely watches of the night, lost
nolhlng OF their courage and faith.
that in the awful days that followed.
their courage and fortitudc ncrvcd
the men OF their country to their
busy tasks Of labor, Of repression,
and Of public duty; that in all the
years that have passed, they have
miniStercd to the necessities Of the
afflicted Of the heroes OF that past,
have buildcd monuments to their
memory, have gathered aud prcscrv-
ed the history Of their exploits, and
have brought consolation and happi-
ness 10 their declining years.
Ladies OF the Memorial Associa-
tion OF OcOncc, ! count ii an honor
beyond compare that YOU have
deemed me worthy to deliver your
message upon this occasion. which
witnesses the elimination Of your
hopes. " tn n patience born of the
depth OF your devotion to Il Cause,
You have labored in season and out
OF season. In the face OF dscourage-
ment and indifference YOU have held
- the ultimate accomplishment Of
your patriotic purpose. And in this
beautiful SHAFT which rears its head
aloft 10 proclaim the honor OF the
Confederate Soldier is likewise the
story Of your Self-sacrilicc and YOUR
holy zeal. AS it stands sentinel over
the graves Of OcOncc'S dead to chal-
lcngc the irrcvcrent who would deny
them admission to the tcmDlc of
LOT
coming generations the story OF that
great love which gave it being. Fer
the years have run many courses,
ana before the last OF that band of
heroic women who witnessed the
great war. and suffered its horrors.
shall have passed to the Great Be
yond, whore awaits them endless 10y
and peace, ii is the earnest hope OF
every manly soul that in the Capital
City Of the Confcdcracy and in the
Capital City Of each Of the States
which constituted that Confcdcracy.
there shall arise stately monuments.
which shall pcrpctuatc for all time
the story Of their hcroism. Let these
monuments be buildcd Of purest
marble, and upon them let there be
cut in letters Of gold the matchlcss
story OF the tortitudc in suffering,
the courage in danger. the faith in
the race OF disaster, The loyalty to a
doomed cause, and the immolation
upon the altar Of their country, of
the women OF the COnfcdcracy
These will be but the simple express
SionS OF peoples gratitude. They
are not needed to keep the love and
reverence or these women i'm the
hearts Of our men. for it NAV be said
OF them, and Of the Soldiers Of the
Conlrdcracy. as was said by Vir-
&inla'S poet OF Robctr II. Lee
And that past is now like an Arctic