Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-10-11

thing to 90 to keep the house of Joel
Chandler Harris here on our own soil.
And you Georgians should feel big
pride In him because Of the fact that
most fortunately for himself and fol
all of us, all over the country, he resist
ed the temptation, which 1 cannot but
regard as an unhappy temptation and
which appeals so strongly to so many
authors, that makes them desire to leave
the place where they were born and
go and live In New York l feel that
one of the reasons why Joel Chandler
Harris genius continued to burn bright
ly to the very end was because he con-
tinued to live among his own people
in the place where he had been born
and brought up. Contrast that with what
befell another very real American gen.
ius, Bret Harte. Bret Harte came to man
hood and lived his most vigorous years
In California. He sprahg to fame be-
cause of his most wonderful delineations
of certain types of character found on
the Pacific slopes and nowhere else
and in no other age. He got a great
reputation and then he proceeded to
come to New York 1t was alien soil.
From that time on he did very little ex-
cept rework and rework and rework
again the vein which he had already
worked once in such admirable fashion
If he had continued to live on the Pa
cific slope or had at any rate come no
further east than the Rocky mountains
believe firmly he would have added
intellectually to his works. One of the
things which 1 think we should all of us
feel exceedingly grateful to Joel Chand-
Ter Harris for was the fact that he
never wrote a word which would cause
bangs to any section of the country
Everything he ever wrote tended to
make his own people In the south more
beloved and respected in every other part
of the union and also tended to make
them feel a constantly kindlier and
friendlier regard for their brothers who
lived elsewhere, north or west. Surely
no greater praise can be given any Of
our citizens than that.
Surely no greater place can be given
any of our citizens than that.
Now, my friends. any public man who
is asked to speak on a certain subject
is allowed, after he has spoken on that
subject, to deviate. If / tried at all
could work up connection between what
have said and what l am about to say,
but II would need little ingenuity, and
] shant try to display it. 1 have come
here, primarily, to speak of Joel Chan
dler Harris. to bear testimony to his
great career and earnestly to advocate
permanent memorial OF him by keeping
his home in perpetuity. Now this is my
first business. But / have led a mid
ding active life Qaughter), and am in
terested in a number of live questions,
and want to unburden my mind to
you on one or two of them applause
and laughter)
"And now seriously 1 said that 1t
would be rather forced connection, yet,
after all, it wouldn't have been SO; first,
because one of the reasons why 1 adj
mire so intensely Joel Chandler Harris
is that besides being a literary genius.
he was one of those literary geniuses,
the. exercise of whose faculties was al
ways for the good and not the harm Of
their fellow-men. There have been very
few literary characters as to whom can
say with absolute sincerity that 1 wish
every single copy of all of their books
10 be read. as I do not regard genius
Us a sufficient Offset for degradation and
immortality.
Now in a recent speech l used the
word new nationalism to describe a
movement, political, social Industrial
IN which I so deeply believe. Certain
gentlemen took exception to or sneered
at the words and others asked me to
define them. By new pationalism mean