Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-03-14
BREADTH OF VIEW.

BREADTH OF VIEW.
President Urges Southerners to Forget
Partisanship.
Atlanta, Ga, March 1O.-President
Taft in a notable speech before the
closing session of the Southern Com
mercial congress tonight made a plea
to the young of the south to take up
the political issues of the day from
broad and liberal standpoint and to
eliminate from their consideration all
narrow partisanship and sectionailsm.
Other speakers Of national proml-
nence at the closing session or the
congress tonight were Gov. woodrow
Wilson of New Jersey, ]. NJ. Dickinson,
secretary of war.
The president arrived in Atlanta
shortly after IL a. m. today and left
again at midnight for Augusta, where
he Is to have nine days vacation.
From the moment Of arrival until ne
departed the president was busy. He
was escorted from the terminal sta
tion. through streets crowded with
people to the auditorium, where the
congress is in session. From there ne
went to the Capital City club for
luncheon. During the afternoon there
was q reception at the governors man
sion, a visit to the University CLUB,
dinner at the Piedmont Driving club
and the address tonight at the closing
session of the congress. During the
afternoon the president addressed an
audience of negroes at the Central
Avenue Methodist Episcopal church
where Col. Roosevelt spoke yesterday.
Mr.. Taft said in part:
.rrta ooro,oaroiol ond industrial de-
velopment of this country of the last
twenty years has been so great that
the statistics startle us. An examina-
ton shows that proportionately the
commercial and business growth OF the
south is greater than that Of any other
part of the country. A cotton crop
that sells for a billion dollars insures
prosperity, and when in addition to
that you raise a corn crop worth half
billion d6.,ars, and include the to-
bacco you raise, the product OF your
iron industry, your cotton manufac-
turing and your truck gardening, as
we'll as the naval stores Of the Caro-
linas and Georgia and the sugar and
rice of Louisiana and Texas, the fruits
and the lumber Of all the southern
states, one begins to get conception
Of the marvellous progress of the south.
The growth of the south in wealth,
in education, in civil order and in CIV
ilization has contributed greatly to the
growth of the country. BY making a
greater south you have made greater
country. With what is almost mon
opoly in the growth of cotton, you
have swelled our exports to a point
never reached before.
IN the spirit Of proper eXultation
over your industrial and agricultural
success you representatives of the
southern states gather in convention
like this to devise new ways and means
for the development Of your commerce,
for the increase Of your manufactures
and for the promotion of better farm
have done. | congratulate you on your
prosperity.
"Of course the greatest disappoint-
ment of the session was the failure of
the senate to follow the lead Of the
house in ratifying the reciprocity
agreement made with Canada" said
Mr.. Taft.
when we entered upon the nego-
tiations l authorized the secretary of
state and his commissioners to offer
free trade in everything, but this
Canada could not grant us, because
she has a protective system and she
better organized industries.
The south is particularly inter-
ested in the fact that vegetables and
cotton seed oil are both put on the free
list by the removal Of rather heavy
duties on both. But do not ask your
support on the ground of any local ad-
vantage. l ask it because l regard this
treaty, if adopted, as the beginning Of
a new relation between our rapidly
growing neighbor on the north and
ourselves which will inure greatly to
the benefits of both.
Under my promise to use my ut
most efforts to secure the ratification
of this agreement by congress, l have
felt it my duty, upon the failure Of
the senate to act, to call an extra ses-
sion for the purpose of securing the
ratification of the agreement. Ny opin
ion is that a majority of both houses,
disregarding party lines, will seize a
great national opportunity and
promptly ratify the agreement before
proceeding to other business if it be
deemed wise or necessary to proceed
to other business. l earnestly appeal
to the young men Of the south to take
up these and other political issues from
a broad and liberal standpoint, to
eliminate from their consideration
narrow partisanship and sectionalism
and to come fully into our national
communion with the patriotic purpose
of stimulating the progress of our civ
ilization in every right direction, main
tanning our country's prosperity and
accommodating its wealth but always in
subordination to higher ethical stand
ards and to the promotion of right
eousness and justice.
Gov. Woodrow Wilson was given an
ovation when he was presented by
Senator Duncan U. Fletcher, q former
Georgian. Gov. Wilson spoke on the
subject: "The Citizen and the State"
"The citizen is the state" he declar-
ed. LAS the citizen is, so will the state
be-" He pointed to the fact that the
number of voters long has fallen below
the registered vote in many southern
states and attributed it to the feeling
that their vote was not needed. or
rather not wanted, in counting the vote
of the country as a whole. He assert
ed that this very trait i'm the south was
a species of patriotism.
Gov. Wilson predicted that the south
now is gradually coming back to it's
old position in the affairs of the ma
ton, bringing in tradition and beliefs
to rejuvenate the national political
structure.
THE south now is face to face with
the interests" said Governor Wilson,
''and on the manner in which it will
deal with the great corporations which
are seeking to exploit the resources
of the south depends the souths fu.
ture."
Gov. Wilson stated that this Is a
constructive age in this country and
it should not be the policy of the ma
tion to embarrass corporations, but
so long as they made profits legally
and served the public they should be
encouraged. Unless a corporation did
serve the people its profits are illegit-
innate and such corporations should
be dissolved.
The time is at hand" concluded
Gov. Wilson, when there is more room
for craftsmanship than i'm '76 and SO.
and the south will rightfully take its
place in the councils of the nation"
Preceding the speech making the re-
port of the committee on nominations
was received and adopted. The new
officers are: President, Senator Dun
can u. Fletcher of Florida honorary
president. j. NJ. Parker of New Or
leans; first vice president, d. r. Fran
els, ex-governor of Missouri; second
vice president. Y. s. Southgatc of Vir-
ginia.