The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1911-03-29
A New Era
for the South
Important Meeting of South
ern Commercial Congress
at Atlanta, Georgia,
Last Week.

gress that closed it's session at
& Atlanta last Friday heralds a
new era for the Southland.
& The sentiment and keynote Of
8 meeting was for the South to
prepare for tho opening of the
+ Panama Canal and to be ready
Z to take care of the increased
( population and prosperity that
( the canal means for the South
Prepare for the Panama Can
4 ar might indeed, be taken as
the slogan Of the meeting, and
if the forecasts made by the
speakers in Atlanta come true
the next grent movement of
settlers will be towards the
great South instead of the West
OF Northwest which has hereto
fore been the mecca of home
seekers
John NJ. Parker, of New
Orleans, president of the con
gress, in general statement
explained the aim of the organ
izatiou. congratulated the dele
gates upon the organization
made through organization by
those commercial secretaries
throughout the South "of young
men looking forward with
hope He deprecated what he
termed decline OF the nation
into idleness, luxury, extrava.
gence and will excess.
President Parker said in part:
Forty years ago a meeting
of this character would have
been beyond the conception of
the widest dreamer and the
greatness of the United States
Is typiiied when the great men
Of the nation assist in making
the world appreciate the vast
ness of Southern possibilities.
"Ihe patriotism of the men
who came from the North aud
East and West al their own
expense TO preach to the whole
world ON Southern advantages
shows the perfect unity of the
greatest nation on the globe
President Parker said The
time was ripe when the great
thinkers of the United States
should work ont some touitable
basis OF taxation by which vast
fortunes "may not be transmit
ted to future generations, when
the fool, or the knaye, may use
% 90 the misery of humanity 3"
and a large part at least should
be used for public purposes for
The benefit Of the people from
whom il was taken.
"The natural law of supply
md demand - he continued
should govern our agricultural
products, and the producer and
consumer alike. should he pro
tected from the speculator.
The principal addresses on
the opening day of the meeting
was by Colonel Roosevelt. who
spoke ON the subject, "The
Soutlfs Obligation in States
manship and Business En-
deavor"
President Taft in a speech
before the closing session of the
congress reviewed briefly the
accomplishments of the Sixty
first Congress, declaring that
its three sessions Just closed, it
had enacted more helpful legis
iatIon than any Congress since
the Civil War. Mr.. Taft assert
ed that the greatest accomplish
nenc of the short session.
ended March 4, was the ratifica
ton Of the Japanese treaty.
The greatest disappointment, he
SAID, was the failure OF Congress
to rallfy the reciprocity agree
ment with Canada. In this
connection he referred to his
action in calling an extra
session of Congress to convene
on April 4.
lie PRESIDENT made q plea to
the young men of the new
south to take up the political
issues of the day from a broad
and liberal standpoint and to
eliminate from their considera-
non all narrow craftsmanship
and sectionalism.
Come fully into our national
communion" said the Presi
dent, with the patriotic MIR