The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-01-17
RuST Of SENATOR RANSOM
UNVEILED AND PRESENTED
IN brilliant Ceremonies and Eloquent Speeches
Tribute is Paid to Patriot, Soldier, orator anu
Statesman

citizens of all sections. Al
7.45 the hall was filled, as indeed were
the galleries, TO the left OF the
sneakers stand and just beneath the
of Vance, his sons, Matt Kan
som. IT.. and Pat Ransom and d
daughter, Miss Esther, accompanied
BY Mrs. w. w. Watt, Of Charlotte,
occupied seats reserved 1or them, n
to the right officers of the Grand
Lodge of Masons were collected. The
faces of ~ex-Governors Jarvis and Ay-
cock and Of General Julian S. Carr
were notable.
At SIS a ripple Of applause an
nounced the approach Of the speakers,
Hon J. Bryan Grimes, ~eX-Judge r. w.
Winston, Senator A. H. Boyden, Rep
r~esentative B. S. Gay and Governor
Kitchin.
Immediately the presentation
speech eff Mr.. Grimes was begun. 1t
was an ornate and classic address,
and was repeatedly a~ppiauded. His
references to the work Of the His
torical Commission, to the various
North C~arOlinians who have con-
tributed largely to the progress and
to the work Of Mr.. r. d. W. Connor,
were greeted with continued hand
clapping.
Mr.. Grimes was in fine form, and
his voice was easily heard by all. He
said:
Colonel Grimes Opening Address.
Ladies and Gentlemen: The State
Historical ission has invited you
to join IN celebrating an important
event in the historical activities of the
State.
1T has long been a reproach to
North Carolina that we have been
careless Of the memories of our great
men. AS q State, We have alWayS
been poor, but we have been rich in
men-high-minded men, who knew
how to do and die, if necessary, in the
c~riseses that confronted them.
w have been proud OF our State,
proud Of her achievements and her
traditions. We have gloried in hearth
stone tales Of former generations, only
to forget them in the busy struggles
of life. We have written little and
preserved even less, largely because
we had no repositories for the safe
keeping of our records. We are the
beneflclaries Of the constructive states
manship of the past. but in many cases
the bodies of those devoted spirits
whose deeds should be a glorious her
itage to our people lie in unknown
graves, their fame consigned to OBJ
liviOn, their services unrecorded.
in our generation have been
following the example Of past gen.
erations who have forgotten. to be in
turn forgotten. But a change is now
coming over the spirit of our people.
The State is beginning to realize
that conserving the fair renown of her
| W great SONS is her sacred duty.
The North Carolina Historical
Commission was created in 1903 and
its duties and powers greatly enlarged
in 1907. The work of the commission
has not been coHGned to the duties re-
CURED of 1t by the aw cerating it,
but in the last two years its activities
have been varied. 1t has classified,
arranged and filed the executive let
tiers OF thirty governors, beginning
with Governor Caswell in 1777. and
ending with Governor Vance in 1879.
There were 14.754 of these letters and
documents, and now, for the first time,
these manuscripts are available to
students of North Carolina history.
The commission has also secured
IN the past two years ten fine private
collections of people, en-
bracing nearly 1900 manuscripts Of
the highest value and Importance.
1T has had many items concerning
North Carolina affairs copied from
for the period prior to the Revolution
1T has issued ten publications.
which have heen in great demand in
many Of the States of the Union.
1T has. through the enterprise of
its secretary, Mr.. r. D. w. Conner,
the Italian a fine plaster
replica Of Canova's famous statue OF
Washing ton, made from the original
model in the Canova Museum a. Pos
sagrO, Italy. 1t will be remembered
that the original was made by Canova
for the State in 1920 and was de-
stroyed when the Capitol was burned
in 1921. The replica can be seen in
the rotunda. It is hoped that the
General Assembly will soon have this
statue reproduced in marble.
"a notable feature OF the work Of
the commission has been the sinforma-
ton about North Carolina furnished
to visiting historians. students and
original Investigators from nearly hair