The Colorado statesman., 1912-05-25

he time has come LOT JHe negroes
In the South to bestir themselves as
they have never before bestirred them
selves, if they are to be counted in
the South's forward march 1t is now
incumbent upon them to get busy as
they have never been busy before.
Throughout the South meetings are be-
ing held to take charge of the great
advance which that section will un-
doubtedly make after the completion
of the Panama Canal and after great
plans now being formulated are car
ried out
There was recently held in Nash
vile, Ten, meeting of the South
ern Commercial congress. At this
meeting every conceivable subject hav-
ing to do with any feature of southern
progress-farming, dairying, poultry
raising, deep waterways, civic i'm
provement-was discussed fully. About
the same time a meeting of the South
ern Educational conference was held
in the same place, at which meeting
ambitious plans for the educational
development of the South were dis
cussed and set in operation.
in Houston, Texas, convention of
southern commercial secretaries. The
call for this latter meeting contains,
among other statements, the follow
ing:
The spirit of the New South is
upon these leaders of progress and
their concerted efforts have done more
for the South during the past few
years than has been accomplished in
all the history of the past With the
cooperation of the directors and the
sustaining forces behind them, the sec
retaries have set in motion some of
the most gigantic world forces of
progress and with a master hand they
are swinging civilization around the
South like planets around a central
sun,
"The history of our armed con-
quests, the deeds of our heroes, and
the traditions of the glorious South
are scarcely more thrilling than the
Industrial conquests of the past half
decade. The merry hum of industry
has hushed the cry of despair. and
hope, like an inswept ocean. has flood
ed the Southland, the sound of the
hammer has aroused its latent ener-
gies to resistless activity and awak-
ened memories of old-time power and
prestige, and the scream of the fac
tory whistle has stirred in southern
blood the iron spirit of the conqueror
and we are entering the battlefield OF
the worlds commerce, alert. progress
sive and powerful.
10 bOnr nf 5oStipy ic
preaching when the South with one
mighty surge of its organized forces
can pull the star of civilization within
its borders.
During the past few years. many of
our thoroughfares beaten firm by the
bare feet of the pioneers. have for the
first time felt the elevating influence
of the road grader. Macadam roads
magnificent boulevards and network
of public highways radiate from every
city that has a live commercial club
and they stand as a monument to
southern ability and progress.
Beneath our soil lie the mineral
vaults of the universe from our iron
the wheels of the nations commerce
are nodded; our coal feeds the fires
of American industry and our oil
lights the worlds firesides. and vet we
have untouched vast areas of mineral
wealth awaiting the prospector's pick
to flood the channel of trade with q
golden stream of prosperity.
"The plowshare has conquered mill.
ions of acres of virgin land and our
entire agricultural area has felt the
modifying influence of human skill
We have worked inspiration into the
soil. tapped new and hidden veins of
industry, and brought new products
into life. The soil has caught the spir.
1t of the New South and is yielding a
harvest that will feed and clothe the
world"
We urge our people to take note OF
the movement, We urge them to be
in no way laggard in hiIching them.
selves onto all of these plans for the
development of the South We urge
them to put away needless and fruit
less discussion of unimportant and
non-essential details and to pray for q
double baptism of this spirit of the
New South which seems rampant
throughout that section
No longer will 1t be possible for us
to sit down discussing senseless sub
jects when the young white men of the
South are getting ready to possess
themselves of the land and the full
ness thereof.
Four thousand people, interested in
the Men and Religion Forward Move
ment, at the Hippodrome, in New York