The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1913-07-01


ed an amendment to the agricultural
appropriation bill increasing by
100000 the fund for soil surveys.
I have said that he was a many-sided
man. You all know his strong sense
of humor. I want to read to you
that part of his speech on this meas
ure because it got the 100000, be-
cause of the exquisite humor of it,
because of the truth in it, because it
/ illustrates that he was neither
afraid or ashamed in any presence on
earth of the toll of his hands, and
in the same spirit he loved and hon
ored the honest toll of all men: Il
never belonged to this agricultural
committee. but I did at one time be-
long to a better one than ever sat
in this house. An old gray mule and
myself made up the committee. I
was the chairman. If you agricult-
wrists knew anything about that you
would be in favor of increasing this
appropriation. We never had any
amendments offered to our bills.
They were all accepted just as We
agreed on them. We had no trouble
about time TO speak. I cussed when
the pillow handles hit me and the mule
brayed when the horn blew. Our
farm was a little like the supposed
plantation of my Chicago friend
(Madden), who, I am told, has large
plantations on the street in the heart
OF that great city. But why cry ex-
travagance whenever a small appro-
priation is asked for the benefit of
the farmer? I understand that the
navy has used up $4,000 worth of
shot and shell at target practice at
Magdalena Bay. Nobody calls this ex-
travagance. Then why talk of vast
ing money in helping the men who
must stand behind the guns when
real war comes? Some one many
years ago announced the great truth
that before the hammer hit upon the
anvil. before the fires blaZed in the
'forges, the cultivation of the soil be-
gan. We must depend on the farm
er at last. Let us hold up his hands
as he moves along the basis of our
greatness as a people"
On another occasion he treated the
same subject with the scientific pre-
cision of a chemist. The tobacco
lands of his state were at stake.
He was foremost in securing pen
sion legislation for Mexican war vet
Grams, and for twelve years his activ-
ity was only measured by his rest
less energy. On February l, 1900,
he made speech in the house not
for money and not in jest. The
lynching of Sam Hose was thrown in
his face. In part this was his reply:
" Mr.. Chairman, those men
were standing for civilization, Anglo
Saxon civilization; were fighting for
the purity and safety of the South
ern home. We propose to protect
the women of the South. We pro-
pose to fight for and maintain the
supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon race
that race which gentlemen have
sought to justify here today in shoot
ing brown men in the Philippines in
the name of civilization; that race
which today is shooting Beers in
South Africa in the name of civilza-
ton. The people of Georgia, the
people of all the South, propose in
the name of the same great civiliza-
ton to stand by their traditions, to
preserve the integrity of the race and
to preserve its supremacy every
where
Thus far Judge Griggs has spoken
for himself, has spoken in vindica-
ton OF this monument. To the peo-
pie who knew him and know his life's
work he needs no vindication, and to
those who come after him he stands
an emblem of patriotism and states
manship eloquent and wise. He man
aged two campaigns as chairman OF
the congressional campaign commit
tee with signal ability. The country
was not ripe for the change, even
his genius could not force it. But
the victory grew from the seeds OF
his planting, was foreseen by his
wisdom. was made inevitable by him
and the men like him. The litera-
ture of those campaigns is rich in
matter dealing with the tariff and
the trusts, two of the greatest of our
domestic problems. His last service
was on Ways and Means committee,
when, with Champ Clark and Oscar
Underwood as associates, they laid
the foundation as minority members
for that overwhelming reversal of
the Payne-Aldrich tariff, which car
ried with it Wilson to the presidency.
Under Gods will Clark and Under
wood survive, honored by the people
Of the whole country for their patri-
otto devotion to the country's well
fare. Griggs has entered upon the
long sleep. In life, in congress, meas
ured by capacity, by achievement, he
was the peer of either survivor.