Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-05-11
MEMORIAL EXERCISES.

Featured by an inspiring address on
the Righteousness Of the Southern
Cause, delivered by DR.. Lee Davis
Lodge, president Of Limestone college
Of Gaffney, fitting Memorial Day exer-
cises were held In the Yorkville opera
house yesterday morning, packed
audience being in attendance. The
children Of the Graded school were
granted a half holiday and attended
the exercises in a body The local
troop Of Boy Scouts occupied reserved
seats, practically all the members Of
the Winnie Davis Chapter, U. D. c.,
were present and there were a number
Of Confederate veterans in the audi
ence.
The stage Of the opera house had
been tastefully decorated by the U. D.
C.'s, the decorations consisting Of
number OF Confederate flags and col
ors, together with many wreaths and
flowers.
Col. J. G. Wardlaw Of Yorkville, pre-
| sided and the exercises were opened
with prayer by Rev. Henry Stokes,
followed with a song, "Massa's In the
Cold, Cold Ground" sung by quar-
tette consisting Of Misses Esther Ashe,
Margaret Cartwright, Sarah Logan
and Mary Speck.
THE Righteousness Of the Southern
Cause" was the subject Of an address
by DR.. Lodge, who stated that he had
decided to talk on that subject for the
benefit Of the younger people present,
| since there was no need to tell the
veterans and older people that the
cause was just.
The time was, said the speaker,
when our people were characterized as
| rebels and traitors, but that foolish
passion Is passing away, II 1t Is not
already passed. Now the north says
that on grounds Of constitutional law
| the south was right. In this twentieth
century the man who would stigmatiZe
those heroes as rebels has a soul so
small that 100000 Of them might be
packed In the eye Of cambria needle
and there would still be room to spare.
We do we'll to honor the memory OF
| our famous southern dead, continued
DR.. Lodge. 1t is we'll to erect monu-
ments over their dust. But after all,
these monuments are not the best me-
| MORALS. The passage Of years will
| blacken stone and II will crumble, but
| so long as the southern skies retain
| their splendor and as long as the hon.
eysuckle, the lily and the jasmine
retain their fragrance, So long will
memory Of our heroes be In our hearts
and the pure flame Of a peoples love
will ever burn brightly.
What reason have we for being 80
sure that we are right in justifying our
cause? asked the speaker. II that
| cause was not right, then 1t was GRIM
inal. What are the historic grounds
for believing we were right in making
| the stand we did? From the very be-
ginning an individuality was attached
to each colony. So far as their rela-
tions one to another were concerned
| Great Britain was severed by the war
Of the Revolution, Great Britain recog-
nized each Of the thirteen colonies as a
| sovereign state.
The American congress In the Rev
olution was little more than an advis-
ory board. Did the states lose their
sovereign powers when they came in
to the Union? North Carolina and
Rhode Island hesitated about coming
into the Union. Did not the other
states then recognize their independ-
ence and their right to remain out II
they so wished?
Henry Cabot Lodge, senator from
| Massachusetts,, has admitted that the
Union would never have been formed
| unless each state had the right to Sc
cede when II so wished. st. George
Tucker, famous constitutional law
yer Of Virginia, in his Commentaries,
printed in 1902, declares that each
| state possessed the right to withdraw
from the federation. william Royle,
famous Pennsylvania lawyer, in his
| published in 1929, declared that seces-
| sion Of a state depends upon the will
Of the people Of that state.
Col Timothy Pickering, Of Massa-
chusetts, a member Of General Wash
ington's cabinet, advocated the break
ing up Of the Union into a Northern
and South Confederacy at the time Of
| the Louisiana purchase, and during the
war Of 1912, which was fought prima-
rily for the benefit Of New England,
the New England states attempted to
secede.
The speaker referred to the famous
Hayne- Webster debate and stated that
| northern authorities today declare that
Haynes position was correct, and that
Webster's famous reply was but an
empty flight Of oratory and that in
1851 in Virginia, Webster himself de-
clared that each and every state had
perfect right to withdraw from the
Union.
Massachusetts, declared DR.. Lodge,
| threatened to secede from the Union
in 1S45 when Texas was admitted to
the Union, because the state realized
that Texas was a slave state.
1t was for the principle Of states
rights that the great War Between the
| Sections was fought, declared the
speaker Of the occasion, who wished
to state emphatically that the slavery
question had nothing to do with it.
Hardly one man in every five in the
Confederate army owned a single
slave. The great principle OF local
self government was the cause.
But now as to slavery, who estab-
lished It? Not the south. Old Eng
land brought slaves here and after the
Revolutionary war 1t was New Eng
land who carried on the trade. In this
connection the speaker said he was re-
minded Of story about like this:
At an old fashioned camp meeting,
two sisters, Mary and Sallie were reg
ular in attendance. Sallie was very
fond Of trinkets-rings, brooches, ETC.,
baubles. Finally Sallie got religion
so to speak, and decided that 1t was
wrong for her to wear jewelry. She
did not contribute her jewels for the
benefit Of the heather, however; but
sold them to her sister Mary.
Thus it was with Massachusetts,.
She decided that the slavery system
was wrong. Did she emancipate her
slaves? No, she sold them to her sis
ter Virginia and then with the money
acquired from the sale made war upon
Virginia and liberated the slaves.
The speaker deplored the fact that
in practically every school library in
South Carolina there Is copy Of Har-
riet Beecher Stoves book, Uncle
Toms Cabin" and declared that 1t
was wrong to give the story to chill
dren to read before their minds had
been instructed with the south's ver-
sion of the story.
The speaker concluded his address
with verses Of his own composition.
entitled, "The Soldiers Led by Lee"
He was heartily applauded and was
the recipient Of flowers.
"Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp
Ground" was the selection sung by the
quartette following the address of DR..
Lodge after which w. w. Lewis. Esq,
read the list Of names Of the Confed-
crate dead buried In Rose Hill ceme-
terry, as published in The Enquirer Of
Friday The audience then repaired