St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1917-06-09
Ringing Speeches Made By
R. B. Smith, Sen. Staf-
ford, E. G. Davis.
RLOCK CROWDED BY
AUTOS AND PEOPLE.
Beautiful Flag is Unfurled
Eighty Feet in
the Air.


Association of Commerce. drew an
immense throng OF enthusiastic ana
patriotic people. The crowd was es-
timated as h gh as 1900, and prob
ably this would not miss 1t much.
The S6-foot pole, set seven or eight
feet in concrete, stood tine-cut in
the clear atmosphere high above the
buildings and above the old flag
staff on the courthouse, and as the
crowd gathered thickly in the square
MANY a head was raised to scan the
ton OF this graceful, slender tree
that had grown in hill thicket to
an age that had given it but a
ouarter of an inch of sap and that
had made up for its dwarfed dame
ter by showing it's head high into
the air above the growth surround
ing it. The beautiful flag, 1Oxlo
feet. was the loving work OF Mrs.
J. H. Warner, and was received with
cheers of admiration and respecl as
it .unfurled to the breeze.
The Boy Scouts, headed Dy tnelr
commander, Rev. F. c. Talmage,
marched onto the grounds armeu
With hoes and rakes, the soldiers OF
the farm and the scouts of prepared
ness. They were greeted with ap-
nlause and the Municipal Band
warmed up to patriotic martlai
music. BY this time the crowd hao
swelled into the streets and auto
mobiles were in sold strings from
block to block.
Mayor Lacroix introduced the
.rooLors from the courthouse steps,
with the following remarks:
Ladies and Gentlemen; Fellow Cltl-
zens:
It is both my agreeable duty and
distinguished honor to presloe upon
this occasion of such flatterlng ou.-
pouring Of our citizens to emphaslze
their loyalty and fealty to the nas
we are about to unfurl. Tnat pan
ner that stands ever for liberty ana
for the cause of the United states
denoted upon its folds by that ga
axv of stars. each in its sovereignty
I shall not weary you with pro.
loneed dissertation. The honors OF
oratorv for the occasion l y1eld 10
the talented gentlemen who toilo"
me. | beg to introduce to you Hon.
R. Burton Smith. (Applause.)
MIR. II. Burton Smith:
Mr.. Smith spoke as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen and LIS
tingu:shed Visitors:
| am glad to say few Woros On
this occasion to the people OF GOV
.ington, who have been so K1no ~
me during my stay here.
We safely feel sure our MONIES
will never hear the deep sound OF
enemy guns, that we will never near
the armed tramp of hostile leg-ohs
on our shores.
But this does not mean we can
escape the burdens, the plooosheu
and the mourning OF TINS savaee
war. England has her navy anu no
foreign foe has or will land upon
her soil But the war has COME
home to her.
| remember a few lines written
during the Crimean War, sixty years
ago:
ION the Danube and the Dn1eper'
will the Cossack warrior sleep'
On the volga and the Don, VIII '"o
Cossack mother weep.
Therell be wailing on the Seine too'
and mourning on the Thames
And Europe will a picture De VI
blood and tears and names.
These lines are true, more true
to-day and will soon come nome ~
us.
When we see our soldiers marca
away, when we know thousands anu
millions Of Americans are battling IN
the bloody trenches, when day 'oy
day the roll Of death increases,
when every town and every hamle'
mourns some soldiers death, sleep-
ing his last sleep in distant France-
France the home Of the forefatnels
4 Of 50 many of you Then, ana Gpny
then can we truly know we are a.
war.
1t is a long story why we are AZ
war. But not one can deny thA'
war at last was forced upon w..
That we are now fighting, not LOT
National honor alone but almost lo'
When the ENJOYS OF historic
France and the ENJOYS Of 1mperlal
Britain, Britain whose boast mas
been that the rising sun followed nea
drum beat around the worio, coMe
4 to ius not in naughty guise Out ~, ;;
9lomng our aid, recognizing n tna
own awful danger. we may wei.
know that we must use our utmoS'
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