Lexington dispatch-news. [volume] (Lexington, S.C.) 1917-1919, 1918-04-24
STORES CLOSE FOR
BIG RALLY

With every business house in Lex
iaeton closed, and amid a steady
downpour Of rain, the people Of Lex
ington pacl:ed the county court hoSse
20 it's full capacity on Friday after
noon, to hear addresses by the Rev.
r.. T. Murcfiscr and Mrs. Annie |.
Renlbert. The occasion was the big
patriotic rally called by Dr.. D. NJ.
Crossor of Lcasyi;:a, chairman Of the
Lexington Co2nty Council Of De-
fense. It was an occasion for the
people to demonstrate, in en open
and public way, their patriotism as
well as their allegiance to, and faith
in, the American flag. And every
member Of the large and enthusias-
tic audience entered into the meet
ing with whole-hearted fervor, and
eagerly did they grasp every word
that fell from the speakers lips. 1t
was an audience compo3ed Of men,
women and children-every one Of
whom are enlisted in the great work
of winning the war, and helping to
give liberty and freedom to all man.
kind
The meeting was opened with a
song, "In the Sweet Bye and Bye"
led by Sheriff Sim J. Miller, follow
ed by the invocation by the Rev. W.
H. Riser, pastor of Saint Stephens
Lutheran church.
DR.. Crosson, in introducing Dr. Mur
Gibson, thanked the people for their
attendance, which was but another
evidence of Lexington's genuine pat
riotism. Mr.. Murchison stated, at
the outset, that it is not necessary
for one to 60 across the water, right
in the midst of the fray, to realize
the horrors that are daily and hourly
being perpetrated by the enemy. He
declared that the great majority of
the people do not yet realize it's ser
to trust the military leaders and
Woodrow Wilson in this great crisis.
Our armies have been raised with
great rapidity, he said, but nothing
compared to the need of the hour.
Every leading man realizes now that
! the United States was little 700 slow
in declaring war; but the fact that we
had always been peace-loving peo-
pie, was largely responsible for this.
It is an enormous undertaking, and
the people of this country are willing
iousness. The speaker declared that
the i'll feeling occassioned by the War
Between the Sections had not yet fl
nally passed away, and this, too; had
been a drawback, to certain extent
in getting the people aroused to a
full sense of duty. Happily, however:
! the time has arrived when every A
merican no longer knows no North,
no South no East or no West, but
that Americans everywhere are lin
! ing up with the one great purpose Of
making the peoples of the world free
DR.. Murchison scored the manner
in which pacifists are spreading Ger
man propaganda throughout tle
country. The fact that we should
or should not have entered the war:
said he" is as ancient as Revolution
ary history" and all must act and
act wisely. Men are needed faster
than we can get them across the wa
ter. and these men must be cared
for. They are making the supreme
sacrifice, and it is the duty of those
who are left behind to see to it that
they are made as comfortable as pos
sible. In this connection, the speak
er urged the members of the Lexlng-
ton Red Cross to put every ounce OF
energy into their work; that wound
ed soldiers in the trenches are pray
ing for the bandages to hold out un-
I'll their wounds are dressed.
The speaker closed with an elo-
ouent and touching appeal for the
thousands of little innocent children
in the war-ridden sections who are
without food raiment. His was a
mastery presentation of the needs
Of the hour, and he sat down amid
much applause.
The next and last speaker was Mfs
Annie l Rembert, of Columbia, a wo-
man who has given most of her time
and her talents for many years in the
great work of stamping out tubercu-
losis in South Carolina. Mrs. Rem
bert stated, however, that this was
rot her mission on this occasion;
that she was here for the purpose of