The Columbus dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 19??-1922, 1919-05-14
WOODMEN HOLD
MEMORIALSUNDAY
HON. A. g. MATTHEWS. OF MEM
PMS, TENN, DELIVERS FINE
ADDRESS TO LARGE
CROWD.
beautiful Program Carried Out
Graves OF Dead Decorated-Im-
pressive Ceremonial in
Which All Join.


the memory OF their dead last Sun
day afternoon. In Gods half acre.
Friendship cemetery, they gathered
with their friends and loved ones
and as they recalled the faces, gone
but not forgotten, and recounted the
good done in their life time, the
gentle breeze OF faultIess spring
afternoon. sung requiem OF repose
to the members sleeping there.
II was a beautiful service. The
members of Queen City Camp gath
cred at their lodge room and
marched to the cemetery, several
hundred strong. Around the grave
of the late Warren Gardner, a men,
Der OF the order. they gathered. Here
the friends had assembled and here
stand had been erected and here
the exercises were held The Wood
men memorial ritual was used. i'm
pressive and beautiful as ii was and
read by Messrs. Simrall, Searcy and
Richards, Preceding IL and inter-
mingled with it was an appropriate
musical program, an opening hymn,
Nearer, My God, to Thee" in which
all were invited to sing by Hon. s.
l.. Caine, who presided over the ex-
ercises and who introduced the ora
tor for the occasion. The musical
program, arranged with fine appre-
citation of the occasion by Mrs Car
rie Sessums, included a duet. "Tarry
With Me-" sung by Miss ollie San
ders and Mr. Earle Burris, with fine
effect; 20 Dry Those Tears" beauti-
fully sung by Mrs. w. A. Deale, and
Face to Face" sung with exquisite
meaning by Mrs. w. r. Sparks A
dear little girl. Louise Roper, recited
the Woodmen poem. 20, Why
Should the Spirit of Mortal Be
Proud?"
Hon. A, G. Matthews. of Men,
phis, Tenn, was the orator. lie is
Head Consul for Mssissippi's sister
jurisdiction, and has been for four
terms. The assembled multitude
expected fine address. They
We're not disappointed. Mr.. Mat
thews is man of command
ing appearance. He has well
rounded and melodious voice. He
has been in the forum long enough
to divest himself of all embarrass-
ment in addressing a crowd. He has
mastered his subject
Mr.. Matthews began by referring
TO the spirit of the celebration, elab-
GRATED its purpose and paid tribute
to the lodge and the order holding
it. He touched upon the financial
feature of Woodcraft and reviewed
its statistics in death claims paid; in
monuments erected and in succor
extended He referred feelingly to
the maternal size of the order and
said that 1t made men better faith
ers and husbands, better citizens and
better men. 1t inculeated love of
home, a reverence for law; 1t in
spired the spirit of service and de. .
veloped love of country. His re-
view of the part played by Woodmen /
in the World War was especially eff
fective and when reviewing the
Woodmen Circle he paid one of the
most eloquent tributes to woman
hood ever heard His reference to
his mother, asleep at the foothills of /
the mountains of Tennessee, was di-
yinely beautiful. and brought tears
to many eyes.
Mr. Matthews referred to his man
uscript in the earlier stages of his
address, but here and there he
depressed and it was when he was
by conventional limita-
tons that he appeared at his best
Here it was that the fires of elo-
luenee blazed forth and then il was
he poured out his beautiful
thoughts with impassioned earnest
ness. He spoke at some length, but
the time passed so quickly all re-
GREETED when he was done.
Following the exercises at the
stand the graves of the following
sovereigns, who had died in the past
year, were visited and decorated: J.
W. Gardener. J. NJ. Shelton, J. c.
Morehead. w. T. Grouse, N. r. San
iers. ]. M. Beard and j. w. Mattox.
Seventy-fve monuments in Friend
ship Cemetery marked with little
Tags Sunday, denoted the resting
places of dead members of the To-
al camp.