Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-05
ASKS SOUTH NOT
TOFORGET STORIES
Senator Harrison Makes Plea
in Address to Confed-
crate Veterans.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

special Dispatch to The Star,
CHARLOTTE, N. c., June 5.-A plea
to the South not to forget its princi-
pies and past glories lin the maelstrom
OF industrial strife" was made by Sena-
tor Pat Harrison of Mississippi, ad-
dressing the thirty-first reunion of
Confederate veterans here last night.
Senator Harrison said, in part:
We must not allow those principles
for which our fathers sacrificed to be
supplanted by yielding to the CONNER
cial exigencies of the hour. We can
never sanction the tearing down of that
shrine which was builded by our Splen-
did men and noble women and see one
erected in its stead to the god of man.
mon. The sentiment of the South Is
too dear, its heritage too priceless, its
sacrifices too great to be bartered away,
however large and alluring the price.
No government could have sustained
itself so long without its people having
abiding conviction In the righteousness
Of their cause.
Question Of State Rights.
Slavery was not the cause of the
war. A bigger and larger question was
involved. 1t was the unquestioned right
Of State to exercise it's powers not
expressly OelSBdCeQ III TIE feQefdl con-
Stitution to the Federal Government.
The South believed that property of
every kind should be respected and pro-
tected under the laws of the land. They
resisted any invasion of the right Of the
States to control their own domestic
affairs as a violation of the Federal
compact. And may be permitted to
say in this gathering that the South
today needs rebaptism in that prin-
ciple.
Men Of gray and women Of the
SOS, by your magnificent examples of
devotion and bravery and sacrifice you
made humanity better. You gave to
the South song, sentiment, a story,
that will live forever. You made pa
triotism more sublime, and let me say
to you whose faltering footsteps are
turned toward the grave fear not that
In this materialistic age, in this mad
race for wealth and power, that the
real children of the South will ever
forget the principles for which you
suffered and the priceless legacy that
you have bequeathed to U.S."
Praises Heroes Of War.
In speaking Of Jefferson Davis, sena-
Tor Harrison said:
But why should Jefferson Davis have
been selected and singled out to carry
the alleged sins of the South? What
was there in his department that was
not found in the department of tens of
thousands Of others? What act Of his
touching the South and the cause for
which he stood and fought was there
that he not sanctioned and approved
by every Southern officer and private
IN the Confederate Army? What speech
did he ever utter that did not find en-
thusiaStic acclaim In the burning hearts
of every Southern man? It is q sad
commentary that q distorted public
opinion should measure one man by one
standard and all the other men who
stood for the same thing by another.
"Mr. Davis loved the Union with all
the devotion Of his heart. He had given
the best years of his life In its cause.
He had served it in It's highest legisla-
tive body and In one Of its most impor-
tAnt administrative positions and upon
the field Of battle. The country cannot
forget the qualities Of leadership he dis
played In Indian warfare on the West
ern frontier and the glory he attained
for this great country as commander Of
MisSissippians upon the plains of Mex
leo, winning the highest encomiums at
Buena Vista and Monterey. The coun-
try viii not forget the qualities Of states
manship displayed by him as q member
of the United States Senate and his
services to the Government as Secretary
Of War under Franklin Pierce"