USA > North Carolina > Guilford County > Greensboro > The history of the first North Carolina reunion at Greensboro, N. C., October eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth, nineteen hundred and three > Part 7
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In this city and county you have, so to speak, an object lesson.
At the date of emigration in such large numbers referred to, the site of High Point was not even cleared ground-today it is a city of between five and eight thousand inhabitants. It boasts of being the largest manufacturer of wooden products in the South, and second in the United States. Guilford College, today deservedly ranking among the best and most popular, the only
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Quaker College in the South. was but a simple boarding school. Oak Ridge Institute and Whitsett Institute, now entitled to be called colleges, had no existeuce. Greensboro had two colleges for women, whose combined patronage did not exceed one hundred studeuts (one of which has since been destroyed by fire), and one classical institute for young men. Today within her corporate limits are located two of the State's finest colleges; one for women, with a patronage of nearly a thousand students; and the remaining one of the two first mentioned (saved to the cause of education by the loyal efforts of her alumnæ, who now own it) has a patronage of more than double that. of both at that time. She has five graded schools, which nearly two thousand children attend, in the highest of which is taught the classics. There are in addition several graded schools iu the county.
At that date, this county could boast of but one cotton mill-small, but a pioneer. Today, cotton milling is prosperous in several sections of the county, and in this city are four of the best-equipped mills in the State, and a fifth, in course of construction, is to be oue of the largest in the South, if not in the whole country. These do not include a carpet factory and finishing mill.
In addition to these, she is manufacturing clothing, furniture, and tobacco, everything made of wood, vehicles, material for building, etc .; and among her workers in iron are manufacturers of mill machinery, agricultural imple- ments, and iu fact if old Tubal Cain could have joined in this Reunion we may well believe he would establish his headquarters and principal office in this city.
This city is not alone in this graud march of progress. I repeat, I select it as an object lesson.
When you return to your homes, and recount to our absent kindred, who were prevented from meeting with us today, the glorious progress of the Old North State, I beg of you not to forget to speak of other things which you have not yet seen, but which you will see iu your visits to your old homes before you return. Among these are some things ever pleasing to the eye and dear to the memory of every North Carolinian. You will see still left some of the old sedge fields, grown up in old field pines, through which you will travel on the good old country roads over red-washed gullies, filled here and there with ruts, roots, and stones, "against the statute in such cases made and provided. and the peace of the State": and your poetic souls will be excited by the sight of the good old-fashioned gristmill whose noisy and clanking machinery is moved by the ever-beloved over-shot waterwheel. And you may tell them that you saw, as in days of yore, the patrons of the mill sitting on the old benches and stones, a "committee of the whole on the State of the Union", and heard them gravely discuss politics and religion, interspersed now and then with neighborhood news. And I venture to assert that when you recall these pictures of the old days the broader will be the smile, and the happier the chuckle, with which it will be received. And inspired by their recollections of the old times in the Old North State many a fireside, and perhaps public gathering, will be entertained by stories of camp-meeting, contests at the bar, merry meetings at the old log schoolhouse, and perhaps the glories of exciting combats of local pugilists on the court green and at the "old muster fields".
Again I bid you THRICE WELCOME.
Honorable Frank E. Shober, of New York Representative in Fifty - Eighth Congress
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The Responses
Response of Honorable Francis E. Shober, of New York
Representative of the North Carolina Society of New York
Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen:
The privilege of speaking from this platform in the presence of so distin- guished a company, on an occasion like this, fills me with the deepest emotion.
I know that no one here, from far or near, howsoever many years have passed since his departure, has come back to the Old North State, the land of his birth, without feeling that great throb and thrill all men experience when after weary years of exile they reach their Home at last.
I am the more impressed with this sentiment, because it was in this particu- lar section of the State that the name I bear was well known, and in the gener- ations passed has been honored in no small degree.
It is also a gratification to me to remember that my mother was almost, if not quite, a native North Carolinian, for she spent her youth not many miles from this point, and doubtless there are those present who in the old days at Chapel Hill can readily recall the name of May Wheat. So I am at home, rejoicing to be back again, proud of the fact that I am a native of this grand old State.
It is a grand old State, with a grand past, and a grander future.
In my boyhood days, the school books were wont to describe North Carolina as noted chiefly for the production of tar and turpentine. But it might much more truthfully be said that North Carolina is distinguished chiefly for her brilliant men, and, judging by those I see before me, her beautiful women.
It is true, however, that tar and turpentine were largely produced in the State; and it was from this circumstance that the name Tarheel was given to us. Applied originally as a term of reproach, I, and the other sons of North Carolina in New York, accept it proudly; for, if the indelible stain of tar is on our heel, yet an abiding love for the old North State is imbedded in our hearts, and an unfailing memory of her is impressed upon our minds.
To leave her, even in all the hopefulness and confidence and carelessness of youth, caused a wrench never to be forgotten.
To return to her brings a joy to which we look forward with gladness, of which we can never tire.
This morning, speeding hither to take part in this Reunion, as I looked from the car window, and saw my country once again-the hills all bathed in rosy light, the vales still hid in shadow, the fields all gray spread out to meet the woods just taking on their glorious autumnal colors-when, I say, I looked
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on these things, an emotion most profound came over me. I was looking into the faces of friends of the long ago when I saw the hills and the valleys, the fields, and the woods. Over just such hills, and through just such woods, bave I roamed in delight years ago. Why the very season recalled those days. It was about this time that the "rabbit hollows" were set. Just now is the time for hickory nuts and locusts and persimmons. Oh! the delights of these last. Locust and persimmon "pop"'-no doubt an execrable drink, but delicious in those days.
I love to think of those days, and of the friends I had.
There was one in particular-a dear, dear friend. Next to my father, I thought he was the grandest man in the world. He was immensely tall, broad- shouldered, and of prodigious strength. His face was black, and his hair was kinky; but his heart was white, and his life was straight.
Many a time and oft have I sat astride his mighty shoulders, clutching his woolly hair, to be borne in triumph hither and yon. His word was law to me, and his opinion supreme.
He was at once my mentor, my companion, and my playmate. He taught me almost all that I know. He taught me how to fish. Down on the creek bank, where the shadows lay dank and dark and the water swirled beneath the bank, he taught me how to bait my hook, and-pardon the allusion-to spit upon the bait. I had never heard of Izaak Walton; but if he. himself, had appeared to discourse on this favorite theme, I would not have listened. Albert was there, and Albert knew. Oh! what did he not know? He was cunning with saw and plane. What toys did he not make for me? What wonderful "rabbit-hollows", which made me the envy of all my associates. And what a garden he could make-such potatoes and peas and beans as grew under his watchful care! And this man, so great in my estimation, was my dear friend. He taught me much, and I-I could only teach him to read. At night, after supper, when I had eaten of his corn pone sopped in molasses and bacon grease-a morsel to me more delicious than a delicacy from my father's table-then we began our lesson in the old blue-back spelling book.
And there was Betty-Mammy Betty. She was also my friend. Many a time has she gathered me to her bosom, hushed my sobs, and wiped away my tears, "when dem mean ole white folks treat her baby bad".
Oh! such friends they were-faithful, tried, and true; and they belonged to North Carolina.
My friends, there were, and I believe there are many Alberts and many Bettys whom all of you know. I know that the recollections I have given, are recollections of many of you; I know that the feeling I have is the sentiment which animates you. Knowing this, therefore, I take the liberty on this occa- sion of saying with my distinguished colleague in Congress, Honorable W. R. Hearst, when speaking on the much-discussed Southern question. "Let the South alone-she will take care of her own".
These are some of the recollections which come to me on the rare-alas, too rare-occasions when I come back to my native State, gaze upon her wooded hills and well-watered valleys, and breathe again the air in which I was nur- tured.
And then I reflect with pride upon the history of our noble State, upon her achievements in the past; how easily she has worn her honors, and how sublimely she has borne defeat. And printed upon the records appear the names of her many sons who have attained distinetiou. great and small, in places far remote- in literature, in art, in the forum, on the bench. and at the seat of war. A
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Mr. W. F. Futrell President of North Carolina Society of Philadelphia
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record of which any State might well be proud! And the Old North State, fond mother that she is, yearns over her absent ones, and in this Reunion would bring them all back home for a season, that she might bless them.
'Twas a happy thought-this Reunion. May it be perpetuated, and year after year see this homecoming of North Carolina's sons from far and near, with honors great or small, in ever-increasing numbers, to do homage to our mother, and sing again in unison to Carolina.
In New York, that busy mart where men run to and fro in the ceaseless pursuit of wealth, and where sentiment is perforce pushed into the background, lest it interfere in the strife, there are many North Caroliuians.
A goodly portion have met with honor and success well deserved. You know them all. I wish they might be here to take part in this inspiring move- ment. Another year will bring them, I am sure; for with them, as with all of us, the ties that bind them to Carolina are strong, and they draw them hither- ward persistently.
Then may this good work of vearly Reunions go forward; that absent ones may be brought home again, and that all the world may be convinced of the greatness of our grand old State in the past, her still further greatness in the days to come.
Her greatness in the past! Yes, as has been well said here today she was "first at Bethel; foremost at Gettysburg; last at Appomattox".
She was great before that at King's Mountain, and at Guilford Court- house. There has never been a time when our beloved North Carolina was not great in war.
But though great in war, blessed be God, she has shown and will show that she can be great also in peace.
Response of Mr. William H. Futrell
President of the North Carolina Society of Philadelphia
Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen:
Dr. Winston. who has been sitting beside me, informed me a few minutes ago that the phrase "seven minutes" printed on the program is a joke. To say to a North Carolinian who has been away from this dear old Commonwealth for twenty years that he shall talk to his friends only seven minutes, must be an indication of how valuable time is regarded in the New South. In my day it would have been in order to talk an hour. But coming from "slow" Phil- adelphia, as I do, I can not be expected to keep pace with the times. I would remind the committee on arrangements, however, that if they do not wish to hear much speaking, it is a mistake to invite a Philadelphian to address you. unless he is told previously what is expected of him. For if I should attempt to define the difference between a North Carolina lawyer and a Philadelphia lawyer, I should say that the latter not only does not have so much tar on his heels and is, therefore, more vulnerable, but he is the more loquacious of the two. I base this definition upon the following historical fact. In the early days of Philadelphia, when the town was quite small, it is related that a citizen writing to William Penn reported: "The town is small, but flourishing", and
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after referring to the varied interests and conditions of the people added: "'the citizens are healthy and peacable. I need not, therefore, refer to the physicians and lawyers; for we are thankful to be free from the abominable drugs of the one and the pestiferous loquacity of the other". If, therefore, I should give you some pestiterous loquacity, the blame must fall upon the shoulders of the Committee, who did not inforin me until after my arrival that I was expected to make even a "seven-minutes' response". Having no set address, therefore, I shall speak to you very informally but none the less sin- cerely.
I am delighted to be with you on this occasion. My heart has been filled with joy as I have met so many of my old friends, and seen so many familiar faces. And I assure you, on behalf of the North Carolina Society of Philadel- phia. that each member would like to stand here and look you in the face, and tell you how much he loves the dear Old North State. They are living active useful lives-the kind of lives which North Carolinians live wherever they are located. A few days ago I attempted to give a luncheon to some of the North Carolina boys; but I found that they were too busy to eat. One said that he could come at two o'clock; another said that he could come at three; most of them said that they could not come at all; and I was able to get together only five fellows for that luncheon. I was reminded of the statement made by one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of New York, at the Southern Society dinner given in that city last winter. In speaking of the success which South- ern people achieve wherever they go, he said that he thought it was because they were able to accommodate themselves to circumstances, that they became identified with local interests, and that they endeavored to practice those Christian virtues and patriotic sentiments so thoroughly instilled into their minds in their Southern homes. What the future of the North Carolinians in Pennsylvania will be remains to be seen. But I think that we can do no better than emulate the lives of our distinguished and patriotic forefathers of this old commonwealth.
Pennsylvania and North Carolina have so much in common that those of us who live in the former State feel that we are closely identified with you. It was only last week that there was a celebration in Philadelphia commemor- ating the two hundred and twentieth anniversary of the settlement of the Germans in what is now known as Germantown. And it is a remarkable co-in- cidence that at about the same time of this settlement the Germans were also settling in North Carolina. Both Commonwealths had the English, the Scotch- Irish, and the Swiss. The religious seets-the Quakers, Moravians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and others-were prominent in both States. And, however much these denominations differed in their interpretation of the Bible, all agreed that they could do without princes and nobles, but never without the church and schoolhouse. In fact, it is related, with reference to a Moravian settlement in North Carolina, that it was customary to build schoolhouses and churches before the homes of the colonists were finished.
It is, therefore, pleasant to recall the similarity of the people, and the bond of fellowship existing between the two commonwealths. And as we compare the two States at the present time, we find that, in some respects, North Carolina excels Pennsylvania. For instance, only eighteen per cent. of the population of Pennsylvania attend school; whereas in North Carolina it is twenty-two per cent. It is true that the school term is longer in Pennsylvania than it is in North Carolina; but I am much gratified to learn that since I left this State you have lengthened your school term more than fifty per cent. In
Honorable Spencer Blackburn 1 Representative - Elect in Fifty- Ninth Congress
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Pennsylvania, the value of her manufactured cotton goods at the present time is about twenty-five millions of dollars, while in North Carolina, it is about twenty-eight millions of dollars. In fact, I might give other illustrations; but I remember that no man has a right to give statistics when Dr. MeIver is present. He knows so much that I am reminded of the story which was told years ago concerning Judge Settle. How I wish the old North Carolina stories and folklore might be preserved! Will you pardon me if I relate this story ? During the so-called Vance and Settle campaign in this State, two old colored men, Uncle Abe and Unele Aleck, met at the country store at "Bryant's Cross Roads", and proceeded to discuss the political situation. Uncle Abe reminded Uncle Aleck that Judge Settle was a "mighty smart man"; that he knew more than any man in the State. Uncle Aleck, thereupon, compared him with the President of the United States, and also with Mr. Gladstone; but Unele Abe declared that Judge Settle knew more than either of them. ""Well", said Unele Aleck, "I reckon he don't know mo' dan de Lawd". Uncle Abe was quiet for a few minutes, and then, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, said: "Dat am so; he don't know mo' dan de Lawd; but Judge Settle is mighty young yet".
It has been twenty years since I left this good Old North State. The changes have been so numerous and so marvelous that it would be an imposition upon your hospitality and patience for me to attempt to enumerate them. The fact is, I feel that I am in a new North State. The names which General Ran- som mentioned a few minutes ago, and which we used to hear spoken so fre- quently, such as Jackson, Benton, Polk, Iredell, Graham, Johnson, Mangum, Macon, Gaston, Badger, and many others, have been replaced or supplemented by other and newer names. And then one sees the flourishing villages and towns which were almost unknown twenty years ago. This old town itself has been so changed that I scarcely know where I am. Instead of arriving at a railroad station overcrowded and illy ventilated, you have a large, modern, brick building. As I rode up your main street with Dr. McIver-I call it Broadway --- the old courthouse was almost the only building which was familiar to me; and I find that even that is being enlarged and remodeled. Twenty years ago your total expenditure for education was practically $375,000, or twenty-seven cents per capita. Today your total expenditure for education is more than $1,000,000, or sixty cents per capita. Twenty years ago you had two hundred and fifty thousand pupils in school: today you have approximately five hundred thousand -an increase of one hundred per cent., whereas the increase in population is thirty-seven per cent.
These are great results. And when I reflect that you have accomplished all of them without us, I have an answer to Dr. MeIver's question which he put to us at the meeting of the North Carolina Society in New York last winter, when he said: "Why don't you come home?" My answer is "you are getting along very well without us". You are doing a noble work, and I am thankful to feel that it has been done and is being done by the harmonious and collective energy and action of, not a few people, but of the people as a whole.
It is related that when the reign of terror in France was over, and the advocates of law and order began to emerge from their hiding places, they were surprised to find how numerous they themselves were, and how collectively strong they might have been in combating the pre-existing anarchy. It took North Carolina a long time to find out how collectively strong she was, but when onee her mind was made up she advanced with characteristic boldness and patriotic zeal.
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A new era has dawned. You have built a new North State upon the solid foundations of the old. This tremendous growth is followed by new responsi- bilities, and I feel sure that North Carolinians are able to meet them. And as you settle successfully the questions pertaining to the State, you are at the same time aiding in the adjustment of national difficulties.
We are living in a remarkable age; and we are making history with an amazing rapidity. Our recently-acquired territory, our centralization of capi- tal, our internal dissensions in connection with labor and capital, are ques- tions which require serious consideration. And when we remember that public apathy is the root of corruption, it behooves each one of us to accept our small share of responsibility, and to inculcate those principles which stand for the highest ideals of American citizenship. The greatest empire this world ever knew, becoming intoxicated with success, lost its former ideals of citizenship, permitted bribery and corruption to flourish, until Rome, the empire itself, was sold at auction by the pretorian guards.
Our country needs today, as never before, the guiding power and influence of the real Anglo-Saxon American citizen. He can be found in the South, and surely he ought to be found in North Carolina, the purest Anglo-Saxon State of the Union.
Go on, then, with your good work; and in building the new upon the old see to it that you build correctly. You may
"Ring out the old; ring in the new"; Provided you
"Ring out the false; ring in the true".
"Ring out the grief that saps the mind; "' * * * * *
"Ring in redress to all mankind."
"Ring out the slowly-dying cause";
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"Ring in sweeter manners, purer laws."
"Ring out the darkness of the land"; * * * * *
"Ring in the Christ that is to be."
Response of Mr. John Wilbur Jenkins, of Baltimore, Md.
Mr. John Wilbur Jenkins represented the North Carolina Society of Baltimore, and in response to the Governor's address of welcome said, in part :
When President Cleveland and a distinguished party of Washington officials were shooting and fishing on the sounds and banks in Eastern Carolina, they were making sport of a little "banker" boy, who had known only the schooling of his native sea and the blue sky. They were asking him questions about the ownership of various belongings around there, when a flock of wild dueks came
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Mr. John Wilbur Jenkins of the Baltimore Sun
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flying over their heads. Seeking to puzzle him, Mr. Cleveland said, "And whose ducks are those, my boy?" The little fellow dug his toes in the sand, looked up at the President, and replied, "Them dueks is they own ducks; they is".
What I like most about North Carolinians is that they own themselves; and from the very foundation of the colony independence has been their most char- acteristic trait. I am glad that, slowly and gradually though it may have been, the people here have built up their own industry, and have made the State what it is.
When the war ended, her soldiers, who had displayed little gold lace, but had worn proudly the powder-blackened faces and the wounds of the war that are the "red badges of courage", came back to the smoking embers of their homes, and with bare hands in ashes and in desolation began to build upon the ruins the structure of a new civilization. How well they have built it this great commonwealth of two million people attests. Where once was desolation, now we hear the whirring spindles and the shuttling looms. The red hillsides are covered with grain and fruit and snowy cotton. Sleepy little villages have grown into spreading cities, with crowded streets, imposing mansions, and the smoking chimneys of great industry. It is a tremendous thing to have wrought this in a generation, and to have wrought it in silence and alone. For North Carolina owns herself. Her cotton mills, her tobacco factories, her fertilizer plants, her furniture manufactories, her farms and houses are her own, built by her own citizens, in their own enterprise, with their own money.
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