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Mercer’s Retiring President. By Rev. Len G. Broughton. Nothing has more pained us in Georgia than the loss of Dr. Charles Lee Smith from Mercer Univer sity. During his year of service he has done great things byway of bringing the University before the leading educators and raising funds for better equip ment. Dr. Smith is himself a man of great and rare scholarship. No man during so short a stay in the state has impressed himself more favorably than has Dr. Smith. He is aggressive in everything that is for the cause of education. His ideals are the highest and his methods of administration are such as the great and leadng schools of the country have found to be the best. The foremost educators of our state greatly re gret his departure, and wish for him a still wider field of usefulness. In saying this, we are not to be understood as reflecting upon the trustees who re fused to endorse his advanced policy, which led him to offer his resignation. They thought that they knew more about Mercer’s needs than Dr. Smith, and thinking so, they only acted on their convictions. It was purely a question of policy. Dr. Smith, as president, saw that certain things should be done or the institution would continue to be apart from the people. Seeing these things, he was duty bound to say so. The trustees and Dr. Smith differed in opinion as to the policy of he institution, and Dr. Smith offered his resignation. This makes the issue very plain and gives the trustees a splendid chance to carry out their policy, as Dr. Jameson is thoroughly in sym pathy with the plans and purposes of the trustees. We do not know what Dr. Smith’s plans are, but on every hand and from all over the state have been heard expressions of hope that he will continue in the educational work of the South. We have few men in the South so well prepared and with such splendid abilty in the line of college or uni versity work, and we cannot afford to lose them. To More Than Two Million Georgians. It affords the writer no little pleasure to say to you that wherever the claims of the Anti-Saloon League have been presented the people have been very responsive and sympathetic. There is a most pronounced opposition to the Saloon in Georgia. I have never seen such manifestations of interest on the part of our churches and patriotic citizens generally. The license saloon and dispensary alike are generally hated in Georgia. The Christian peo ple and law-abiding, peaceable, liberty-loving folk are simply chafing under the yoke of the drunkard maker. We do not expect to carry state prohibition this year, nor next, but we do hope and pray, and are working mightily with a view toward enacting some wholesome temperance legislation this sum mer. And if we do not pass an anti-jug law or some other good law looking toward the curtailing of the devilish liquor business in one hundred and twelve dry counties, which have long been the dump ing ground for the conscienceless and murderous Rum-Masters, then all signs fail us. Wherever and whenever hope of an anti-jug law or other protection has been offered to these out raged and helpless dry territories enthusiasm has been invariably aroused. Poor Lawrenceville, with her many beautiful, but suffering sisters will not always bleed and nurse her wounds and cry in vain for deliverance. No, ♦ as there is a just and merciful God in heaven this wrong shall be righted. Gentlemen, we are going to change law. We are going to make law. If need be we will change the constitution to save oui’ fair State from such debauchery and shame. And so help me God I will never let up till deliverance has come. J. C. SOLOMON. John Burns, the labor leader in the Ho se of Commons of England, together with his wile, was presented at the Court of St. James recently. The Golden Age for June 21, 1906. CHRISTIAN PATRIOTISM The Confederate Flags. “Stars and Bars,” the first flag of the Confed erate States, with the blue union in the upper left hand corner, containing seven stars and three bars, the central being white and the upper and lower red, was recommended by the flag committee of the Confederate congress at Montgomery, Ala., on Feb ruary 11, 1861, and adopted on March 4, 1861. On the latter date it was raised to the top of the staff on the capitol by Miss L. C. Tyler, of Virginia, granddaughter of ex-President John Tyler. The second, the “battle flag,” designed by Gen eral Beauregard after the battle of Bull Run in July, 1861, and proposed by him because of the confusion created by the striking resemblance of the rival flags in the field, which often rendered it difficult to distinguish friend from foe, was adopted by General Joseph E. Johnston. The flag exhibits the blue cross with thirteen stars resting on a red ground, as represented by the battle flag button of the United Confederate Veterans. The third, the “national flag,” adopted May 1, 1863, by the Confederate congress, with the cross in the upper left hand corner on white ground, was afterward discarded because when hanging limp against the staff it resembled *a flag of truce, the body of the flag being pure white. The fourth, the last “national flag,” adopted March 4. 1865, by the Confederate congress in lien of No. 3, has a red bar running vertically at its end from top to bottom in its white body, with the blue cross and its thirteen stars and red ground in the upper left hand corner. This handsome banner is the one retained and still used at its reunions by the United Confederate Veterans. The Battle Abbey. By JOHN U. WEIGH. The press dispatches up to the present writing have not indicated when this great memorial hall for the Confederacy will Be commenced. But we feel assured it will be completed in time to have the reunion at Richmond, Va., next year. At the Louisville reunion last year, General Clement A, Evans spoke as follows in reference to the work: “In our report last year we expressed gratifica tion that we were at last in sight of the completion of our cherished plans—that we had secured the SIOO,OOO to Be raised by us to meet the condition of the contribution of the same amount by Comrade Charles B. Rouss—and that we hoped very soon to eo forward in the actual building of our memorial hall— 1 Battle Abbey,’ as it is popularly called. “We confidently hoped that we could at this meet ing report our building at least commenced. But we then reported that the only obstacles in our way was that the $40,000 balance due from the Rouss estate was hung up by an attachment gotten out by the former secretary and superintendent, J. C. Underwood, in the suit he had instituted against the C. M. A., in the United States court, at Brooklyn, N. Y., for alleged commissions due him. We regret to have to report that this same obstacle still ex ists. “We could have proceeded to build with the money on hand, and many of our friends were in favor of our doing so, and members of the board, impatient at this lonsr delay, were inclined to take this same view. But, as by the terms of Comrade Rouss’ gift, the SIOO,OOO cannot, as we think, be used until the whole $200,000 is in hand. We need the use of an additional fund to secure the balance of the Rouss subscription.” Robert White, chairman of the executive commit tee, in his report, says: “Had it not been for the litigation referred to we would long ere this have commenced the building in the city of Richmond of that memorial which is due to the memory of the Confederate soldiers, and to the history of our Southland. “We earnestly hope that in the end we may defeat Conducted By GENERAL CLEMENT A. EVANS the claims of this man Underwood, and eventually receive from Rouss’ estate the balance due us. “If, however, we should be dissappointed in this we hope and expect to make such arrangements as that whatever judgment Underwood may finally obtain will be fully settled and the Rouss money paid over to us in full. We deem it well to say to the people of the South that it seems strange to us that they will not raise enough money to place $200,000 in cash in our hands at once and before the litigation referred to is ended. “Monuments have been erected all over the South, yet no testimony of our people byway of a monu ment has yet been erected in testimony of the cour age and heroism of the Confederate soldiers as a whole, in which could not only be gathered relics of their great conflict, but which would also contain the history of the war as well as the history of the entire Southland and would be a Mecca for poster ity.” The Battle Abbey will be a great depository for relics and memorials of the Confederacy and will be as magnificent, as such a structure should be. It is probable that the fund will go up to $250,000 before we are through. It will include a library of books and papers bear ing upon he history of the Confederacy. There will be a department for statuary,,which will be one of the features, and it is for the equipment of this department that the additional $50,000 will be used. There will also be a museum, where relics will be kept and displayed. It will be along the line of the depositories that have been established at the capitals of many of the states, but will be entirely independent of them. Richmond was chosen as the place for the building because is was the capital of he Confederacy. A number of sites, all of which are attractive, have been offered by the committee at various sums and it is probable that there will be some difficulty in choosing the one best suited. Architects have made beautiful designs for the building. While no posi tive decision regarding the kind of architecture that will be employed has been made, it is certain that the building will be one of rare beauty in construc tion and peculiarly fitted for the purpose for which it is to be used. The Faded Gray Jacket. Fold it up carefully, lay it aside, Tenderly touch it, look on it with pride; For dear must it be to our hearts evermore, The jacket of gray our loved soldier boy wore. Can we ever forget when he joined the brave band, Who rose in defense of our dear Southern land; And in his bright youth hurried on to the fray. How proudly he donned it—the jacket of Gray? CHORUS: Fold it up carefully, lay it aside, Tenderly touch it, look on it with pride; For dear it must be to our hearts evermore, The jacket of gray our loved soldier boy wore. His fond mother blessed him and looked up above, Commending to Heaven the child of her love; What anguish was hers, mortal tongue may not say, When he passed from her sight in the jacket of gray. Rut her country had called him, she would not repine, Though costly the sacrifice placed on its shrine; Her heart’s dearest hopes on its altar she lay, When she sent out her boy, in his jacket of gray! We laid him to rest in his cold, narrow bed. And graved on the marble, we placed o’er his head, / s the proudest of tributes our sad hearts could pay, “”e never disgraced the dear jacket of gray.” Then fold it up carefully, lay it aside, Te iderly touch it, look on it with pride; For dear it must be to our hearts evermore, The jacket of gray our loved soldier boy wore. 5