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z x r -M' -- ( W» ’' >ll » VOLUME SIX NUMBER EOUR THE SOUTH OI TOMORROW: The Nation's Chief Presides While Flags of Southern States Are Folded 'Beneath Stars and Stripes, and Senator Gordon Tor the "Old” and Clarence J, Oto ens For the "Neto” Speak Amid a ‘Delirium of Cheers and Tears. UST such a climax of patriotism was never seen before on Ameri can soil. And because the story of that hour cannot be told without description and description can not be given without detail, we give to our distant readers the fol lowing glimpse of the great South- J I ern Congress which brought to Atlanta last week what John Temple Graves declared to be “the most notable gathering of national celebrities ever seen on Southern soil.” The Constitution’s “story teller” gives the following graphic picture: “In the presence of the nation’s Chief Executive, who was a conspicuous actor in the stirring drama, the old men whose eyes are fixed on the past and the young men whose faces are turned to the future, pledged themselves to hold in reverence the memories of the old South and to be worthy of the promise of the new. It was a historic and intensely interesting occa sion. “President Taft presided and in the audience were distinguished notables, statesmen, empire-builders and captains of industry, such an audience as has prob ably never before gathered in the Phoenix City of the South. ** Gordon for Old South. “Colonel James Gordon, of Okolona, Miss., colonel of a regiment in the civil war and later a Senator of the United States, spoke for the old South and its memories. Clarence J. Owens, comman der of the United Sons of Confederate Veterans, spoke for the new South and its duties and obligations. “The old Confederate soldier, who had once raised a regiment to fight for his state and against the Union and had made the Stars and Stripes the target for his arms whenever and wherever he saw it waving, told how he now loved and reverenced that emblem of his reunited country. “The younger man who only knew of war’s destruction and devastation from history and tradition, spoke of the ideals of the men of the new South and their indebtedness to the future. It was a study in contrasts and a picture to fascinate the student and delight the eye of the painter. “Around the hall were scattered the state flags of sixteen Southern States. To the stir ring tune of ‘Dixie’ these various standards were advanced to the stage, one by one, ac- ATLANTA, GA. MARCH 16, 1911. companied by an honorary escort of each state’s most distinguished citizens. The em blems of South Carolina and Mississippi, Ala bama and Florida and Georgia, in the order of their secession from the Union, were brought up on the stage and placed in position. “Finally all were arranged, each beloved em blem occupying its separate position as the representative of a sovereign and independ ent state of the American commonwealth. The band had been playing ‘Dixie,’ when suddenly » U ‘'"' - O' ’ ’i’ f *- *■ ■» > S * ■ • w ■ ■ < HON. CLARENCE JULIAN OWENS. its tones were hushed and the strains of ‘America’ pealed forth. From high above the stage the silken folds of the Stars and Stripes floated down, completely covering the semi circle of state emblems and overshadowing the beauty of the smaller flags as the sun pales the beauty of the moon. Audience Cheers. “The audience stood and cheered, and cheer ed again, waving handkerchiefs and applaud ing. It was an inspiring, a pulse-stirring mo ment. Across the face of the big flag was a blurred band. The covering was removed and the emblem, ‘E Pluribus Unum,’ blazed out in red, white and blue letters, while 5,000 peo ple testified their appreciation of the signifi cance of the poetic allusion. “The work of the congress thus set forth in a patriotic ceremony struck deeply into the minds of those present. “The lesson of the contrast between 1861 and 1911 was further emphasized by the re marks of the two principal orators of the morn- ing. Speaking for the South of yesterday and today, Colonel Gordon said: “ ‘We have the greatest country in the world, blessed with more natural re sources than any other nation. We have the most perfect system of self-govern ment in the world. Standing here as the representative of the old South, I am the rear guard of her grand army. Most of my comrades have passed over the dark river, where they rest under the shade of the trees. I feel it a great privilege to speak here to the American nation, and especially to the sons and grandsons of the two great armies who once contend ed on ensanguined fields, and are now one ( people. We are now one nation of re united States.’ “Speaking for the South of today, and particularly the South of tomorrow, Clarence J. Owens said: “ ‘The hour has come when the South’s new union must’ be perfected, when the states with a common interest, agricul turally, commercially and industrially, must be bound together in a new com pact for the interpretation of resources and for the removal of every misconcep tion concerning the South.’ The Re-United States. “The first duty devolving upon Presi dent Taft after he took the chair was the introduction of ex-Senator James Gor don, from Mississippi, which he did in a few short but apt words, speaking in highest terms of commendation of the venerable Mississippian. “Using ‘The Re-United States’ as his sub ject, Mr. Gordon showed how the meeting of the Southern Commercial Congress marks the completion of not only a union more glorious than that formed by the same states fifty years ago, but a closer binding together of the entire nation, without regard to section or political differences, past or present. “In part, he said: “ ‘Sixty years ago I passed through Atlanta (Continued on Page 5.) $1.30 57 y£XX. jive cents a cory. A CLIMAX of PA TRIOTISM