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A POE
Composed by Robert H. Harris and Read
ON GRADY DAV
CAIRO, GA., AUGUST 17, 1910.
Ob, that ray soul, in rhythmic vein,
Might such poetic heights attain,
That I’d due honor to him pay,
Whose name we celebrate, to-day !
Winged Pegasus I would bestride
And his celestial course would guide,
Far out, thro’ boundless ether-space,
His gleaming hoofs twinkling apace,
Up to those regions of the sky
Thro’ which the heav’nly Muses fly,
Where, haply, one of them might deign
To grant me what on earth, in vain
I’d seek—eulogium meet to bring,
In Henry Grady’s name to sing.
Then, soaring wide thro’ space, again,
To my fleet steed I’d give free rein,
Till such a hymn, inspired, I'd raise,
As that great name would fitly praise. ■
As Pegasus Medusa’s blood—
From which he’d sprung—a purple flood,
Spurning with nervous hoof, was seen
Op’ning the Spring of Hippocrene,
Would that to me might unsealed be
A fount of glory, flowing free,
Drinking from which, this rhythmer might
Be nerv’d for strong, continued flight. . ,
Then, might I sing of hill and dale,
Of pine-clad slope and flow’rj! vale,
Of hammock dense, and wine-hued stream,
Of quiet.lakes, whose waters gleam
In sunshine&right, ere rippling breeze
Comes whisp’ring thro’ the rustling trees;
Of broad'ning fields of corn and cane,
Of cotton rich and waving grain,
Of ev’ry plant known to the South,
In Georgies I’d portray the growth;
To sheep and kine, for ev’ry need,
Poultry and swine, of finest breed,
' To all the beasts that stock the farm,
Bucolic verse should lend a charm;
In graphic strains, I’d illustrate
The fairest county in the state.
Now, as in these respects, we are
Beyond all other sections, far,
Our good home people need not fear
At disadvantage to appear,
Whene’er compared with neighbors, round,
On any just and righteous ground.
Our county ranks among the best,
Our towns shine forth, among the rest
That stud fair Georgia’s proud domain,
Their bright escutcheons free from stain;
We wear, with pride, our honored name
Upon which, ne’er have brought we shame.
Five years ago, this very day,
Atlanta saw a brave array,
When Gov’nor Terrell faced the men
Who, through the fray, had faithful been,
Had wrought and fought, till, vict’ry won,
Their great heroic task was done,
And, pen in hand, approved the act
Which'.our new county made a fact.
Eleven stood together, then,
As they had stood together, when
In smoke and dust and battle din,
' They’d set their teeth, resolved to win,
While every man stuck to his post,
Facing a stern and compact host;—
Then, when the gov’nor signed—and smiled,—
Their brave hearts throbbed with triumph wild.
Of that eleven, there were two
From Thomasville, unselfish, true,
Two from the country, brave and staunch,
While one from Whigham dared to launch,
Himself upon a troubled sea
And take the chance of destiny
With six from Cairo, every one
Set to complete the task begun.
Now, as I name
Those sons of fame,
Fail not, my dear people, to honor each one,
For what, in Atlanta, so nobly was done.
Walter and “Andy” Roddenbery,
Will Walker and John Singletary,
Will Hbpkins and Will Carr together stand,
John Godwin, J. F. Stone,
John Crawford and Ade Powell, hand in hand;—
Bob Terrell’s “paired” alone.
But, while his name stands to itself, sir,
The man was not laid on the shelf sir;—
Hard, with the rest he worked and they, with him*
Their fates together linked, to “sink or swim.”
And, while we give honor where honor is due,
We yield ready praise to The Messenger, too;
Whose zeal never wavered, which made ne’er a pause,
Till viet’ry, triumphant, had honored our cause. '
But many more, who had remained
At home and nobly, there, sustained
The column fighting “at the front,”
While it so bravely bore the brunt,
Amid blows falling thick and fast,
Had their great “inning,” at the last.
When, first, the glad news burnt the wire,
The Cairo people caught a-fire;
But, when, next day, the train rolled in,
Never, on earth, was such a din .
Raised, anywhere, as ripped the sky
When, in that surging throng, each eye
Lit on the delegation come,
War-worn and battle-scarred, back home.
Each man was seized, as, from the train
He disembarked, by might and main,
And borne amid the frenzied crowd,
Tumultuous voices shouting loud,
Wild whoops and yells splitting the air,
Mad pandemonium, ev’rywhere.
But, in due time, that mighty spasm
Of schoolboy-like enthusiasm t \
Subsided and all settled down
To work for country and for town.
Far sooner than some realized,
The “county force” was organized,
All officers, installed in place
And business moving on, apace.
Still onward, under wise control,
The wheels have never ceased to roll;
“Progress,” the watchword, safe advance,
Sane system, nothing left to chance;
With eight new counties in the race,
Ours with the foremost has kept pace.
When, first, the question of name
Before our citizens came,
They were found ready;
And when decision was made,
The vote o’erwhelmingly said,
Let it be Grady.
So, Gradv it was, and Grady it is,
And Grady it ever will be;
Be it honored, while ours, as ’twas honored while his,.
From all that would taint it kept free.
When, veil removed, that noble face
Looks down upon us, from the place
It occupies, in portrait frame,
The thought of Henry Grady’s fame,
Won in prime youth upon the stage,
A fame that men of greater age
Have rarely won, in any field,
An honor that to none may yield,
Comes swiftly flashing thro’ the mind:
“How few theie be of Grady’s kind!”
Not many e’er might hope, in truth,
To emulate that peerless youth,
Whose native genius-won the fame,
Which, now, enwreathes his matchless name.
With pleasure sincere, we welcome, to-day,
Among us, the son and daughter, as well,
Of him to whose name these honors we pay,
In terms that no words can aspire to tell.
Our gates, wide ajar, are open to you,
The keys of the town we gladly extend,
While pledging our troth, our loyalty true
To that noble name, ours e’er to defend.
Now, could I, on my swift-winged steed,
Thro’ space celestial grandly speed
My circling flight to regions where
Polymnia, regent of the air
(Continued on third page*)
APPLICATION FOR CHARTER..
GEORGIA-Grady County.
To the Superior County of said County;
The petitition of G. A. Wight, Ira
Higdon, M. G. McManus, H. G. Can
non, John B. Crawford, Walter Davis,
L. C. Graham, J. B. Wight, L. L, Bar-
wick, W. A. Walker, Wight Brothers:
Company, P. H. Herring, M. L. Led
ford, Wight Hardware Company, R. C.
Bell, Thomas Wight, W. T. Crawford,
W. D. Barber, W. J. Willie, W. G.
Baggett, W. B. Roddenberry, Joe H*g-
don, J. A. Lindsay, Robert H. Harris,.
E. F. Dollar, J. J. Copiage, Roy W.
Ponder, J. M. Sasser, F. M. Brannon.
T. S. Copeland, W. P. Smith, Ira Car
lisle, W. H. Robinson, J. G. Kincaid,
J. G. Moore, T. M. Chastain, C. G..
Stephens, White & Stringer. J. W..
Booth, W. C. Jones, W. A. Carr, L. 0..
Maxwell, C. H. Maxwell, H. J. Poulk,
Pelham & Havana Railroad Company,
J. L. Peebles and T. A. J. Majors, all!
of the County and State aforesaid, re
spectfully shows:
1. That they desire for themselves,
their associates and successors, to be
incorporated and made a body politic,
under the name and style of Progress’.
Publishing Company, for the period of
twenty (20) years.
2. The principal office of said cor
poration shall be in the City of Cairo',
state and county aforesaid, but peti
tioners desire the right to establish
branch offices within this state or else
where, whenever the holders of the
majority of the stock may so deter
mine.
3. The object of said corporation ie
pecuniary gain to itself and sharehold
ers.
4. The business to be carried on by
said corporation is the editing and pub
lishing of a newspaper or newspapers
in said county or elsewhere in said
state, the doing of all kinds of book
binding and job printing, dealing in
stationery and all kinds of office sup
plies, and the transaction of all such
business as may be necessary in or in
cidental to the conduct of a general
printing and publishing business.
5. The capital stock of said corpora
tion shall be Three Thousand ($3,000.00)
Dollars, with the privilege of increas- j
ing the same to the sum of Ten Thous- ‘
and ($10,000.00) Dollars by a majority
vote of the stockholders, said stock
be divided into shares of Twenty-fiver'
($25.00) Dollars each, and to be non
assessable. More than ten (10) per
cent of the amount of capital stock to
be employed in said corporation has •
been actually paid in.
6. Petitioners desire the right to
have the subscriptions to said capital
stock paid in money or property to be
taken at a fair valuation.
7. Petitioners desire as a corpora- ,,
tion, the right to sue and be sued, to '
plead and be impleaded, to have and
use a common seal, to make all neces
sary by-laws and regulations, and to
do all other things that may be neces
sary for the successful carrying on of
said business, including the right to
buy, hold and sell real estate and per
sonal property suitable to the purposes
of the corporation, and to execute notes,/
and bonds, as evidence of indebtedness?'
incurred, or which mav be incurred, in 1
the conduct of the affairs of the corpir- 1
ation and to secure the same by mort
gage, security deed, or other form of
lien under existing laws.
8. Petitioners desire for said corpor
ation tiie power and authority to apply
for and accept amendments to its char
ter of either form or substance by a
majority vote of its stock outstanding
at the time. They also ask authority!
for said corporation to wind up its af
fairs, liquidate and discontinue its
business at any time it may determine!
to do so by a vote of two-thirds (2-3Y
of its stock outstanding at the time. 1
9. Petitioners desire for said corporl
ation the right of renewal when and a3
provided by the laws of Georgia and
that they have all such other rights]
powers, privileges and immunities as
are incident to like corporations or peri
missable under the laws of Georgia.
Wherefore, petitioners pray to" be
incorporated under the name and style
aforesaid, with the powers, privileges
and immunities herein set forth and as
are now or may hereafter be allowed a
corporation of similar character under
the laws of Georgia.
R. C. Bell and
W. J. Wii lie,
t-i i • Attorneys for Petitioners.
Filed in office, this the 3rd day of
August, 1910.
J. M. McNair, Jr.,
Deputy Clerk.
GEORGIA—Grady County,
I, J. M. MeNair, Jr., Deputy Clerk
Superior Court of said county ao here
by certify that the foregoing is a true
and correct copy of the application for
charter of Progress Publishing Compa-
ny as the same appears on file in this
office.
Witness my official signature and the
seal of this Court, this the 3rd day of
August, 1910.
^ „ J. M. McNair,
^County^ er k ® u P erior Court, Grady
