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The Henry County Weekly
VOL. XLIV.
Jefferson Davis
The following address was de
livered by Rev. H. S. Smith at the
Jeff Davis birthday celebration
last Monday, and is published by
special request of the U. D. C’s.
Part I.
The Hebrew prophet expressed
the value of a man to the world
for defense and inspiration in those
immortal words, “A man shall be
as an hiding place from the wind,
a covert from the tempest, as
streams of water in a dry place,
as the shadows of a great rock in
a weary land.”
Much of our insipiration comes
from a study of the achievements
of the great men and woman who
have made history. They are also
the beacon lights to guide us
across the angry and tempestuous
seas. When Napoleon would in
spire his soldiers to greater deeds
of valor when standing beneath
the pyramids, he said, “Soldiers,
forty centuries are looking down
upon you.” Where is the heart
that hasn’t been stirred by the
story of Leonidas and his brave
men who defended the pass of
Thermoplyae with their life’s
blood. The world will never for
get the inscription of their memo
ry, “Stranger, tell the Lacedae
monians that we lie here in obe
dience to their orders.” What
school boy is it that doesn’t know
of the charge of the light brigade
into the vally of death, into the
mouth of hell while the cannon
roared to the right of them and
to the left of them? Who can lis
ten to this story as immortalized
by Tennyson in verse without hav
ing his blood flow faster ?
A nation’s wealth is in its man
hood and womanhood. America
is the wealthiest nation in materi
al resources on the globe; not on
ly that, but the wealthiest nation
that ever inhabited the earth.
What gives it its wealth ? The
manhood and womanhood of
America. There were vast re
sources here when the red man
wandered over mountain and
plain, but they were undeveloped.
Manhood and womanhood Jve
permanence and stability to soci
ety and to government and there
by increase material values.
What has given to Greece her
high place in history ? Why will
her influence be felt in literature
and art and philosphy as long as
the world shall stand ? Not be
cause of her broad expanse of ter
ritory or material greatness, but
becausefshe nurtured great souls.
It is because she gave the world
artists like Phidias, Praxitiles and
Appelles; writers like Homer,
Hesiod, Pindar, Aeschylus, Sopho
cles and Euripides; historians like
Herodotus, Thucydides and Xeno
phon ; statesman and orators like
Pericles and Demosthenes; philos
ophers like Socrates, Plato and
Aristotle. Palestine is a little
rockribbed country on the west
coast of the Mediterranean. Why
has this little country influenced
civilization beyond any land in the
world’s history ? Because it nur
tured prophets and poets, men
and women to whom were given
an exceptional knowledge of God
and soiritual realities.
The glory of the South is in her
manhood and womanhood. This
has been true of her past, is true
of the present and will be true of
A Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of McDonough and Henry County.
Awake! Awake! Awake!
Patriotic Rally at McDonough on Friday the 14th at
4 p* m.
Lieutenant Walter Terrell Halton, who had a command
in the famous Princess Pat Brigade will be the principal
speaker of the hour*
Lieutenant Halton was wounded in the third battle of
Ypres in France, and was later invalided on account of
being gassed* He played a very distinguished role as a
soldier, and as a speaker he never fails to arouse interest
and enthusiasm*
He is a wounded British soldier, having been 41 months
on the Western Front and will tell you of some battles in
which he participated
If you don't hear him you will always regret it*
The old and young, large and small are invited, and if
perchance there is a slacker in your community capture
him and bring him along, and when he returns home he
will be a Patriot*
the future. This is the only glory
that cannot be dimmed or tarnish
ed. She has an abounding pros
perity today in her growing cities,
humming factories and fertile
fields of cotton nnd corn. But
back of this lies her citizenry.
More than that, she had this wealth
of manhood, her true odory, in the
days when her fields were bare,
her granaries empty, her homes
charred ruins and nothing was
left save honor. She gloried in
her Grady, Hill and Calhoun and
Lee and other stars of the first
magnitude. Yea, and there were
thousands of men and women just
as true as noble, who, wearing
jeans and homespun, gave them
selves to the rebuilding of the
South. If we are ever poor again,
may it be in material resources,
and not in glorious manhood and
womanhood.
“God give us men—the time demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and
willing hands;
Men whom the lure of office does not kill;
Mm whom the spoils of office cannot
buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor and will not lie;
Men who can stand before a a demagogue
And damn his treacherous flatteries
without winking;
Tall men. suncro<vned, who live above
the fog
In public duty and private thinking ”
The measure of a man’s great
ness is the overplus of strength
with which he feeds the hiddden
springs of life and thought of oth
ers. There are few who are pre
eminently great, for genius is
widely distributed. “Not many
Platos —only one, and then a thous
and lesser minds look up to him
and learn to think. Not many
Dantes —one, and a thousand poets
tune their lyres to his and catch
its notes. Not many Raplaels —
one, and a thousand aspiring art
ists look up to him and are lifted
by the look. Not many royal
hearts —great magazines of kind
ness. Happy the country or com
munity blessed with a few great
hearts and a few great minds.”
McDonough, Georgia, Friday, june 7, 1918
Such a Jefferson Davis.
We need to sweep away the
mists of indifference and depreci
ation and calumny that obscure
the life and character of this great
and good man. We have honor
ed the memorv of Robt. E. Lee
and placed him among the immor
tals. He was worthy of all the
honor that he has received. Peo
ple pay homage to military heroes
more readily than to those who
are equally great and noble in
civilian life. So Jefferson Day’s
has not yet been appreciated at
his true worth by his own people.
It has even been taught in our
schools by Southern teachers tiiat
Abraham Lincoln was “a greater
man, a man of more exaited pur
pose than was Jefferson Davis,
and that the cause for which Davis
stood was an unworthy cause.”
It is fitting today that we get the
facts about this great leader so
that he may be known and appre
ciated by us all. Such a study
will bring us to agree with the
late Bishop Chas. B. Galloway
when he said of Davis, “he had
extraordinary gifts and radiant
virtues and a brilliant genius that
rank him among the greatest men
of the centuries.”
Jefferson Davis was born in
Kentucky in 1808. He was sent
away from home at a very tender
age for educational advantages.
Then at twelve years of age he
entered .Transylvania College in
Kentucky. Here “he was consid
ered the brightest and most intel
ligent of all the boys as well as
the bravest and handsomest.”
“Jefferson Davis began life well.
He had clean boyhood, with no
tendency to vice or immorality.
That was the universal testimony
of neighbors, teachers and fellow
students. He grew up a stranger
to deceit and a lover of the truth.
He formed no evil habits that he
had to correct, and forged upon
himself no chains that he had to
break. His nature was as trans
j parent as the light that shone
about him ; his heart was as open
ias the soft skies that bent in ben
. ediction over his country home;
and his temper as sweet and cher
ry as the limpid stream that made
music in its flow through the
neighboring fields and forests.”
He went to Wed Point for
his military training where he dis
tinguished himself “for his manly
bearing and his high-toned, lofty
character.” At West Point he;
studied R.iwle’s “View of the Con
stitution,” which taught that a
state had a right to secede, and if
a state did secede a soldier’s duty
reverted to his state. Acting up
on this instruction Davis, Lee, T.
,1. Jackson, the Johnstons and
others cast their lots with their
native states in 1861. So when
the question of a trial for Jeffer
son Davis was being agitated in
1865 Chief-Justice Chase said that
a trial would condemn the North
and in consequence no trial was
ever held. He graduated from
West Point at twenty years of age
and was commissioned a second
lieutenant in the regular army
where he spent seven laborious
years. He had a conspicuous part
in the Black Hawk War. In 1835
he resigned from the army and
married the daughter of General
Zachry Taylor and retired to his
Mississippi plantation to live the
luxurious literary life of a cultur
ed Southern gentleman. The un
timely death of his bride after
three short months was a crush
ing blow to his hopes and life
plans. “After seven years, spent
mostly in agricultural pursuits and
in literary study, especially the
study of political philosophy and
constitutional history, he entered
public life, and almost immediate
ly rose to trusted and conspicuous
leadership.” He was elected to
Program Woman’s Club
for June 18.
Mrs. H. B. Carmichael will be
hostess.
Music,
Charlemagne. Mrs. Whit Turner
Reading. Mrs. Fred Carmichael
Contest. Mrs. Hendley Daniel
Music.
It is expected by the Club to
shortly have a demonstrator to
instruct in using the new substi
tutes in conserving. All the la
dies of the county are invited.
Meeting of Needlecraft
Club.
The Stockbridge Needlecraft
Club met last with Mrs. Grady
Moseley Wednesday afternoon,
May 29, with nine members pres
ent and one visitor, Mrs. Minnie
Harrel.
The officers elected for the new
year are as follows: President,
Mrs. U. R. Hinton; vice-president,
Mrs. Charles Murphey; treasurer,
1 Mrs. C. M. Power ; secretary, Mrs.
Grady Moseley; press reporter,
Miss Josephine McWilliams and
Mrs, Claude Moseley custodian.
A most interesting report of the
Griffin Convention was given by
Mrs. C. M. Power.
Delightful refreshments were
served by Mrs. Grady Moseley.
The meeting then adjourned to
meet with Mrs. Claude Moseley
June the twelfth.
Press Reporter.
For sale: Potato and tomaf >
plants. $2 per 1,000. State vari
ety wanted. J. Q. Dorris, Flani'
Farm, Valdosta, Ga.
congress from Mississippi in 1844.
Great questions were agitating th i
nation when he entered the halls
of congress. He soon entered tl e
lists and bv his mastery of the e
questions attracted national atten-
lion. Ex President John Quincy
| Adams, then a member of the;
House and called the “old mr i
eloquent,” was greatly impressed
with Davis’s ability and predicted!
his brilliant parliamenty caret r.
In regard to his first speech i
congress a recent recent biogn
pher makes this suggestive obst -
vationl “He manifests here .1
his early efforts as a legislat r
some of the larger views of r. 1-
tional life and development whi hi
have been persistently ignored by
those who have chronicled his
career.” In that first great speech
of statesmanlike qualities he made
this broad declaration from the
principle of which he never reced
ed : “The extent of our Union
has never been to me the cause
of apprehension ; its cohesion can
only be disturbed by violation of
the compact which cements it.” .
He believed in the righteous
ness of our war with Mexico and
in conseauence not only advocat
ed a liberal supph of means and
| men, but offered his services cn
! the tented field. He was elected
j a colonel of a regiment of Missis
' sippi volunteers organized at
Vicksburg. He resigned his seat
■in congress to join the regiment.
He rendered heroic service in this
1 war and won renown for himself
on the plains of Beuna Vista by
turning almost certain defeat into*
victory. On his return with the
remnant of his brave regiment he
was everywhere received with
great enthusiasm.
(Continued next week.)
$1.50 A YEAR
