The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, January 01, 1890, Image 3
TI DEAD EDITOR.
Brilliant Career of the Late
? Henry Woodfen Grady.
AN UNTIMELY DEATH, INDEED.
Bet Thtrty-etf-ht Years Old and Yet One
of tfce Bent Known Bf en In the United
j States-Journalist, Orator, Patriot and
j Befsn&er-UniTemal Sorrow.
The state of Georgia, the "New South'*
and the entire American Union have sus?
tained an irreparable loss. Henry W.
Grady is dead. Dead in the very morn?
ing of bia fame, when all the elements
O? the business and political situation
seemed to combine to promise him the
brightest future of any young man in
the United States. He was but S3 years
old, and vet he had rounded the circle of
achievement in many lines and gained
fame a? editor, correspondent, orator,
patriot and reformer. The peculiar sit
HZ5RY W. GRADY,
nation demanded just such a man to
make the two sections known to each
Other, and the man was just fitted for
Che situation.
His first step in active life was to at?
tempt to fill the place of his father, who
died fighting for the south. His last
achievement was a speech at Boston de?
fining the views of his people so clearly
and candidly that even hostile critics were
charmed. And bb last audible words
were, "If I die, I die serving tho south,
the land I love so welL Father fell
in battle for it: I am proud to die talk?
ing for it." It is hard for a limited in?
tellect to reconcile itself to his death at
such a time, vet it may well be that his
Sorrowing mother spoke an important
truth when she said that his work was
well nigh finished. It may, indeed, be that
bis death just at this time will add
weight to his words and do more than
bis continued life could lia ve done.
MIS PERSONAL HISTORY.
Henry Woodfen Grady was born in
1851, at Athens, Ga., of stock in which
runs the blood of the Irish patriots Cur?
ran and O'Connell. Athens is a pretty
place nestling among the hills of eastern
Georgia; it is called classical Athens,
being the point towards which many
young men of the south turn for an edu?
cation. Grady's father was a colonel in
the Confederate army and lost his life
when his son, later on tobe so intimately
connected with the rise of the then suffer?
ing south, was but 14 years old.
It was about this time that young
Grady entered the University of Georgia,
which is located at Athens. Here, after
a brilliant course, he graduated first in
bis class, and then went to the celebrated
University of Virginia, founded by
Thomas Jefferson, where he continued
bis studies. The gift of eloquence was
apparent at an early age, and before he
became distinguished he had established
a reputation among a limited acquaint?
ance as an orator.
Upon leaving college Mr. Grady be?
came a correspondent of The Atlanta
Constitution, the paper ?e was to after?
wards edit. In this field he soon gained
a reputation for being a pungent and
fbcobie writer. Desiring to act for him?
self he established a paper at Rome, Ga.
The paper soca became remarkable for
the strength of its editorial comments
from the pen of the proprietor.
HIS RISS ES JOURNALISM.
Bo* Mr. Grady desired a wider field.
Atienta soon began to attract attention
as one of the new southern cent?n), and
lhere Mr. Grady went. He l^ecame one
Ci* the proprietors of The Atlanta Daily
Herald. His work on the piper gave
bim a reputation from the racy and pict?
uresque style in which be commented on
current events. But the paper was not
destined to live long. It was in direct
opposition to The Constitution, and there
was not room for both. In spite of The
Herald's brilliant management it went
to the wall in about a year after Grady
undertook it. He made one more at- j
tempt to establish a paper of his own. j
Be started The Atlanta Courier, but
.gain failing he abandoned the attempt
altogether.
Mr. Grady was still quite a young j
man? He held a pen which was always !
in requisition, writing for The Louis- j
ville Courier-Journal, The Atlanta Con
?Citation and other papers. James Gor- j
don Bennett the elder appointed him j
Georgia correspondent of The New York
Herald,and this position he held for six
years. In this way he continued to grew j
in experience and reputation till fortune \
carno to him by a lucky railway specula- ;
lion. Making some 8?0.000 by a rise in
railway stock he purchased with it a
quarter interest in Tho Atlanta Consti?
tution.
FROM THE DESK TO THE PLATPOaH.
As a journalist Mr. Grady was at once j
pan gent, brilliant and possessed of excel?
lent literary taste. With a kee n instinct |
of what the public require in the shape 1
of news and editorial comment, ho man?
aged the paper in the interest of tho com?
munity in the vicinity of Atlanta and '
not without a careful regard for national .
events. In the south he was considers] j
the most thoroughly equipped journalist
south of Mason and Dixon's line.
Mr. Grady's opportunity to thus lift \
himself above other southern journalists j
came with the Charleston earthquakes
in 1886. "It's an ill wind that blows no
body any good,** and the sufferings and
terrors of the people of Charleston
proved a flt subject for Mr. Grady to
show his powers of description. A seri<-s
of letters to The New York World sud- !
denly gave him an enviable reputation. I
As Mr. Grady thus suddenly gained a j
national eminence in journalism so ho !
attained national repute as an orator.
Indeed, it is as an orator that he is l*>st I
known, especially in the north. At th? ;
annual dinner of thc New England s<>- !
ciety. held in New York in Iteifi. he wa?. .
invited to speak. The effort was worthy
to place any man on a high pinnacle
of oratorical fame, and it at once
announced the speaker aa an orator to
all the American people. That speech
was so important an event in Mr. !
Grady's life, it is so full of eloquence,
that it is here appended vertxttim. It is j
an impassioned oration: ono spoken
upon the sour of the moment, and full
of that genius which conies with inspira?
tion. Before tl>e dinner a correspond?
ent of The Atlanta Constitution asked
him ?'hat he would say j
"The Loni only knows," he replied.
"I have thought of a thousand things to
sar, five hundred of which if I say they
will murder me when I get back home,
and if I say the other five hundred 'hey
will murder me at the banquet."
Yet the result of Grady's eloquence
was that the New Englanders gave him
an ovation at the conclusion of his
speech, and the soutlierners stood in
crowds for hours in the rain to cheer
him on his arrival in Atlanta.
BILL ARP*S COMMENTS.
After the speech (1SS6) Bill Arp wrote
in Mr. Grady's paper:
One of these old Ow 'federates whom I mot in
Mississippi swung his empty sleeve around as he
squeezed my hand and said: "Bi!!, where is Grady ?
Why dido t you bring Grady* We want to^-e
Grady. God bless him! Didn't he put a head on
old Taimare? Didn't he everlastingly clean up
Taimare?" Well, it is Grady, Henry Grady, all
along the line. I see his speech in almost every
paper. I saw it in three papers today, and ont? of
them was a negro paper published in Grenada, and
tho colored editor was lavish rn his compliments.
I wonder if G rudy has captured tlie nation* Ile
has the wh:"ces and tho negroes north and south,
east and west, and 1 expect hos got the Indians
and the heathen Chinee. These Mississippians say
they want lamar for the next vice president, but
if they cant get him they want Grady.
Mr. Grady was often very poetic in
some of his work for The Atlanta Con?
stitution. One year ago, almost one year
to a day before his death, ho spoke thus
beautifully of Christmas day:
Ko maa or worooa now living will KT*? ashlin
such a Christmas day as the one that closed yester
day when the dyinj: sun piled ti ie western si; i cs
with gold and purple! inter day it was, shot
to tb? core with sunshine: It was enchanting to
walk abroad ia its prodigal beauty, to breathe its
elixir, to reach out tlie hands and plunge tisvn
open fingered through its pulsing waves of warmth
and freshness.
The hum of bees underrodc the whistling winjrs
of wild geese flying southwanL The fires slept in
drowsing grates, while the peopl", marv clinic out?
doors, watched thc soft winds woo tho roses and
the lilies.
Truly it was a day of days!
God's benediction came down with th* day.
slow dropping from tho skies. God's smile was
ks light, and all through and through its SJ jornal
beauty and stillness, unspoken but appealing to
every heart and sanctifying ever}- soul, was his
invocation and promise, "i'eace on Earth, Good
Will to Mea!"
Dr. Charles Pinckney, the Georgia
poet-an admirer of Grady-took a fancy
to paraphrase this, putting it into verse.
It is noticeable how little ho was obliged
to change the original. Here is Dr.
Pinckney *s erse:
No man or woman living now will see
Again, io raptured ecstasy behold
The day of Clirist's adored nativity
Which closed our glorious yesterday.
When the dying sun. about to yield its sway.
Bedecked tho western skies with purple gold
A winter day It was, with sunshine shot;
Amid its lustrous lovelin;;ss to move
And suck its life's elixir with tao breath.
OT reach out open-flagcred hands an 1 plunge
Through its pulsing waves of freshening glow
Could mortal hope for better things b^low?
*Neath whistling wings of wil l geese flying souta
The hum of bees, while drowsing fires slopt
Within the grates, and peoplo out o' do^rs.
Marveling, watched the soft winds wo J the rose
And lilies. Dare one hope tho like again?
A day of days it truly was!
"God's benediction with the dny came down.
Slow dropping from his own ethereal skies;
All through and through its beam, supernal enm*
God's smile, which was its light-a stillness whilo
Unspoken, yet to every heart appealed.
And sanctifying every soul his word
And promise. Peace on Earth. Good Will toMra.
Truly, if this man did not write poetic
prose who has ever done so?
KO ''TAKING THINGS BACK."
Grady established a rule for The Con?
stitution that no errors should be cor?
rected, or at least that no error should I
be acknowledged. He was called upon
one day by a gentleman who boiled over
with indignation because Tlie Constitu?
tion had announced him as dead, and he
was very sure that he was not dead, and
wanted a correction made immediately.
The man was very much alive, as Grad\
saw with half an eye, but what could be
done? To acknowledge the paper's blun?
der was against the one rule of the office
which must be kept above all others.
'TH tell you what HI do," said Grady;
"we have put you in as dead, and yet
you come to us alive and ready to kick,
if not kicking: so I'll make it all right
by putting you among the births," and,
notwithstanding many protests, hedidso.
Last January Sam Jones, the evan?
gelist, was preaching in Augusta, Ga.
He touched vigorously upon the differ?
ent roads to hell and was especially hard
upon baseball players. Mr. Grady was
in the audience, and Mr. Grady was the
president of the Atlanta Baseball club.
Ile had come out in response to a press?
ing invitation of one of Mr. Jones' most
ardent admirers. When the sermon
was over, this apostle of Sam Jones said
to him: "lam very sorry you preach ed
against baseball today." "Why?" asked
the evangelist. "Because Henry Grady
was in the congregation, who is an en?
thusiast on baseball, and I am afraid
your sermon will drive him off from
coming to church again." "Well. I am
sorry I didn't know that; you tell Mr.
Grady that if I had known he was pres?
ent I would not have preached against
baseball." This message was delivered
to Mr. Grady, whereupon he sent the
following reply to Sam Jones: "You tell
Mr. Jones that I am not afraid of going
to hell because of my love for baseball,
but that if he was preaching tlie Gospel
lie ought not to care who it hurt."
Before the expiration of Senator Col
quitt's term Mr. Grady was s,/oken of to
take his place. Indeed lie became quite
a prominent candidate, but Senator Col
quitt carried the day in spite of GraJv's
suddenly acquired brilliant reputation.
PERSONAL (.ITARACTEIilSTICS.
Mr. Grady was a medium sized, heavy?
set man. Ile wore no l?oard. his face al?
ways being smooth shaven. He was
of dark complexion, with black hair
and eyes. His voie- was pitched on a
low key, but with great carrying power, j
Like such speakers usually, he was a man
of remarkable personal magnetism, and
like men of genius, he took no thought as
to conventionalities, and u ns full of ec
ceniricities. He wasextremely popular, j
and counted his friends by thousands, not I
only in Atlanta, but ail over th** south.
HIS MISSION OF RECONCILIATION.
Henry W. Grady liada mission if ever
man had. And since the ajK>stolic d ivs '
few men have realized their mission so j
clear)v or entered on it willi such cour- 1
i
a;^e and perseverance. But fourteen
years old when the civil war ended, he j
entered on active life with none of the j
old h;itr.-'lri and prejudices to handicap
him. A.* soon as he cou] 1 secure a hear- j
ing he d?*clared the trie- policy for the i
young men of thc. south substantially in j
these words: j
"We honor our fathers for th^ir brav- ?
erv and respect them f >r t?e-ir uufalter- i
iw? devot ion to tle-ir conception of duty.
We refuse to apologize for or belittle I
them, but with all o;:r !i.\irts we accept \
the setti":ii'-:il of the xvaran 1 devot? (?ur
selves to tho restored I" don. SI ivery i .
forever done with, and secession will
never again be attempted, bm..ur rights
as American citizens remain, th? south
remains and we will make it more glori
ons than ever. We. dedicate ourselves
anew to its upbuil ling. As {.< thc
negroes, we will do ail that justice-and
humanity require; we xviii guarantee
their freedom and insure them an edu?
cation; but we cannot submit to th"ir
rule. Civilization aihI progress impera?
tively demand that the whites shall re?
main the ruling power.**
Such, \x itlt minor variations, has been
the refrain of all his speeches and ad?
dresses; and it is no small proof of his
ability that lie spoke these sentiments to
applauding thousands tn the north and
south alike. In Georgia affairs lie was
a progressive of the progressives. Proba?
bly no other man in the state had so
much influence; and certainly no state
is more liberal and progressive than
Georgia. In the common schools of that
state, sustained by general taxation, are
more than 100.000 colored children, and
the colored people of the state are the
owners of over ?20,000,000 worth of prop?
erty. Commenting on facts of this na?
ture in his recent speech in Boston Mr.
Grady said:
Con it bc seriously maintained that- we arc ter?
rorizing tho people from whose willing hands
comes every year $l,OO0,O0O,OW of farm crops? Or
have robl*\l a people who, twenty-fiye years from
unrewarded slaven", have amassed in one state
$20,000,000 of proporty? Or that we intend to op?
press the people wo are arming everyday? Or
deceive them, when we are educating the?h to the
utmost limit of our ability? Or outlaw them when
we work side by sido with them? Or re-enslave
them under legal forms, when for their benefit
we have even imprudently narrowed the limit of
felonies and mitigated tho severity of law* My
fellow countrymen, as you yourselves may some?
times have to apjieal at thc bar of human judg?
ment for justice and for right, give to my people
to-night the fair and unanswerable conclusion of
these incontestable facts.
Arid the solid men * Boston ap?
plauded lon-- and earnestly. Mr. Grady's
happy faculty of presenting unpleasant
truths was shown by the cordial recep?
tion given to that part of his address
in which he apportioned the blame
for slavery. The slave ships, he said,
sailed often from New England's ports,
the south of the olden time took the
slaves; and even as New England does
not now def nd the traffic so the New
South does not defend the system. By
as much as New Englanders know that
tliey aro glad to be quit of the traffic and
would r ** dream of renewing it, by so
much Mr. Grady claimed that they
should realize that the south dreams not
of restoring slavery.
HE ADMITS TUE EVIL FEATURES.
Nevertheless, he did not ?eek to hide
any of thc dark features of the race
problem at the south or disguise the fact
that the whites are fixed in their deter?
mination to remain substantially a unit
and rule the blacks. The conditions, he
added, are ''indeed appalling. Two ut?
terly dissimilar races on the same soil
with equal political and civil rights
almost equal in numbers, but terribly
unequal in intelligence and responsi?
bility; each pledged against fusion; one
for a century ia servitude to the other
and freed at last by a desolating war
the experiment sought by neither, but
approached by both with doubt-these
are the conditions. Under these, adverse
at every point, we are required to carry
these two races in peace and honor to
the ead."
The people of tlie south, he added,
carry this problem ever with them; they
are necessarily far more interested in !
its correct solution than the north can
bc, and "they know the absolute neces- !
sity of political unity in facing it. There
isa vast ignorant and purchasable vote, j
tito possible prey of the cunning and un- i
scrupulous of both parties. Its credulity j
is imposed on, its passions inflamed, its \
cupidity tempted, its impulses misdi
rected, and even its superstition made to !
play ns part in a campaign in which
every interest of society is jeopardized I
and every approach to the ballot box .
debauched. It is against such campaigns j
as this-the folly and the bitterness and !
the danger <;f which every southern com- j
munity has drunk deeply-that thc white |
people of the south are banded together." j
HIS MOST FAMOUS SPEECH.
Here is a report of his speech before '
the New England society in New York \
in December. 1SS0:
"There was a south of secession and slavery
that south is dead. There is a south of union and
freedom-that south is living, breathing, growing
every hour." These words, delivered from the '
lips of Den jam in H. Ilia, in Tammany Hall in ;
1S-3G, make my text for to-night.
Mr. President and Gentlemen-Let me express j
to you my apprec iation of the kindn<*ss by which :
I am permitted to address you. I make this ab
rapt acknowledgment advisedly, fur I felt that if, !
when I raised my provincial voice ia this ancient j
and august presence, I could find courage for no ;
more tlian thc opening sentence. It would 1? !
well if. in that sentence, I had met in a rough !
sense my obligation as a guest and had perished,
so to speak, with courtesy <>n my lips and grace |
in my boa rt. Permitted through your kindn-^s
to catch my second win*! let me say that I appro- j
cia te the significance of vmg the first sou th em? :
to speak at this board, which bears tho substance,
if it surpasses thc semblance, of original New
England hospitality, end honors a sentiment that !
in turu honors you, but in which my personality j
is lost, and the compliment to my people made |
plain.
I liespeak the utmost stretch of your courtesy |
to-night. I am somewhat indifferent to tiloso i
from whom I come. You r. nember the man j
whose wife seat him to a neighbor with a pitcher
Of milk, and who tripping on thc top step, fell. .
with i-'.ich casual interruption as tho landings !
afforded, into the basement, an 1 wilily picking ;
himself up had thc pleasure of hearing ht? wife j
call out: "john, did you break th j pitcher?"
"No, I didn't." said John, "but m Iw dinged if j
I don't."
So while those who call to me from behind may j
lnsi?re mo with energy, if not with courage, I ask i
an indulgent hearing from you I beg that you j
will brin^ your full faith i:i American fairnea
and frankness to a judgment upon what I shall i
say. There was an old preacher oaey who toi 1 ?
some boys of tho Biota lesson he was to roi 1 in j
the morning. The boys finding the place, glued !
together tie connect inj; pa.^es Tho n-'.xl m arn?
ing he read on th? bott > :i of one pag "W.ien
Noah was 12J years old he took unto himself a
wife who wa**'--then turning the r?*e-"ll")
cubits long, 40 cabir?wide,. built of gopher woo !
and cove re I with pitch i is: ir; ntl 1 out." lie was
naturally puzzle 1 ai. this. Ile na I it a-c-iia. veri
fir?d it, an 1 thea said: "My friend*, tbs U the
first time Lever met this in the Bible, but I ac
oept it as evidence of tho assertion that sri a.-J
fearfully and won lerfally male.'* If I c 1 g 't
you to hold such faith to-night I coul l proceeJ I
cheerfully to tho task I other :vis? approach wit i i
asease m? consecration
Pardon me one w ml. Mr. President, spoken for I
the purpose of. getting into thu r^Iu.ae; thatgo :
out annually freighted with th ielojuenc * of your '
speakers-the fact that the c ivalier .ii well a-, the !
Puritan was on this continent i.i j:s early days. !
and that he was "up an 1 able to bo about." I j
have read your books carefully an d I fl id n >
mention of tliat fact, which s.-em to rao impor i
tant for preserving a s:?rt of historical euui
librium.
With thc cavalier once ?stablisho I at a fact ta !
your chai ning little boa*ts I shah tat htm wor'-i 1
. ut his own salvatioa, as he ha; always doa > with ;
engaging gallantry, and wy will hold e.o ejn j
troversy as to his merits. Why should we?
Neither Puritan nor cavalier long survived as,
such. The virtues an 1 traditions of both happily ;
st ill. live for the inspiration of t;i"ir sou': and t'iA
saving of tho old fashi on. Bat b .?th Puritan au 1 .
covaiier were los;, in the storm of tlieir first r?*vo
iution, and the American citizen, supplanting i
Ixtth and s?r >n : ?r titan eit.ier, t ?ok |?osse.:-;:o:i <>.'
the republic-!*** ;ht by th-ir common bl??.xl and !
fashioned i:i wisdo: ra. an 1 eharged himself with '
teaching tuen free government and establishing ;
tin* voice of the people as the voice of G?>1 ( ?reat
types, like valuable [Wants, are slow i . flower '
and fruit. But fro'ti the union of the-? colon?:K. i
fr>;n titestraigiiteningof t.V-ir purposes and the ?
crossing of t.i'-ir blood, slow [>erfeeting through a
<.> iii arv. cam . h j who stan ls a> tu ? ll st. ty ?ieal '
A iicriean. t ie first who comprehended within '
lii:..s??if ?.il t;i?> ?.tr-'u-th and gentleness, all th??
majesty an I i^r.ac" of tnis republic-Abraham Lin- j
coln. II-- was the sum of Puritan am! ci va lier,
f >r i:i his ere jut rial 'ire w-re f;?s.-1 I : ? - virtues < f
tx ?iii. and ii the dept'IN of hi* greats "il the faults
of r>.?th w??r?? lust ll" was ^r.-afr than Puritan, \
.greater ' ian cavalier, in that ti?. was American,
and that in bis homely form w.*ro first gathered j
the vast and thrilling forces of this ideal go\'?*rn j
ui"nt -^charging il wirti s ic i tr >;u -ndous m-uning
and so elevating it above human Kuir*rin; that
martynlor.i. though infamously ai ie?l. eauievis a :
fitting erowri t > a lif * eons ?ci af 1 fro :i i: ; era lin
to .hitman ii:*erty L't us. each ch"ridii.j ; his ti ..
ditionsa id honoring hU fathers, bu 1 wis t rev ?.. 1
eut han 1 . ' ;i * ';? ;>" .>. t?iis si n i? . o it su dim . lil--,
in which all t rp ? Mr.- h< . v >r . 1 an 1 i i : Ii?.? <:.i non ?
glory, wo shall win as Americans I will I -e
pl<?nty and u> spare foi y?.?ur ft/refathens and 1 >t
min .. I
lu sptakincr to t'i<? V ?ost with whiehyn ha*'?
hont)r'?J mo ia?.pt tho ter-u, "the n~ ? s???r h." \
as i i ?io sens.; disparigin^ t? tie i?2J i>-.ir
to^m?\ sir. U the homo??f my chil l.?-.?oI ai l tlio j
fr.iili;i->*i. of n!7 p . J >! . Ti- i. a n v s-?uth, ;
n< t . pf ?t'vst JIU uh <i the I. li r b ..: m ^ . . >!" new
<->ti ??ir ?:is. it .v ;i !; i.: ii'it; ail. if y # i j m* ; -.
n?*w i ! 'os rm 1 a vpira* ? ?ns It i ? t-? thi? t"i.V I ad
iln'x< ruy j-:f 1 ask y KI, gmt!'" 'i ei t ? p 'ir . if
you cm. tii?? f?.?f.vire ??Mi ?r. wiio but?*, ?liing u?>
in !ii-< f i-i -1 ?ray ja?^k?-t th? par.? . --\ i??.h .-?.
f:t*."n. t?_-st-i ii'j iy t > h ; <. IP I 4 ? i of li ; ll 1 dity a r l ;
faith, turn-' I his fa?-southward from A-pp -mi t/>x
ta Aprl. ist?i Think ?.f him as r.tggvl. half
Starked, h-' ivy ?|.-i?-r -1. 1 liv wilt and
wounds, having f??u-tit : > .*:.: i;i.r.>i. br? sur
rentiers hi ; in, wrings th ? h vu 1 of Irs c ? ara I .
and lifting his far :. tin 'I ail pilli I fa" ? fer t >.>
Last time to the griv v; t-hnt ?1-rt th ?oil Virgi.iii
hills, p ills Iii-; gmv inp .>. ?r hi - t.i i .. an 1 begins
the sl<iw and painful j > ir;i ?y VV i ir ?1 > ?; li ? Ii i 1
-let me ask yo i who w?mttoyoir li>n*? cager
t?? llii'l H!1 the welcome you had justly earn" 1.
full payment for y->'ir f<>'ir y ; ir s i-id . * w:i it
does he find wh J j bo teacher the hon: bj left
four years before? Ile fin ls his house in ruins,
his farra devastated, his slaves freed, his stock
killed ai d his barns empty, h is trad j destroyed,
his money worthless, his soeial system, feudal in
its magnificence, swept away, hi ; propio without
law or legal status, his comrades slain and tho
burden of others heavy on his shoulders. Crushed
by defeat, his very traditions gone. Without
money, ?credit, employment, m iterial for training
and, besides all this, confronted with the gravest
problem tliat ever met human intelligence-the
establishing of a status f jr the vast b jdy of his
liberated slaves.
What does he do-this hero in gray with a heart
of gold-does ho sit down i:i sullenness and de?
spair? Not for a day. Surely Go 1, who ha 1
scourged him in bis prosperity, inspired him in
his adversity! As ruin was never before, so over?
whelming, never was restoration swifter. The
soldiers stepped from th? trenches into tho fur?
row; horses that h:ul charged Federal guns
marched before thc plow, and fields that ran red
with human blood in April were green with the
harvest in June; women reared in luxury cut up
their dresses and made breeches for their hus?
bands, and with a patience and heroism that fits
woman alwa3"s as a garment, gave their hands to
work. There was little bitterness in a!l this.
Cheerfulness an 1 frankness prevailed. "Bill Arn"
struck the key note when he said: "Well, I killel
as many of them na they did of mo anl now I am
going to work"-or tho soldier, returning home
after def eat and roasting some corn on tie road?
side, who made tlie remark to his comrades:
"You may leave the south, if you want to, but I
am going to Sanderville, kiss my wif e. and raise a
crop, and if tho Yankees fool with me any moro
I will whip 'tai again." I want to say to Gen.
Sherman-who is considered an able man ia our
parts, though some people think ho ii a kind of
careles;; man about fire-that from tho ashes left
us in we have raised a bravo and beautiful
city; that somehow or other wj havo caught the
sunshine in tba bricks and mortar of o-ir homes
and have blinded therein not ODO singlo ignoble
prejudice or memory.
But what Ls the sum of our work ? We have
found out that in tlie general summing up the free
negro counts more than he did a; a slave. We
have planted tlie school house o i tho hill top and
made it free to white aa 1 black. Wo havo sowed
towns and cities in the place of theories and put
business above polities. Wo have challenged
your spinners in Massachusetts and your iron
makers in Pennsylvania. We have learned that
the $400,000.(XX) annually received fro n our cot?
ton crop will raak; us rich when the supplies that
make it aro home raised. Wa havo reduced the
commercial rate of interest from 21 to C per cent
and aro floating .? per cent bonis. Wo have
learned that ono northern immigrant Ls worth
fifty foreigners and have smoothed tho path
southward, wipod out the place where. Mason and
Dixon's line used to ty!, and hung our latch string
out to you and yours. We have reached the point
that marks perfect harmony in ever household,
when the husband confesses that the pies which
his own wife cooked aro as good as those his
mother used to balee, and we a imit t'.iat the sun
shines as brightly and the moon as softly as it did
before the war. Wo have established thrift in
city and country. We have fallen in love with
work. Wo have restored comfort to homes
from which culture and elegance never dr-parted
We have let economy tate root and spread among
us as rank as the crab grass which sprung from
Sherman's cavalry camps until we are willing to
lay odds on thc Georgia Yankee as ho squeezes
pure o?vo eil out of his cotton seed against any
downeaster that ever swapped wooden nutmegs
for fianacl sausages in the valley of Vermont
Above all, we know that wo have achieved in
these "piping times of peace" a fuller independ?
ence for tho south than that which our fathers
sought to win in the forum by their eloquence or
compel on the field by their swords.
It Ls a rare privilege, sir. to have had part, how
ever humble, in this work. Never wes nobler duty
confided to human hands tha:i the uplifting and
upbuilding of the prostrate and bleeding south,
ruLsguided, perhaps, but beautiful in ber su.Ter
ingand honest, brave and genero?us always In
the rccorS of her social, industrial and poetical
restoration we await with confidence the verdict
of the world.
But what of the negro? llave we solved the
problem which he presents or progn-s-r J in honor
and equity toward its solution? L,it the record
speak to this point. Ko section shows a more
prosperous labo ing population than the negroes
of tho south, none in fuller sympathy with the
employing and land owning class. Ile shares our
school fund, has the fullest protection of our laws
and the friendship of our people Self interestas
well as honor demand that he should have this
Our futuro, our very existence depend upon our
working out this problem in full and exact jus?
tice. We understand that when Lincoln signed
the emancipation proclamation your victory wa:
assured, for ho then committed yon to the causj
of human liberty against which the anns of man
cannot prevail-while those of oar statesmen who
made slavery the cornerstone of the Confederacy
doomed us ti defeat, committing us toa cause
that reason coull not defend or the sword main?
tain in the light of advancing civilization. lia;!
Mr. Toomba said, which he did not say, that he
won! I call the roil of his slaves ut tho foot ci
Bunker Hill, ho would have beca foolisii, for
ho might have known that whenever slavery
became entangled in war it must perish,
and that tho chattel in human flesh was
ended forever ia New England when your
fathers-not to bc blamed for parting with what
didn't pay-sold their si ives to our fathers-not
to lk.< praised for knowing a paying thing when
they saw it Tho relations of las southern people
wit!1, the negro are el> ?se u'A cordial Wo reinem
ber tvith what fidelity fur f-mr yours he guarded
our defenseless women and children, w^oso hus
bands cr? I fathers were fighting against his free
dom. To his eternal cry-lit Ixs it said that when
ever he .struck a blow for bi> own liberty he fought
in open hattie, and when at last he raised bis black
and humble hands that tho shackles might be
struck oiT, those hands were iunoeeut of wrong
against his helpless charges, aud w orthy to be
taken in loving grasp by every man who honors
loyalty and de%-otion. Ruflians have maltreated
bi J, rascals have mL-led him, philanthropists es
tablished a hank for bini, but tlie south with the
north protest-; against injustice to this simple and
sincere people. To liberty and enfranchisement
is as far ns law can carry the negro. The rest
must l?" loft to conscience and common sense. It
should bo left to those among whom his lot Ls cast,
with who": he is indissolubly connected and
?hose prosperity-depends uj>on their possessing
bis intelligent sympathy and confidence. Faith
has been kept with him Lu spite of calumnious as?
sertions to tho cotitrary. by those who assume to
sjx-ak for us or bf frank opponents. Faith wLU
bo !:?-r>t with him In tho future, if the south holds
her f?ason and integrity.
Dut have we kept faith with you? In the fullest
sense, yes. When I co surrendered-I don't say
when Johnston surrendered, because I understand
li? stdl alludes to tho time when he met Gen. Sher
mau la>t as tho time when he "determined to
abandon any f urther prosecution of the struggle"
-when lx-e surrendered, I say. and Johnston quit,
tlie south became, and has been since, loyal to thin
Union. Wc fou -lit bari enough to know that we
were .whipped, ?nd ia perfectfrankness accepted
as final the arbitrament of the sword to u hieb,
we hal ap{ Healed. Thc south found her jewel in a
toa l's bcd. Tlie shackles that h;ul held her in liuii
tations fell forever when the shackles of tho negro
sliivo were broken. Under the oi l regime the
Degrees ?vero slaves to the south, the south was a
slave to tlie system. Thu.-; was gathered in thc
Lands of a splendid and chivalric oligarchy the
sub tance thal should bava been diffused among
the people as the rich blood L? gathered at tho
heart, hoing that with atUuent rapture, bul leav?
ing thc body chill and colorie:?.
The ol-.l south rest d everything on slavery and
agriculture, unconscious taut these could neither
give nor maintain healtny growth. Tile new south
presents a \* rf oct democracy, the oligarchs lead
ing into the popular movement-a social system
compact and closely knitted-less splendid on tho
surface but stronger at the core-a hundred farms
for every plantation, fifty homes for every palace,
und u diversified industry timi meets lae complex
iic'ds of this complex age.
Tho ww ?south isenamorcd of her new work. II--r
s??ul Ls stirred willi lae breath of a new life Thc
lig?tof a grander day is.falling fair on her face.
Sheas thrilling, sir. willi tho consciousness of
growing prosperity. As she stand* fuil staturod
and equal among the pcoplcuf tiie earth, breath
ing the keen air and looking ont ui?>uon expand
i:;g horizon, she imderstan ls tuat lier cmnncipa
Lion eume kvau** in ti)'- ii.seniu->bie wisdom of
ti.nl her ie ?nest pu.*|?ose w.^s crossed and herbrave
ai"...i--s were l>eat- :i This Ls said in no spirit of
tmie serving a:td apology. 1 should b? unjust tc
tli -south a i did not make 'ats plain m lu:.? pres
euee. Thc south UM nothing to lu..e ?>ack: n??tli
ing for which she bas excuses t" make lu my
native town <.f Athens i .a raonumei.t u'uit cm;? ius
its central Li Us a j.lani white sliaft De?-p out
into its shining sides is a name dear to me
above i.].' mt mes nf men, that <?t a brave
an ! simple u:a:i who die J i:i bravo and K: n
pie faith N??l for n'A the glories of New England,
from Plymouth li??ek all the way. would 1 ex
ciian ;e thc berita ;e li? lett me m bis patriot*s
death T<? the foot- of fhn! shaft I shall send my
ehUdn-us children to ivv.-rvnce bim win?ennobled
their nam . w iib lus lr r.?ic bli ~ ? 1 Dut. si;-, sp.-a;;
mg ii'uiii the shadow ol (hut memory, wi ii?-ii 1
tl.?!i??r us I d- > not bing els.- on earth. 1 siy thal th .
ca. s-- m M hieb lie suth r?-?l ai.-i l??r wiacii he ga?, .?
his life was ad-jutige?] in Id'h-ra! i fid?-r wis?!oiii
t cm his or mi::?*, and 1 am glau t un ; "innis
clent ( I? ?1 be|.J the b.d.'- - of Imtfl?. ia bis al
mi jilly han I m?l that i American Uuio.j was
saved fr.?rn th?; wnvk of war
This ru-ssn -.. Mr Pres; lent; c?>::i?*s t?> v?? i
from cous ?-rsii?! gr?>:ri.| Kv cry foot eft h ? s..;l
in-th.* e;l? ia winch J b?e i- sacred ns a battle
pn?u::?l <?i'thc republic Every hid that invents
it i.. ballow.*.] i ? v.?ii by liie l.iool i,f \.,'ir
brothers *.. !??? ??i"d f??r your victory, and doubly
b diov.?'..I t.; i!.? by t.:?- b?ort el I i<?--> ?Vit?, di? ?i
ho; le ^?... but mi la;uib.sI, i i defeat saerc 1 s.?ii
t-? ' 'f t.. r. li v.it'i I:I :i":i'-. that make us
?..ir? r rm-l sti ?ti.-? r an l l?-t!.-r sile??t, but
stniieh. w I ness iti its rich desolation of t:??'
inatebli-ss \ : -r ??f American benns ati?l the
il.-atbless-fck?ry of Am-nea'i arms speaking and
eh'?qlient Wiliei.l i." ?! while l-'.l'?- a:id J !'. >s?MT
?ly lo the ?r.?iissohi?.le Union of tl. . Amerii-,?i
sfites and the mip-'iisiiablc brotlierbootl of the
American |>*<-?'i ?
What answer lias New Englaedtothismessage?
w ill she permit the prejudice <?! w ur to romain in
the heaxta of tiie conquerors, when il b..sdied ?n
the hearts?..' tlie conquered* Will sib* transmit
t.'ds prejudice t?> the next generation. I brit In
hearts which never felt the generous ardor of
conflict it may perpetuate itself; Will she with
hold save in strained courtesy the hand which
straight fruai hu sower's h??ait Grau_l offered t-tp
Ix? at Appomattox? Will sbe make the vlsior
a restored and happy people which gathe:
above tho couch of your dying captain, filling
heart with peace, touching bis lips with pta
and glorifying his path to the grave-will i
make this vision on which the last sigh of
expiring soul breathes a benediction, a cheat
delusion ? If she does the south, never abject
asking for comradeships, must accept w
dignity its refusal. But if she does not refuse
accept in frankness and sincerity this me-ssa
of good will and friendship then will the proph*
of Webster, delivered to this very society foi
years ago amid tremendous applause, bo vt
fled in its fullest and final seuso when he said:
"Standing hand in hand and clasping hands,
should remain united as we have l?eou for si?
years, citizens of the same country, memliers
the same government united, all united nowa
united forever. There have be?:n di.Hcultics, c
tentiutis and controversies, but I tell you that
my judgment
"Those op?>osod eyes.
Which, like the meteors of a troubled heav<
All of one natur?', of one substance bred.
Did lately meet in th* intestine shock.
Shall now in mutua!, well beseeming ranks,
March all on/ way."'
GRADY'S LAST DAYS.
Some time during tho latter part
November Mr. Grady was attacked wi
vertigo while standing at his resident
Some time later he was confined to 1
room, but gob out of a sick bed to attei
a Masonic banquet, where he delivered
short address. In that speech he refon?
te his health and said that while t
fever was pulsing through his veins
thought of his boyhood days and cou
soe the white pigeons fluttering in t
air and hear the music of the hirds.
He went to Boston against the ad vi
of his physician, as he was threaten
with pneumonia. In Boston and otb
places he visited he greatly exposed hii
self and contracted a new cold. Ile w
attended by Dr. Goldth waite in Ne
York, and acting under his advice, i
turned to Atlanta. Dr. Goldthwai
stated that he thought all clanger
pneumonia past. On the journey hon
Mr. Grady was despondent and suffern
from nervous d?pression.
"I am going to he seriously sick,
know," he said to all who inquired abo
his health. Ile complained of naus<
and weakness and refused to take ar
food. At Lula he telegraphed Dr. Ora
to meet him when the train arrived
Atlanta. For a day and a half he r
maincd conscious, but since Thursdz
night lie was delirious. On Thursdr
! Iiis son spoke to him and told him
! something to be done when he got we!
j "Your father will never get weil, tr
boy," was the answer.
"Mr. Grady," said _Dr. Frank Orm
his family physician, "was a man wi
thought so much of doing for others th;
? he was careless of his health. Ile wei
j to Boston against my advice, and wh<
i I told him that it would not do he replie
I that his speech was prepared and it w;
j too late for him to back out. I sent hil
j off willi medicine to take, and in case 1
j might need medical attention i:i Bostc
gave him names of physicians whom 1
: could ?roto. His speech was a .great e
I fort, especially for a man in las corni
I tion, and it completely exiiansted hin
I learn that afterwards he rode in a
open carriage with Governor Ame-, an
I during the ride complained of fecliu
i chilled by the wind. On the way bac
! he was taken sick in New York, an
I was compelled to consult a physiciai
i In Washington he became quite ill, an
expressed himself as very anxious to g*
j hack home.
j "Before reaching Atlauta he tel?
graphed me to meet him at the depo
. ami when the train stopped in the c;
! shed he stepped out, immediately ci
: tered my carriage and was driven to h;
; home. From the time he left the trai
! all the way to his home he coughed vi<
! lent ly and had some fever, and I realize
I then that he waa going to be sick, bi
i thought that a week or so of good nur:
1 ing would bring him around all righ
i Ile suiTered from a violent bronchi
j cough und fever. Ic was on Friday th:
! the pleuro-nneumonia developed an
I this, with a compilcaiion of diseases an
j an unusual degree of nervous prostrr
j tion, proved such a determined attac
i upon his entire system that he was ur
? able to resist it and could do nothing hu
j yield.
j "Dr. Lucius Morse, formerly of Men
I phis, but now of this city, and Dr. A. !;
i Kverett, of Denver, Colo., who is no*
visiting Ids brother here, were both calk?
in by me. and kindly consented to joi
i me in informal consultation. We ai
J agreed on the character and treatment o
I the disease, and-we realized that ther
! could l>e only one result. It was just on
j of those cases where the determine
character of the attack is irresistible am
cannot Ix- coped with by human beings.
BOSTON MOURNS FOR HIM.
A Boston dispatch says: The remarka
j hie fact about Henry W. Grady's deatl
! is that the cold which ended in a fata
illness was aggravated, if not contracted
while he was making a speech on Ply
mouth ?cock, visited by him for the firs
time on the morning after he captivate?
his audience at the Merchants' associa
tion dinner by his eloquent discussion o
the race problem. This was on Dec. 13
! when Mr. Gradv and his southen
-
friends, at President Choate's invitation
took an Old Colony train and ran dow]
to the historic little town the Pilgrim;
founded.
The morning was raw and damp, ant
the cast win 1 made the unaeclimateJ
southerners wrap their coats al>out then
more tightly. Even the northern mern
bers of the party, accustomed as the]
were to the coast winds, felt uncomfort
able.
As Mr. Grady stepped upon the bowl
der there were calls for a speech. Iii:
face at once lit up as if hy inspiration
First he related an amusing anecdote
and then he quoted Dr. Samuel John
son's famous paragraph written on th(
Hebrides, that he pitied the man wh<
could not gain patriotism upon the fielt
j of Marathon or piety among thc ruins ol
Iona. Such were his own feelings as lu
stood upon this rock,
i "I have a boy," said he. "dearest of al
j to my heart, and of all places upon thu
i earth when' I would have him go to leart
I the principles of piety, patience, patriot
j ism and justice is tiiis sj.x?t where I now
stand reverently uncovered."
I Returning to Boston, Mr. Grady was
. entertained by the Bay State club al
j Parker's, and the first thing he said ir
j ids speech was that, having contracted a
! cold that morning, his voice was not in
! condition f<?r public speaking. However,
I he mad?-a strong and impressive address
and. as on the evening In-fore, drew tear*
1 from th?- eyes of his auditors. During
! his two days' slav in Boston tho mercury
j fell from ~>b' degs. to 1(3. mid it is to hi*
\ exj>osure to this sudden change in tin
weather that Mr. Grady's pneumonia \>
undoubtedly duo.
D: ;(!.?:.th bas ; ?d Boston-citizens
1 m??re <. fi 1\ than if ho bad I?-' :i Boston
. bom. Men of all si tades of polineal be
1 lief deplore uni tun-ly tah ?fig iii. He
! met v. h:ie here mo-1 ol' Boston's citizen
; leaders, who were al.?ve ehaniu.-d by his
j wonderful eloquence and impr?ev->?<l bv
i i-, maulv Ix'aring. His sp?-<-eh gave
' hirth ty a kindlier finding towards thn
land he spoke for. oven among the rabid
New r!:ig!:md B "publican . v ho an?* still
lighting - b<' ...".ib . i n \ Ki "bs."
---??????
A I) VI CK TO MOTHERS.
I Mrs. Winslow's Soothing .Syrup should
'-HIWHVS he ns:-d tnt children teething. Il
! soothes the child, softens the gums, allays all
pain, cures wind colic and is the best remedy
for diarrhoea. 25c a bottlp.
-. - ---
Send Twenty-Five Cents
; To "The Dispatch," Blacksburg, S. C., and
j receive that large, wei I-printed paper two
months on trish H tells all about the rapid
' gruwib of that magic city of South Caroliua.
A SOLID COLOR.
Of merchants, our town has had many
Of fortune, of fame and renown,
But never a combination
Made up of a Brown and a Brown.
The aforementioned rare combination lias brought together
a stock of pure, fresh and popular goods, staple and substantial,
good to eat and good to wear-?ill of which goods are enhanced
in value by the men who are putting them before the public,
for it gives us pleasure to say
The famMy of Brown reaches backwards,
Aod is kiu to the kings of ol?! ti?s>.e ;
But the climax of fame is accomplished
In this year of our Lord, eighty-nine.
The climax referred to is the low price at which our goods
are being sold. In SHOKS we are running a line of specialties,
and the open-eyed amazement that smites our customers as they
behold our lay-out, is equal to a seventy-five cent show.
And further,
We stand in the end of the ages,
A Brown by the side of a Brown,
And declare to the town and the country,
We'er not seeking gold, but renown.
To enable us to lay a foundation for the said fame and re
nown, we have put dowri a solid substratum of low prices and
formed new purposes of honesty and uprightness in the hand- j
ling of FLOUR, BACON, SUGAR, COFFEE, and GROCERIES of all
kinds.
In the line of DRY GOODS, we have displayed our best
taste and are prepared to knock out all competitors in four
rounds of four minutes each. We are cosmopolitan in principle
and philanthropic at heart, with a strong leaning towards the
doctrine of man's universal brotherhood. We believe in the
Alliance, in Free Trade, and Protective Tariff, and in Tariff for
Revenue only. We accept all the creeds and isms of our cus?
tomers, and we believe heartily in the nebular hypothesis, and
meanwhile endeavor to keep our stock full in every depart?
ment.
Store on Liberty Street in rear of the famous Clothing:
Store of Brown & Chandler.
Our clerks are models of politeness and affability, a supply
of good manners and suaviter in modo having recently been im?
ported from France for their individual use.
Sept. 18. !
OUR
NEW STOCK
-TS
ARRIVING.
We are Chock Full
-OF
BARGAINS
-IN
All Departments.
Call and get our prices before
purchasing.
ALTAMONT MOSES.
PIRE mum
We are Agents for several large
riEE
Insurance Companies.
We take Risks on
GINS and
GIN HOUSES,
RESIDENCES, &c.
ALTAMONT MOSES.
Sept. 4.
YOU A QUIET POINTER.
WE CARRY THE
Largest and Most Complete
LINE OF
FURNITURE, WALL PAPER,
SHADES, PICTURES, <k,
EYER SEEN IN
This Section of the State, and
Buying direct from the
Largest Factories
Are enabled to sell at Prices that
DEFY C03IPETITI0N.
An examination of our Goods and Prices will
convince you that THIS IS A FACT.
Don't forget our Prize Suit*
DURANT & BELITZER.
TH
ANDS OF DOLLARS!
CAN BE SAVED BY THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTY.
NOW IS THE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY!
Stoves ! Stoves ! Stoves !
PUMPS ! PUMPS! PUMPS!
HOUSE FURNISHING GOODS, CROCKERY, GLASS?
WARE, HARDWARE, WOOD EN WA RE, CHINA,
FANCY GOODS, TOYS, TINWARE.
in fact our immense assortment of
]NTew Fall and "Winter Goods
js now in stock and opened for inspection and offered at extremely hie prices.
While maintaining the uniform standard of qunlify and excellence bv good management, careful buying and being
content with SMALL PROFITS, we have raised the standard and lowered our price, until it is now a fact that the
nicest stock of goods in this soe!ion is new being offered for sale by us for the least rooney.
COME AND CATCH ON NEW GOODS FOR EVERYBODY. GREAT VARIETY TO SELECT FROM.
Roofing, Tinning, Guttering and Repairing done at short notice. Pumps put down and taken
up at Lowest rates. Sole agent for the Safety Tether Machine for grazing stock.
Thanking thc public for their past kind patronage and soliciting a continuance of the same, I remain, respectfully,
T. C. SCAFFE,
Aug 28
Sumter, S. C*