COMMITTEES OF THE LOCAL
ORGANIZATION HOLDING THE SCOTCH-IRISH CONGRESS AT ATLANTA, GA.
Executive Committee.
The members of this committee were made members, ex officio, of all the
other committees: Dr. J. N. Craig, Chairman; Judge W. L. Calhoun, Col. H.
P. Starke, Mr. T. H. P. Bloodworth.
Committee on Finance.
From the Scotch-Irish Society.—J. C. Kirkpatrick, Chairman; A. J. McBride,
B. J. Wilson, E. M. Roberts, L. J. Hill, G. W. Adair, R. H. Wilson, J. J.
Woodside, John A. Barry, G. J. Dallas, Maj. W. J. Houston, M. G. McDonald,
D. G. Purse, W. J. Kincaid, Campbell Wallace, L. F. Livingston, George W.
Scott, Dr. A. W. Calhoun, J. C. Hendrix, Dr. T. F. Brewster, James G.
Bailie, Hon. R. L. McWhorter, Dr. F. W. McRae, D. L. Sloan, A. P. Stewart,
H. D. Mc-Cutcheon, Gen. J. R. Lewis, Maj. J. R. Raine, Samuel Barnett, J.
D. Cunningham, John Y. Dixon, H. G. Saunders, William Laird, James L.
McWhorter, Robert A. Barry, Dr. A. E. McGarity, Howard E. Felton, R. J.
Wiles, Hugh H. Coskery, John T. Wilson, Sr., E. H. Bloodworth, Col. H. C.
Hamilton, W. Hugh Hunter, Otis A. Murphy, Robert McBride, James Finley.
From the City at Large.—R.
J. Lowry, Capt. J. W. English, Capt. J. R. Wylie, E. P. Chamberlin, Sam W.
Goode, M. C. Kiser, Jacob Haas.
From the O. M. Mitchell
Post and Northern Society of Georgia.—J. E. Harding, Thomas Kirke, W. M.
Scott, A. B. Carrier, W. B. Miles, Maj. C. T. Watson.
From Confederate Veterans'
Association.—S. M. Inman, T. B. Neal, L. P. Thomas, R. L. Rodgers, A. W.
Force, J. II. Ketner.
From the General
Council.—F. P. Rice, W. W. Boyd, A. J. Shopshire, Arnold Broyles, W. P.
Hill, T. D. Meador, and J. A. Colvin.
Committee on Invitation.
Capt. G. B. Forbes, Chairman; George W. Adair, J. N. Craig, Jr., A. E.
Calhoun, L. J. Hill, Fulton Colville, J. L. McWhorter, P. H. Calhoun.
Committee on Social
Reception. From Scotch-Irish Society.—Judge H. W. Hilliard, A. W. Hill,
Rev. E. H. Barnett, Clifford L. Anderson, Judge Hamilton McWhorter, Samuel
Barnett, Capt. George B. Forbes, Judge John Erskine, Rev. G. B. Strickler,
George W. Adair, W. G. Cooper, W. J. Kincaid, Dr. K. C. Divine, Gen. J. E.
Lewis, A. J. West, Dr. W. S. Kendrick, Maj. Charles H. Smith, Col. D. G.
Purse, Hon. Lavender R. Ray, Dr. J. W. Duncan, B. Lee Douglass, Rev. James
Mitchell, D.D., Hamilton Douglass, Howard E. Felton, Greer Quigg, J. N.
Craig, Jr., Dr. J. B. Mack, Judge J. T. Nisbet, W. D. Wilson.
From the City at
Large.—Gov. W. J. Northen, Chairman; Judge Thomas J. Simmons, Judge W. T.
Newman, Judge Richard H. Clarke, Judge T. P. Westmoreland, Hon. W. A.
Hemphill, Judge John L. Hopkins, B. H. Hill, Judge Logan E. Bleckley,
Judge Samuel Lumpkin, Judge Marshall J. Clarke, Judge Howard Van Epps,
Capt. Harry Jackson, Maj. Livingston Mims, Hon. N. J. Hammond, Julius L.
Brown, E. W. Martin, Capt. E. M. Farley, George Hillyer, John Silvey,
Wilmer F. Moore, Capt. John Milledge, Evan P. Howell, E. B. Bullock, Maj.
D. N. Speer, Dr. W. F. Westmoreland, J. H. Porter, D. W. Rountree, Hugh T.
Inman, Grant Wilkins, George Winship, J. M. High, J. W. Rankin, J. G.
Oglesby, John A. Fitten, John L. Dickey, D. H. Dougherty, E. C. Peters, E.
Van Winkle, Josiah Carter, F. H. Eichardson, T. M. Clark, C. M. Crank-shaw,
Hon. Clark Howell, J. H. Seals, B. M. Blackburn, D. M. Bain, L. L.
McClesky, Z. D. Harrison, W. Woods White, C. A. Licklider, Hoke Smith,
Harvey Johnson.
Committee on Entertainment
from Scotch-Irish Society.—Dr. K. C. Divine, Chairman; Frank T. Ryan, D.
O. Stewart, John Y. Dixon, J. L. C. Kerr, John L. Logan, George P. Lowry,
William McClellan, A. J. West, Fulton Colville, A. E. Calhoun, A. D. L.
McCroskey, H. L. Parry, A. Shaw, E. G. Thompson, J. W. Thompson, Philip D.
Wilson.
From the City at
Large.—Amos Fox, H. J. Fears, Frank E. Block, P. H. Snook, Green B. Adair.
Committee on Speakers.—Hon.
Lavender E. Ray, Chairman; Capt. J. Mcintosh Kell, J. L. McWhorter, Maj.
Charles H. Smith, Rev. Henry Quigg, H. Alexander, A. E. Calhoun.
Ministerial Committee.—Rev.
G. B. Strickler, Chairman; Rev. E. II. Barnett, Rev. Walker Lewis, Rev.
Henry McDonald, Rev. J. B. Hawthorne, Rev. James Mitchell, Rev. Chalmers
Frazer, Rev. T. P. Cleveland, Rev. T. C. Tupper, Rev. E. S. Barrett, Rev.
T. B. Bobbins.
Committee on Music.—J. L.
C. Kerr, Chairman; E. T. Dow, J. W. Thompson, F. A. Quillian, Charles
Robb, Dr. T. F. Brewster, W. J. Spears, G. B. Scott, N. C. Spence, J. B.
Caldwell, W. S. Saul, D. 0. Stewart, John Hamilton.
Committee on
Transportation.—Col. A. J. West, Chairman; Clifford L. Anderson, Capt. G.
B. Forbes, Hon. Lavender R. Ray, Thomas J. Boyd, D. O. Stewart, George P.
Lowry, Col. A. J. McBride, E. J. Wiles.
Committee on Halls.—Col. J.
E. Whiteside, Chairman; Hooper Alexander, Samuel Barnett, Hamilton
Douglass, J. C. Hendrix.
Press Committee.—W. G.
Cooper, Chairman; J. C. McMichael, F. II. Richardson, B. M. Blackburn,
Rev. W. J. Scott, Col. J. H. Seals.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS.
Invitations from Springfield, O., and Des
Moines, La., Asking the Society to Hold its Fifth Congress in Those
Cities. INVITATION OF
GOV. McKINLEY. State
of Ohio, Executive Department, Columbus, March 23, 1892.
To Robert Bonner,
President, and Associates op the Scotch-Irish Association op America.
I most cordially unite with the members and
friends of your Association in Ohio, in extending an invitation to you to
hold your next annual meeting, 1893, in the city of Springfield.
The scope and purpose of your noble historical
Association give ample assurance of a hearty welcome to our state, and
such hospitality as is worthy the occasion.
Respectfully and truly, Wm. McKinley, Jr.
INVITATION OF THE MAYOR OF SPRINGFIELD.
Springfield, 0., March 28, 1892. To Robert
Bonner, President, and Associates op the Scotch-Irish Association.
On behalf of the municipality of Springfield,
O., and its citizens, I hereby extend to you an invitation to hold your
next year's assembly, the Scotch-Irish Congress, 1893, in our city.
Regarding your organization as praiseworthy in
every respect, I can give you. assurance of a most cordial reception here,
as our people will assuredly regard it as a great privilege to hospitably
entertain a body which should have welcome in every city in our great
country. Yours
respectfully, W. R. Burnett, Mayor.
INVITATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF SPRINGFIELD.
Springfield, O., March 28, 1892. Resolved, by
the Council of the city of Springfield, O., That we hereby extend to the
Scotch-Irish Association of America a most cordial invitation to hold the
session of 1893 of the Scotch-Irish.
Congress in this city, giving pledge herein
that not only our municipal authorities, but our people in general, will
unite in giving that great historical Association a warm welcome and its
best hospitality.
Resolved, That our new City Hall and such other rooms as may be needed in
the city building for the use of the Congress be and are hereby placed at
its disposal. P. P. Mast, President.
Attest: Thomas D. Wallace, City Clerk.
INVITATION OF THE BOARD OF TRADE OF
SPRINGFIELD.
Resolved, That this Board hereby cordially indorses the invitation •
extended by our Mayor and other municipal authorities to the Scotch-Irish
Association of America to hold its Congress of 1893 in this city, and in
furtherance of this object does hereby constitute the following committee
to attend the Scotch-Irish Congress convening at Atlanta, Ga., April 28,
1892, to present this action: O. S. Kelly, P. P. Mast, A. S. Bushnell,
Amos Whitely, G. S. Foos, George H. Frey, John Foos, A. R, Ludlow, Samuel
F. McGrew, Hon. J. F. McGrew, F. M. Bookwalter, J. S. Crowell, Hon. F. M.
Hagan, J. S. Elliott, T. E. Harwood, Charles H. Pierce, I. W. Frey, John
H. Thomas, Oscar T. Martin, S. A. Bowman, C. M. Nichols, A. C. Black, and
James Carson. The
above was unanimously and heartily adopted, Friday evening, March 25,
1892. Clifton M. Nichols, Secretary.
DR. MOOREHEAD'S LETTER OF INDORSEMENT.
Bible Institute, 80, W. Pearson Street,
Chicago, June 2, 1892.
Mr. George H. Fret,
Springfield, O. My
Dear Sir: Your letter asking the opinion of some of the Scotch-Irish of
Xenia as to holding the next meeting of the Association at Springfield,
O., reached mo at Xenia when I was on the point of starting for Chicago. I
had time to confer only with Prof. W. W. White and Dr. MacDill as to your
inquiry. They both, as well as myself, are decidedly in favor of holding
the meeting at Springfield. We hope it may be so arranged. I was
personally anxious to attend the last meeting at Louisville, but duty
required me to remain here where I have been teaching since last April. I
trust I may have that pleasure next year, and certainly will have it if
the Association convenes at Springfield, O.
Yours very sincerely. W. G. Moorehead.
INVITATION OF GOV. BOIES.
State of Iowa, Executive Office, Des Moines,
April 22, 1892. To the Scotch-Irish Society of America.
I am gratified to learn that a number of the
leading organizations representing the business, social, and religious
interests of Des Moines have extended an invitation to the members of the
Scotch-Irish Society of America to hold their next annual Congress in this
city, and it affords me sincere pleasure to give the invitation a cordial
indorsement, and to express a hope that it may be accepted.
Iowa owes a large share of its progress to
Scotch-Irish enterprise; in the blood of her people there is a large and
distinctly recognizable Scotch-Irish strain; very many of those who laid
the foundations of the state, as well as of those who are still carrying
on all the varied undertakings which constitute its civilization, were or
are of Scotch-Irish descent, and the memories and traditions of that hardy
stock are preserved among, and are an active, vital force in our
prosperity and progress. There would, therefore, be a peculiar fitness in
holding the Congress here in 1893, and the people of Iowa and of its
capital would rejoice to have opportunity to give the members of the
Scotch-Irish Society of America a hearty and hospitable welcome.
Should the invitation be
accepted, as I trust it will be, nothing within my power will be omitted
that can add to the pleasure and enjoyment of the Congress.
Very respectfully, Horace Boies, Governor.
INVITATIONS FROM IOWA REPRESENTATIVES IN
WASHINGTON CITY. The
undersigned, Senators and members of the House of Representatives for
Iowa, most cordially unite with the Scotch-Irish Society of Iowa and other
organizations in requesting that the Congress of the Scotch-Irish Society
of America hold its session of 1893 in the city of Des Moines.
W. B. Allison, J. T. Hamilton, James F.
Wilson, Walt. H. Butler, D. B. Henderson, F. E. White, George D. Perkins,
Walter I. Hayes, James P. Flick, J. P. Dolliver, John J. Seerley. James W.
McDill, Interstate Commerce Commissioner.
INVITATION FROM SECRETARY OF STATE OF IOWA. To
the Scotch-Irish Society of America.
As a Scotch-Irish American, as a citizen of
Iowa and temporarily of the capital city of the state, and as a public
official of the state, I desire to extend an invitation to your Society to
hold its fifth annual Congress at Des Moines, Ia. I do this knowing the
cordiality with which you will be received by our citizens; knowing also
the desire of the Scotch-Irish of this city, and their ability to suitably
entertain all visitors.
Do this and the reception will be all that
could be desired by a people whose crowning trait is hospitality.
Very truly, W. M. McFarland, Secretary of
State. INVITATION OF
AUDITOR OF IOWA.
State of Iowa, Office of Auditor of State, Des Moines, Ia., April 25,
1892.
National Scotch-Irish
Association of America, Atlanta, Ga.
Gentlemen: In behalf of the citizens of Iowa,
I respectfully ask that you select the city of Des Moines as your next
place of meeting. I wish to assure the members of your association that in
visiting this state you visit the garden spot of the great Northwest, and
there is no place where you will be more warmly received than by the
citizens of this, the capital city.
Very cordially yours, J. A. Lyons, Auditor.
INVITATION OF DES MOINES COMMERCIAL EXCHANGE.
The Commercial Exchange,
Des Moines, Ia., April 7, 1892.
Hon. P. M. Cassady, Des
Moines, Ia. Dear Sir:
By unanimous action of the Board of Directors of the Commercial Exchange
of Des Moines, the following resolution is transmitted to you for
presentation to the coming annual meeting of the Scotch-Irish Society of
America at Atlanta, Ga., viz.:
Resolved, That we most
cordially invite the Scotch-Irish Society of America to hold its annual
meeting for the year 1893 in our city of Des Moines, and that we pledge
our best efforts to make the meeting both successful and pleasant.
I may add that with this formal expression
goes a hearty wish from our people generally that your Society may accept
this tender of the hospitalities of our business men of the capital city
of Iowa. Very
sincerely, O. L. F. Browne, Secretary.
INVITATION OF THE DES MOINES REAL ESTATE
EXCHANGE. At a
meeting of the Real Estate Exchange the following resolution was adopted:
Resolved, That the Des Moines Real Estate
Exchange heartily joins with the local organization of the Scotch-Irish
association of America in inviting the general association of that
organization for the United States and Canada to hold their next meeting
in the city of Des Moines.
On behalf of Springfield, the invitations were
presented by Messrs. George H. Frey and W. H. Hunter; and on behalf of Des
Moines, by Mr. Henry Wallace and Dr. McConnell. The remarks of these
gentlemen in presenting the invitations will be found in the regular order
of the proceedings.
LETTER FROM PRESIDENT HARRISON.
Executive Mansion, Washington, April 20, 1892.
George B. Forbes, Esq.,
Chairman, Atlanta, Ga.
My Dear Sir; I beg to extend through you to
the members of the Scotch-Irish Society my most sincere thanks for their
courteous invitation to attend the fourth annual Congress, now soon to
assemble in Atlanta. I very much regret that it will be impossible for me
to accept this invitation.
Very truly yours, Benjamin Harrison.
TELEGRAM OF CONGRATULATION FROM HON. A. T.
WOOD. Hamilton, Ont.,
April 30, 1892. Robert Bonner, Esq., Scotch-Irish Society.
Warm congratulations; hope you are having a
splendid meeting. A.
T. Wood.
LETTER FROM LORD WOLSELEY.
Dublin, March 12, 1892. Thomas T. Wright,
Esq., Nashville, Tenn.
Dear Sir: I am desired by
Lord Wolseley to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th ult.,
on behalf of the Scotch-Irish Historic Society of America, and in reply to
inform you that his Lordship is much gratified by the kind invitation
which you have sent him, but that his military duties will not admit of
his accepting it. Lord Wolsely desires me to add that he takes the deepest
interest in all efforts made to unite all the English-speaking races, for
were a close alliance to exist among them Lord Wolseley believes it would
be a great preventive against war.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient
servant, E. Guilders,
Major Military Secretary.
LETTER FROM MILITARY COMMANDER OF WEST POINT.
United States Military
Academy, West Point, April 22, 1892. To Col. T. T. Wright, Nashville,
Tenn. Col. Wilson
presents his compliments to the Scotch-Irish Society of America, and
greatly regrets that he will be unable to be present at the meeting to be
held in Atlanta April 28, 1892.
LETTER FROM LORD DUFFERIN.
The British Embassy, Paris, March 12, 1892.
Thomas T. Wright, Esq., Nashville, Tenn.
Dear Sir: With reference to your letter of the
27th ult., in which the Scotch-Irish Historic Society of America does me
the honor of inviting me to attend the coming congress of their
association, I regret to say that though much flattered by the kind
invitation, my duties at Paris render it impossible for me to accede to
the wishes of the Society. I am dear sir, your obedient servant, Dufferin
and Ava. LETTER FROM
HON. JOSEPH MEDILL, EDITOR CHICAGO TRIBUNE.
East Pasadena, Cal., February 29, 1892. Mr. A.
C. Floyd, Secretary.
Dear Sir: Your favor of 22d inst. has been received, and also your letter
of invitation, for which, thanks.
I came here early in the winter on account of
ill health, and I am directed by my physician to remain in this mild,
equable sunshiny climate until May. Hence it would be impossible to
deliver the address on "The Scotch-Irish and the Press," even if I had the
data here for its preparation. Hence, all that I can do under the
circumstances is to tender my thanks for the honor of the invitation and
regrets for inability to accept it.
While I have never carefully studied the
career of that stalwart, brainy, invincible race in this country, yet I am
aware of the fact that it contributed toward bringing on the American
Revolution and in achieving independence far more than its proportional
number of the then population. It would listen to no proposals for
compromise or adjustment of the dispute with the mother country short of
complete national independence, and it fought and struggled on till that
great demand was granted. From that day to this the Scotch-Irish element
in America has exercised an enormous influence in behalf of every good and
useful work. It has been an exemplar in good morals, Christian work and
conduct, and a steady upholder of human progress and free government.
Always standing for what it believes to be right with might and main, and
opposing and resisting the wrong with tenacious persistence, it has made a
deep impression on the life and history of the great American republic;
and it is high time that its acts were properly recorded in the nation's
history in order that its merits, virtues, and works should have better
public recognition. Heretofore the Scotch-Irish race in this country has
been too busy in making history, too deeply engrossed in its duties, and
in promoting the public welfare for introspection or review of its past
actions; but the time has now come for an inventory and a record. The
leading men of the English race in America have, in voluminous detail,
compiled its doings while the equally brilliant deeds of the Scotch-Irish
in America still lack a historian. There should be no farther
procrastination in gathering up its remarkable annals and making them
known to the world. This should be the chief object of the Atlanta
convention. One of
the works of the Scotch-Irish element was the founding of the great
Presbyterian Church in this country in the first decades of the last
century. They have furnished the bulk of its membership ever since. In all
parts of the Union congregations of that denomination can be found,
showing how the Scotch-Irish race has multiplied and diffused itself
throughout the continental republic; and the work and conduct of the sect
also shows forth the manner of men and women who compose its membership.
Please offer my thanks to the executive
members for their flattering invitation, and my sincere regret for
inability to comply therewith. Very truly yours, Joseph Medill.
LETTER FROM MR. DOUGLAS CAMPBELL.
Schenectady, 1ST. Y., April 21, 1892. Geoege B. Eorbes, Esq.,
Chairman Committee of Invitation.
Bear Sir: I have just received the invitation
of your committee to attend the meeting of the Scotch-Irish Society of
America, to be held at Atlanta next week, and regret extremely that its
acceptance will be impossible.
It may possibly interest you to learn that
while your Society is doing honor to the achievements of the great people
from whom its members are descended, I am engaged in getting through the
press a work, to be issued in a few days by the Harpers, in which I
attempt to tell, among other things, what the Scottish kirk has
accomplished for the world, and what the Scotch-Irish have done for
America. I have been
engaged upon this work, which I have entitled "The Puritan in Holland,
England, and America," for many years; and for the portions of it relating
to the Scotch-Irish of America (whom I have called "The Puritans of the
South," using the word in a very broad sense, as it was used in the days
of Elizabeth) I am largely indebted to the valuable publications of the
American Scotch-Irish Society.
I began my book mainly for the purpose of
showing how incomplete and unintelligible is the history of England and
America which leaves out of account the influence exerted upon the English
commonwealth and the early American settlers by the great Netherland
republic, which in all ideas of civil and religious liberty, as well as in
every material department, led monarchical Europe by more than a century.
In the course of my investigations I have become satisfied that the
history of America is equally unintelligible which ignores the influence
exerted by the Scotch-Irish, who alone among all the people of Europe
stood on a par with the advanced Republicans of the Netherlands in their
ideas relating to civil and religious liberty, while they were not
inferior in the universal education which was the chief glory of the
Netherland republic.
As comparatively few Scotch-Irish settled in New England, where most of
our histories have been written, it is, of course, but natural that these
histories should contain little reference to this important element of our
population which, in connection with the Scotch gave us a majority of the
first Governors of the thirteen states; nine out of twenty-three
Presidents, thirty-nine generals in the revolutionary army, three out of
the four members of Washington's cabinet, the second Chief Justice of the
United States, three of the four first Associate Justices of the Supreme
Court, and a host of other men distinguished in civil life. I think,
however, that the time is rapidly coming, if it has not already come, when
the American people, tired of their past histories, will be pleased to
learn something of the full story of American development. Yours very
truly, Douglas Campbell,
Per H. M. C.
LETTER FROM EX-CHIEF JUSTICE DANIEL AGNEW.
Beaver, Penn., April 12, 1892. To George B.
Forbes, Chairman, and Other Members of the Committee of Invitation,
Atlanta, Ga.
Gentlemen: It would give me great pleasure to be able to accept the
invitation to the fourth Congress of the Scotch-Irish of America, to be
held at Atlanta on the 28th inst.
I take pride in that rich blood which flows
through the veins of so many eminent men of the indomitable race you
represent. Another
fact gives pleasure: It is the great and increasing number of its members
discovered in this late search, which finds them in every part of our
broad country, and everywhere among the foremost men.
It is a matter of regret that the search was
begun so late, and yet of surprise that so many are revealed. Wherever the
call is heard, like the clan of Roderick Dhu, they rise from every bush
and heather. It is a
source of sorrow that no historian of an early day has been found to
chronicle their deeds, proclaim the race, and preserve its history. Yet,
though late, the work is well begun, and your Congress, with those
preceding it, will develop much that might have been buried forever.
I lament that my age and the inclement season
will bar my journey to your hall and to a city of which I have heard so
much. With great
respect and kind wishes, I am very respectfully yours,
Daniel Agnew.
LETTER FROM HON. W. H. ALEXANDER.
Omaha, Neb., April 21, 1892. Mr. George B.
Forbes, Chairman Committee of Invitation Scotch-Irish Congress, Atlanta,
Ga.
My Dear Sir: Until now I
have had some hope of being able to accept your invitation to the
approaching Congress, but the hope has been dispelled. The privilege is
left me, however, of expressing thanks for your courtesy, and of adding a
word concerning the motives which prompted and the purpose which is likely
to perpetuate these fraternal meetings. There has come to this generation,
from the fathers and mothers of the past, a splendid heritage, in which
are the fruits of lofty faith, heroic sacrifice, sublime fortitude, and
loyal devotion to the development of better civilization and the building
up of a God-loving nation. We turn our thoughts backward along the lines
of our national story to the crude beginnings, with ever increasing
reverence for the sturdy men and noble women who laid the foundations in
suffering; and who nurtured, through trials and adversity, into beauty and
strength, the American republic. We are proud of the Scotch-Irish record
in these splendid achievements. In the North, the South, the East, and the
West; wherever was needed a willing hand and a loyal heart, the men, and
their descendants, from Ulster, have stood like the pillars of a temple,
bearing a goodly part of the burden. Jefferson, Henry, Stark, Madison,
Monroe, Calhoun, Polk, Jackson, Preston, Breckinridge, Thurman, Conkling,
Edmunds, Lincoln, Grant, and thousands of others are so connected with our
national history that without them the column of American greatness would
be only a tottering skeleton. We are given the marvelous civilization of
to-day. Shall we stand here idle and bury our talent, or push on the work
so grandly begun, that we may give to our own posterity a heritage still
fairer and grander than our fathers have left for us?
With the best of wishes for success, and a
deep regret that I cannot be with you, I beg to subscribe myself your
friend and coheir. W. H. Alexander.
FROM SENATOR DAVID B. HILL.
Washington, D. C, April 21, 1892. Mr. G. B.
Forbes, Chairman, Atlanta, Ga. :
Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your esteemed
favor of a recent date extending an additional invitation on behalf of the
National Executive Committee of the Scotch-Irish Society to be present at
the fourth Congress in Atlanta on the 28th inst.
I regret exceedingly that my engagements are
such as to render impossible my leaving the North at the date mentioned.
Thanking the members of the committee for
their courtesy, I remain, very truly yours, David B. Hill.
LETTER AND POEM FROM REV. THOMAS A. COOK, D.D.
Alpine, Ala., April 16, 1892. Messrs. George
B. Forbes, George W. Adair, J. N. Craig, Jr., and Others, Committee of the
Scotch-Irish Society of Atlanta.
Gentlemen: Your kind
invitation to attend a Congress of your Society is received. If my health
and extreme old age will permit, I shall take great pleasure in being with
you at the time appointed. It would be a bright spot in my life to make
one of such an assembly. Esto perpetua.
Tours truly, Thomas A. Cook.
The Poem.
Fond memory in my heart abide,
As last I saw the sparkling Clyde
To meet Scotch-Irish is to know
You hail an honest friend or foe.
Scotch-Irish always do despise
A wolf in sheepskin for disguise;
Their hearts are big enough to hold
The new world and the crowded old.
If they put on the gray or blue,
With all their jokes you find them true.
They cannot help but love the land
Which gave them such a welcome hand.
Therefore, let's meet for "Auld Lang Syne,"
I take your hand and you take mine;
We swear as long as life shall be,
To guard this laud from anarchy.
Thomas A. Coot |