Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Fellow-Citizens: We are here to pay a
tribute to the worth and greatness of the departed—to him who
did so much for the prosperity of the great and goodly city of
Atlanta; to him who did so much for Georgia and the South, and
to him who did so much for the restoration of peace and good
will among the people of all sections of our common country.
The most gifted and useful public man of his day has passed away
in the person of Henry W. Grady. I will refer briefly to him as
an editor before he electrified the country, and won plaudits
from his countrymen by the magic of his winsome eloquence.
I met him for the first time about twenty years ago at a meeting
of the Georgia Press Association in the city of Augusta.
Although he had not reached his majority, he was the proprietor
and editor of the Rome _Commercial_, which was his first
newspaper venture. He was then a striking and manly youth, and
gave promise of a career of prominence and usefulness in the
field of journalism. He moved from Rome to Atlanta and was
engaged for a few years in editing the _Herald_, one of the
brightest and most enterprising newspapers in the State. He
acquired reputation as a correspondent during the period of
reconstruction, and subsequently represented one of the leading
journals of the North as its special representative in Florida
during the memorable campaign of 1876, when the returning board
of that State negatived the will of the people. Mr. Grady gave
the country graphic and truthful pictures of the evils which the
South endured. He strikingly depicted the wrongs imposed upon
our people and exposed the usurpation of those placed in
authority by the aid of the general Government. During that sad
period of the South’s eventful history, he rendered signal
service to the people, and the principles which he advocated,
with a steadfast devotion and an exalted patriotism.
His reputation as a journalist is identified with the growth and
prosperity of that great newspaper, in the upbuilding of which
he took such a conspicuous part. The _Constitution_ stands as a
monument to his ability as an editor. His versatility as a
writer was something phenomenal. There was no subject within the
range of the press that he did not discuss with a grace and
facility that were captivating and with a clearness and vigor
that were convincing. His imagination glowed with luminous
thoughts which were clothed in the diction of polished rhetoric.
Without disparagement to the living or the dead, he won the
first place in the ranks of Southern journalists.
I speak of Mr. Grady as an editor. Others will speak of him as
an orator. Oratory was a natural gift with him. It was born in
him. Where others struggle to win success, he, by reason of his
genius, reached the mountain top, and from this great eminence
spoke to the ear of the Nation and captured the hearts of the
people. He achieved greatness by reason of his vigorous
mentality, and his fame as an editor and as an orator is voiced
by the sentiments of admiring but sorrowing friends in all
sections of the Union. He has been stricken before his time.
Already the first of his generation, if his life had been spared
his opportunity for greatness would have broadened and given him
in “the applause of listening senates” a field for the exercise
of those great gifts with which he was so richly endowed. He
died too soon for his people and for his country. But his name
and his fame will be an example and an inspiration to practice
and perpetuate the principles of government in the advocacy of
which he yielded up his life.
“With charity for all and malice toward none,” he went about
among his countrymen doing good. It was his mission to help the
poor and to aid the deserving. Every good work received the
support of his impulsive heart and noble soul. His last speech
was an impassioned and eloquent plea for a peaceful solution of
that great problem which the South and the South alone can
solve. It was not to oppress, but to elevate the colored man—to
enable both races to live in peace, and work out their mission
in the regeneration of the South. What he so eloquently said in
Boston represents the firm conviction of his Southern
countrymen, and his death but emphasizes the truth and force of
his position. The South is free and the intelligence and courage
of her people will preserve her and her institutions for all
time from hostile and inferior domination.
The South mourns the untimely death of Georgia’s brilliant son.
The North deeply sympathizes with us in the death of him whose
last public utterance so feelingly touched the patriotic heart
of the people, and the response comes back from all sections of
a re-united people and a restored Union. Few men have
accomplished so much for the unification of public sentiment on
questions of grave import, and there is no one who has
accomplished more for the material development of his beloved
South. He is dead, but his works will live after him. His name
is enshrined in the hearts of his grateful countrymen, who are
saddened and bowed down with unspeakable sorrow.
Henry W. Grady had the zeal of a martyr and valor of a patriot.
If it be permitted to mortals who have put on immortality to
look upon this world from their celestial home, the incense of
praise which ascends from our stricken hearts will be grateful
to the soul of Henry Grady. God has set his seal upon his silver
tongue, and no more forever will his eloquent voice, stimulating
his fellow-countrymen to deeds of noble enterprise, be heard on
earth. Matchless the fertility of his mind, matchless the magic
and power of his presentation, matchless his power of
organization, matchless his power of accomplishment. Truly,
indeed, can it be said of him, there is no man left to fill his
place.
May his golden soul rest in the bosom of the God that gave it,
is the humble but heartfelt prayer of one who admired and
respected him living, and who mourns and reveres him dead.