Speeches delivered by Pat M. Neff, Governor of Texas, discussing certain phases of contemplated legislation Page: 57 of 61
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-57
INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR PAT M. NEFF DELIVERED AT NOON, JANUARY
16, 1923, AUSTIN, TEXAS.
Members of the Thirty-eighth Legislature, Ladies and Gentlerena:
No one can take the oath of the office of Governor and seal and sanctify
it by kissing the leaves of God's Book without a deep consciousness
of the responsibility that goes with it, and without an abiding realization
t hat he plights his best for his country's good. It gives inspiration
to the heart and courage to the soul. It strengthens the natural
ties that bind one in patriotic love to his country. Love of country is
one of the noblest attributes of human life. It has characterized the
worthy citizenship of every age. In ancient days the noblest and best
were ever ready to point with pride to the toga of their Roman citizenship.
It was said that each Grecian loved his country so well that
wherever he stood, there was the Grecian government. The Swiss love
their mountains, the Norwegians their pines, the Germans their Rhine,
the Frenchmen their vineyards, the Italians their clear, blue skies, the
Englishmen their ivy-colored castles, the Irishmen their shamrocks, and
as these people love their native heath, so do we as Texans love our
broad prairies, our towering forests, our sunlit hills, our furrowed valleys,
our sacred shrines and immortal history.
"Breathes there a Texan with soul so dead
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own, my native land."
HE ALONE IS GREAT WHO SERVES.
Love of country finds its highest expression in sacrificial service. In
song and in story, in marble and in mausoleums, in poems and in paintings
have been immortalized the lives and the labors of those who served
the State.
"He who saves his country, saves all things,
And all things saved bless him;
He who lets his country die, lets all things die,
And all things, dying, curse him."
Full well do we realize and appreciate the truth of that sentiment as
we stand here today beneath the portraits adorning in sacred memory
these legislative halls; Stephen F. Austin, who carved from the wilderness
an empire and gave it to civilization; Sam Houston, who immortalized
the field of San Jacinto as he flung with martial hand into the
blue sky above him the glittering star of a new Republic; Edward
Burleson; an illustrious name that has enriched the annals of Texas
history; Frank Lubbock, who always flashed a bright blade in humanity's
name; A. W. Terrell, whose brain conceived more constructive leg
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Neff, Pat M. Speeches delivered by Pat M. Neff, Governor of Texas, discussing certain phases of contemplated legislation, book, 1923; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth5835/m1/57/?rotate=270: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .