Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1866-02-14


of it, and know how to survey it and run
it out. Laughter.l And who has bet
ter right to it under God than he who
has rescued it from the enemy? Zap
plause. Who has a better right to occu-
py it than he whose brothers and COM
rades lie buried in it, and whose blood
has enriched its soil? Who shall claim
it by higher title? 4? Shall any man who
has forfeited it by trearon and rebellion
say, 'this is mine :" and to the Union
soldier say, ''stand back, 1 am holier
than thou %
Mr.. President, am not advocating
hard measures, unless they are necessary,
and, if there be land enough elsewhere,
without taxing the loyal North too much,
| am content not to cross the Potomac.
But, if not, l am quite certain that it is
duty of the Government of the United
States to cross the Potomac and to see to
it that the men who have fought this war
shall have the fruits of the war. To our
sailors we give all that they take. l do
not speak it invidiously, but an admiral
gets $4,000, and do not see why we can
not have few acres given to the poor
fellows who trudged over the land, instead
of giving all to those who have sailed on
the sea. /, by no means, begrudge to the
sailor what, he has got; only ask fair
play, equM justice TO all men, on land or
on sea, black or white. Laughter and
applause. 1t seems to me, sir, that we
have right to demand so much for Sc
curity to the country for which we have
fought. / think that if this land were
settled by the soldiers who won it, all the
political questions of reconstruction or
otherwise would vanish. If we had only
the old armies of the West, and of the
East, and of the Gulf, settled back in
those States, think there would be no
difficulty in this Hall of re-admitting at
once, and without debt, all the States in
to the Union. l think there would be
no doubt on the question of loyalty or
fealty to the flag, or of attachment to the
Union, to disturb the debates of the re-
spectacle gentlemen who occupy this
hall by day. 1 think we might easily,
and with advantage, supply the places Of
those who have been lost on the other
side by an infusion of new blood, precise
ly as in the olden days the Roman seeur-
ed to himself his conquest by giving an
allotment of land to the soldier that won
it. Applause. Nor do think, Mr..
President, that any injustice would be
done by this. The South, in going into
secession, staked not only its political
rights, but the rights of its citizens to
their property and to their lives. They
played empire, and lost; and think it
is neither manly nor chivalrous in them
to whine when the stakes are called for.
Laughter and applause. If they had
won, do you not think they would have
asked the last dollar staked on our side +?
think it right that they should under
stand that when we conquered, We con-
quered not only their rights but their
lands, and that we should conquer their
prejudices too.
l say, therefore, my friends, urge Con-
gress in every form to do justice, and, if
the answer be that the only objection to
doing you justice is, that it would tax the
loyal North too much, still say, ''we want
justice" Applause. Point Congress
southwark, and say 'there lies the patri-
mony we won; give us only what we
fought for, what we conquered, and what
is ours" [Applause.l
ROBERT E. LEE.
Passing hrrriedly from the considera-
ton of this proposition, come to anoth-
er resolution. 1t has been resolved so of
ten, spoken so often, declaimed so often,
written so often and insisted on so often,
that treason is a crime and ought to be
made odious, that the sentence itself has
become odious. Laughter. Everybody
has got tired of it. 1t is said that the
soldier who has fought in this war is for
giving, and does not desire that anybody
shall be punished; that he was willing to
kill and be killed, all in the regular way,
and that everybody who got out of the
way and did not get killed, ought not TO
receive any detriRent.
Our soldiers died in battle, were starved
in prison, murdered in hospital; but then
they were only soldiers. Your represen-
tatives in the Confederate Congress, your
President and Vice President of the Con-
federacy, were not soldiers, and it was
not in their line to be either starved in
prison, murdered in hospital, or killed in
battle. Well, something ought to be
done with them. They ought to die
somewhere, and know of but one other
place for them to die. Laughter and ap-
plause. They seem to have left US but
one resource.
have given you, my friends, feebly,
the sketch of a true American soldier
Let me give you another sketch. There
was once soldier of the country, bearing
one of its proudest names, intermarrying
into family which the country delighted
to honor; who had received from coun
try, grateful for the deeds of its ancestors,
the highest education it could afford to
give; who had been the petted soldier of
the country, beloved by his commander
in-chief, almost the staff of his old age.
When disorder and civil connections and
rebellion broke out, the old chief leaned
upon the younger soldier as upon his staff
made him the confidant of his secrets
and the depository of his plans. But
suddenly that soldier departed from the
ranks of his country's service, and with
in two days of the time when his resigna-
ton was accepted, was found fighting in
the ranks of the enemy, and in higher
command. During long and bloody war
he saw his former fellow-oficers and sol
diers starved in prison under his very eye
saw that from very desperation they
burrowed out through the ground-and
never raised a voice in their behalf, al
though his word was omnipotent. and al
though the enemy depnded wholly on his
sword. He saw the officers and soldiers
of the country that reared and honored
him murdered by thousands in the pris-
ons, and never said word in their behalf.
At last, after every means of resistance
had failed; after having carried on a war
which he knew to be hopeless, and after
having fought his army, until he dimin-
ished it to 1900 muskets, he surrendered
at last, after writing a note to the COM
mander of the opposite army, stating
that cranky" he did not consider that
the time of surrender had come. That
man is now teacher of the youth of the
to tell them their duty to their
flag, their country and their God. If this
is to be so, fellow-soldiers, have we not
shed our blood in vain, and are our lost
comrades simply murdered, uselessly
murdered, without hope in this world,
and only with hope in the resurrection
What is the plea to be interposed in IA
vor of this man? The rights of secession
that he went with his State? But sup
pose that that plea is a false one, what
shall we say then? Robert E. Lee re-
signed his commission on the 10Th of
April, 1861, at the same that our neigh
bors were murdered in Baltimore. On
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