The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1873-06-05
Kind and Noble Words for the Confederate
Dead,

The published threat of the "Grand Army
of the Republic" to prevent by force sympa-
thizers with the Confederate dead from decora-
ting their graves on the late memorial day, has
called forth leader of unusual beauty and
power from the New York Tribune 1t is full
of noble expression, and broad and catholic
charity The Tribune says:
"Of course we discover in this demonstration
of indignation at the proposed insult the evil
dence Of profound patriotism and earnest 10y
atty. We should, perhaps, be thankful in such
times as these for the nice sense of honor, the
exquisitely sensitive love of country, the rever-
ent patriotism, the constancy of devotion to
the Union, and the undying hostility to its
dead and buried enemies, of which we have
here such tokens. For it must be confessed
that many things of late have made US skepti-
cal of any such keeness of susceptibility. For
really, when we sell our seats in the Senate,
and our Senators themselves are bought and
sold; when our Judges haunt the lobbies OF
Congress to influence legislation for pay; when
elections are carried by fraud and the perpe-
traitors of fraud are protected by Executive
pardon; when we peddle out our honor and
trade upon our dignity in the face of all the
world; when we are scandalized in all depart
ments by venalty, corruption and incompe-
tency, we should perhaps welcome anything
that seems an honest burst of indignation for
whatever cause that has in it something akin
to pride of land or race.
dAnd yet, shall we be deemed unpatriotic or
disloyal if we say that there seems somehow
in this bristling up of resentment at the deco
ration of the graves of dead enemies some-
thing trivial and narrow; something not en-
tirely worthy a great and magnanimous people2
In the year following the close of the war,
before the bitterness of the long struggle had
begun to give place to more mellowed and
tenderer feeling, il would not have been unnatu-
raj if we had protested against such a ming
ling of tributes and tears to the memory of the
fallen on both sides. But eight years have
passed since then. Surely loyalty is no such
ungracious, churlish virtue that we should
nurse forever the animosties it en,endered /;
nor is its quality so feeble that to let little
magnanmity grow round and blossom over it
will overshadow or destroy it.
'Let us be grateful to Time, that so mellows
and softens the past that ameliorates the bit
terness and smooths the asperity of old con-
tests, bringing us out of our selfish narrowness
and littleness into the largeness and catholicity
of humanity, into sympathy with the universal
brotherhood of man. Here and to-day the
pettiness of our lives engrosses us; our strug-
giles and our trials, our triumphs and our fail
ures, our toll, and sweat, and tears, are all the
world to us; we magnify and dwell upon them;
we draw away from them and they grow less
and less, and fade away behind us. We shall
exercise sound philosophy as we'll as Chris
tian charity if we gather only tender memories
as we look back over it all-tender, kindly
memories, not alone of those we loved, but
equally of those with whom we differed, who
were of our race and our blood, and whatever
their faults or their mistakes, were our broth
ers. Be sure we shall be doing no mans mem.
ory an injustice, nor any good cause harm, if
on the same day, and even by the same hands,
the graves of the Union and Confederate dead,
lying side by side in all the South, are made
fragrant and beautiful with the blossoms of
tender and affectionate remembrance"