The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1874-06-20
T1re0sO,a NOT Treason.

Gen. Bradley L. Johnson az Inc dec0rat0n OF
Confederate graves, at Loudon Park, on 10th in
slant:
''These graves are consecrated through all time
as the resting placaS Of tho bUJirr UT herUes and
patriots who died in defence of their altar and |
their native land.n y Il 1.-THE impressions |
made by the minds of men by great human strug- |
giles of force, is measured by the principles they
seek to maintain" "We rest with |
implicit confidence in the justice of the decision
which the supreme tribunal of history will event.
ually render in our favor" 81 do |
not believe we fought in any "lost cause" 1t
was the cause of Washington, Of Robert &. Lee"
= "Our struggle for State sovereignty
was only an incident" "Instead of excluding
the born leaders of man from position in 1885, the
wiser policy would have been to have pressed
them into public service. Beauregard, Hood,
Joe johnson and Wade Hampton should have
been Senators and Robert E. Lee Cabinet Of
ficer q ~ This would have assured the faith of
four millions Of brave and honest people, and the
nation would have been spared the disgrace and
disaster that have come upon it from mistaken
policy" ''There was no rebellion nor
any rebels" i "The next movementin
the capitalization of public opinion will be the
general assent to the patriotism and courage and
fidelity of the men who fought" "And
this generation will see the day when the soldiers
anu WIDOWS anu orphans OF DOL1 SUES Will Sthuu
as equals before the law of the whole country,
equally honored, respected and cared for. The
masses, North and South, were impelled by the
same high considerations of patriotism and love
of liberty"
We deem it our duty to speak plain words up
on these topics. We are willing to accord the
= ,st reasonable latitude to those who attempted
nation, q life. Not "a matter af riahf which
mercy and humane policy, we believe that the
rank and file of the Confederates, when they de-
mean themselves as good citizens should, should
be accorded the rights and privileges of American
citizens. We think their disabilities have been
removed quite as fast as they have merited them.
And the Republican party is committed to the re-
moval of them from the Insignificant fraction yet
remaining as soon as consistent with the public
good. We believe in forgiving the traitor and
making of him, as far as the material will allow,
a useful citizen, but we do not intend that their
treason shall be forgotten.
"Patriots." There were two classes Patriots
and traitors. Those who defended and preserved
their country were patriots; those who did their
best to destroy it were traitors, though they did
it with grand courage and deathless fidelity.
"The principles they sought to maintain" were
the perpetuaton and extension of human slavery,
the foulest curse that ever botted the escutcheon
of nation. 1t was not Glove of liberty"
'Lostc ause." What was it2 1.-THE lost cause
was the cause o: slavery. Stephens declared it
the corner stone Of the Confederacy. The 'inci-
dent'' TO that was State sovereignty and "nation-
al independence" This incident was made
the pretext on which to create rebellion, because
slavery had been defeated in the arena of ideas
by the election of Lincoln. Slavery had been
fenced around by freedom and its champions de-
prived of supreme power in the nation by Lin
coins elevation TO the Presidency. Thus hem
med in like scorpion surrounded by fire it sung
itself to death. The "cause" of slavery was not
the cause of liberty" and those who fought to
maintain slavery did not fight for Glove Of lber-
ty." Had the "born leaders" been justly entitled
to that appellation and pursued policy that re-
vealed it, ''the nation would have been spared
the disgrace and disaster that came upon it from
mistaken policy" they inaugurated in the crea-
ton and prosecution of the rebellion. If they
are ''born leaders, their work showed them to
be very bad ones for their followers and the ma
ton did wisely in excusing them from such leader
ship in the new organization of affairs
''No rebellion, no rebels !" the patriotism
of the Confederates; "the soldiers, widows and
These sentiments are strange, subtle and danger
Gus. The theory is that ~ they thought they
were right, (2) therefore they right (3) that
ii is assented they were right, (4) that posteriy
will reward them, their widows and orphans
with pensions because they were right AS a
link in the chain of this singular sophistry it is
tacitly admitted that those who suppressed the
rebellion were also right. 1t puts "both Sides
upon an equal-the same-footing in moral
merit and courage. In their estimation they
were "both' patriots.
We admit no such thing. There was rebel
lion. Those engaged in it were traitors. We're
they right or wrong9 The verdict of the Supreme
tribunal Of history" and the language of the con-
stitution is that those who levy war against the
government are guilty Of treason. Treason in
all ages has been considered the highest crime
known against human laws. Those who are
guilty of it are criminals. In the great conflict
for the national life there was but one right side
and that was the side of the chest and freest
government on earth' The other side was wrong
That wrong admits of no miIder definition than
treason. 1t is the place of those who were guilty
OF it to be grateful that they were forgiven that
they are allo.Oed to decorate the graves of their
dead. But for them to assert that treason is
''pstriotsm" and ask that we accept it as such is
assuming position that history's supreme tribu
nal will never award to them.
When jeff Davis becomes President by the |
unanimous voice Of the people, then the Confed
crates will gettheir pensions. The slave oigarchy
and its outgrowth were beaten in the arena Of
ideas in 1860. They transferred the contest to |
that of the sword. They were vanquished in
1865. And now they making a vain effort
to have fresh trial of their cause in the arena of
ideas. They will get it, but each succeeding |
verdict will stamp the dye of the crime more ia
dellibly. Gen. Johnson is representative man,
and his utterances give us significant revelations.
STRIKING IN THE RIGHT PLAcE.-In their mi
tiatory resolution, the State Farmers Conven-
ton that convened at Springfield, Illinons, on
the 10th instant, struck the keynote to the en-
tire catalogue of political difficulties. This
resolution demands the attention of voters to
primary nominations and elections to insure
the election of competent and honest men,"
This is the pivot upon which the entire RENE
dy turns and we are glad that an assembage
of farmers has found tout and that after making
the discovery it was bold enough to announce
1t. Most of the evils that the farmers have for
the past twelve months been attempting to
remedy are the legitimate results of the ne
giect Of their duties on primary meeting day.
incapable and incompetent men work their
way to important public positions because the
honest men who are not seekers for places re.
main away from the primary election. This
is where the mischief begins and no remedy
will be complete and efficient that does not be-
gin and continue there until none but homes.
oopa 10 daAio aa1av 10 III |