New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1877-05-16
The Day. Of PacllIca,ion.


The Days Of Paciflcation,
Grace Greenwood writes the following
in the New York Times;
ViUe les commissions But ali, why
must we ever learn wisdom by bitter ex-
perience? What treasure, what tolls, what
dreadful marches, what rich young blood,
what precious lives, what unspeakable
ogonies, might have been saved, if in the
beginning of that fearful, cruel, useless
war waged for the Union and the ''bril-
liant distractions" of the declaration of
independence, a commission had been
Sent South, with instructions to treat with
the insurgents on their own terms, and it
had treated, and been treated, and re-
turned to report that though the Federal
government was the government de jlre
there, the Confederate was the govern
ment de fdttO. Then, if the entire North,
as one man and one woman, had uttered
a benedictory dismissal of the sublime
words of Scott, Maynard sisters, go in
peace" and they had gone their way, and
taken king, and we had gone ours, and
kept our tempers, our bank deposits, our
canned fruits and iellies, our fathers,
brothers, husbands, sons, and all that
sort of thing, how much wiser we would
have been then, and how much more fore
handed now? True, we should have been
pooler in crippled brigadiers, military
monuments, anatomical museums, and
such like ornaments of life, but richer in
the solid essentials of worldly saliva
ton. 1t really seems that we have
all been mistaken-woefully, fatally
mistaken-but we will never err
in that way again. The repub-
lie has OutgroWn its salad days, when it
was green in Judgment. The time comes
on apace when even rural pilgrims will be
scarce beside that grave in Springfield, or
before the great Ream statue in the Capt.
toll. Martyred presidents and emaneipa-
ton proclamations have gone out of
fashion, the Boys in Blue" have become
SO many bores and bugbears, Union VIC
tories must no longer be mentioned to
tears polite" the Battle Hymn of the
Republic" sounds only in reunions on the
other side of Jordan, and John Browns
soul has gone into eternal bivouac. We
read that.extensive preparations are being
made for the decoration this season OF
Confederate graves in Northern cemeteries,
and at the same time we read that in the
decorations of April 2G, in Florida, where
if anywhere, flowers are plentiful and
cheap, no Federal soldiers grave received
as much as a sprig of rosemary, for re-
membrance," or bunch of ''pansies for
thought" Yet this little fact should not
be considered. We are a generous people,
we fill the cup of kindness until it slops
over, if we fill it at all, and there is, of
course, large, magnanimous, munifcent,
Inn oil al1 nbo &c q
ness that is most honorable to US. We
must continue to do good, hoping for no
return in the shape of a converted Dem
ocrat, or conciliated old Wing, or q regen-
Grated Ku-klux; certainly for not so much
as handful of roses flung on the Southern
graves Of our fallen heroes, to cheer for a
little their sad exile of death. 1 surely
have no word to say against decorating
the graves of the Confederate dead. Be-
tween them and US there is peace. re-
member that on the first decoration. day
at Arlington, ], with my little daughter,
sought out the graves of the rebels q beg
pardon for the word; we used to use it
them, and left on them all our offerings.
They had such lowly, lonely, home-sick
look. If l could, l would scatter sweet
flowers over the graves OF all the brave
IueH VI our Toes, as q token OF forgiveness,
but l would plant on none poppy and
mandragora" as a sign OF forgetfulness.
Yes, times and manners are changing; not
only are long neglected Confederate graves
in demand, but Confederate literature is
looking up. 1t is stated that fourishing
journal has agreed to give Mrs. Stonewall
Jackson 500 column for personal recoI-
lections of the private life of the saint
militant of Virginia. 'tCan such things
be and overcome us old fogies like sum-
mer cloud without our special wonderP"
Surely, therelict of the fighting Bishop of
Louisiana, if there be such lady, should
take hint from Mrs. jackson, and edit
collection of ''Camp-ire Meditations,
'Erhortations from the Saddle;' and did
not the mysterious Quantrell leave wi
dowf is there not Mrs. Forrest and a
Nine. Wirz, who could give an account of
the brilliant raid on Lawrence, 'Fireside
Stories of Fort Pillow, and ''Idyls of An
dsrsonvillef" Such contributions would
make the fortune Of o Northern illustrated
journal just now.