Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1878-06-17
A FEW WORDS WITH THE RIGHT
RING FROM GEN. SHERMAN.

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RING FROM GEN. SHERMAN.
Though new generation has grown
up since the events which we are now
assembled to commemorate, there still
remain hero in this very presence some
of the witnesses of fierce civil war
which left half a million of graves and
an untold amount of human pain and
anguish million of widows and or
phans left to struggle in a cold world
without the support of the strong arms
on which they had right to lean ;
pension roll of 232. lO4 names at an an
nual cost of $25, 371 ,215 national
debt of over So, OOO,O 100000; the inter-
est on which is annually near 100000
600; and vast amount of property,
the result of the toll of a hundred years,
leveled to the earth and destroyed for
ever. yet we hear men of influence con-
tend that all this should be forgotten.
1t has long since been forgiven, and
some of the very men who caused this
state of facts share in the councils of
our Government, and l would be the
last man to will it otherwise. They
are now our equals in all the attributes
of citizenship share in the common
taxes and responsibilities, and | am
most happy to bear witness that many
of them manifest the most ardent desire
to join with us in making the future
more safe and more glorious than the
past. We have welcomed them back
into the family group, as was the prod
igal son of old, and it may seem to
some of our old Union comrades that it
has gone too far, to the prejudice of the
remainder of the family who stood Faith
full all the time This is one of the
great political questions now on trial,
and. for one, l hope and pray that our
antagonists of the South will have
learned wisdom, and by their acts prove
to the world the sincerity of their patri-
otto declarations. Some of them. how
ever, contend that because their indi-
vidual motives were pure and honorable
they are entitled to the same measure
of honor and glory as those who had
the right on their side, and who, by wal
and violence, had to enforce submission
to lawful authority.
There are such things as abstract
right and abstract wrong. and wher
history is written human actions must
take their place in one or the other cat
egory. We claim that in the great civil
war we of the national Union Army
were right prolonged applause] and
our adversaries wrong. Renewed ap
plause.1 And no special pleading. NJ
excuses, no personal motives. howeve
pure and specious, can change this, tn,
verdict of the war. | would not for tn,
world revive the angry passions of tina
period of time, nor do l question tn
personal motives of our then antagonists
but do and ever will contest the prop
osition that we should tear from tn
history of our country the pages whicl
record the great events from 1861 t
, 1862, for they should stand there forev
er as warning to those who come afte
, us-who, from passion, self interest, o
any human cause or pretext whatever
may undertake to destroy this Govern
. ment by Violence Government i
t which the living are only the trustee
D for the hundreds of millions of huma
8 beings who are so fast Dressing us oil
f men off the stage OF life. No th
s deeds of our dead heroes are already n
corded in the great book of Time, an
s marble and brass will continue to recor
q them long after We are dead and gon'
e In the language of our leader, Ger
s Grant. we will never apologize for th
e deeds done in l86l-5, but will treasul
:. up their memory, and on every suitab
n occasion, as long as life lasts, will pr,
n sent them anew to the youth of tn
f country as noble examples of herois
J. and patriotism, for they saved this ri
y tion from absolute humiliation, or,
u the very least, long period of int
tine war and anarchy.