Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-06-07

4 ever else may 1ofget. Il snail never forget the
difference between those who fought for liberty
and those who fought for slavery; those who
fought to save the republic and those who fought
to destroy IL.
We are sometimes asked ''what was gained by
| the suppression or this slave-holGing rebellion
| and whether II Is worth what it cost" IL had.
perhaps better be asked what we should have
lost had we failed TO suppress the rebellion. In
| what condition would this country be with the
| lower half OF the Mississippi In the hands Of A
| foreign and hostile power Who can paint the
| horrors OF wars and incursions which would
have Redeemed the line running east and west
| separating two governments, one based on lib
| erty and equality and the other upon slavery
and race inferiority2 Would not the raw edges
| OF such hnc be always chatting and bleeding7
| Heavy as has been the cost of this war would
not heavier one have fallen upon the country
| had the war failed?
WHAT WAS GAINED
For Him every foot OF bird or beast leaves In
| imprint upon the earth. Every wheel OF cart or
| carriage leaves Its track upon the road. Every
| keel OF ship or schooner leaves its wake I'm the
| seamless ocean to tell the mariner when he has
devated from his true course. III these may be
consulted for the purpose Of knowledge and
| wisdom, how much more the rebelliou-lost shin
| Of state freighted with all that is precious In
hu man hope and human assistance.
Fellow-ctizens You lament, lament we all
dists OF slavery and caste Your hearts ache In
| the contemplation OF Its hardships and horrors,
for war here, as elsewhere, was q vast and terri
| BILE calamity.
But. to estimate properly what was gained
| and what was lost, more comprehensive gene
ralization than present space will permit, Is re-
| quired.
| If the existence OF society Is more than the
lives OF individual men. II all history proves that
| no great addition has ever been made to the
liberties OF mankind except through war; II the
| progress OF the human race has been disputed by
| force, and 1t has only succeeded by opposing
force with force; If nations are most effectively
taught righteousness by afiliction and suffering;
| III eternal laws or rectitude essential TO the
| preservation, happiness and perfection Of the
| human race; II there is anything I'm the
world worth living for, fighting for and dying
for, the suppression Of our rebellion by force was
not only thing right and proper In itself but
| was an immense and Unreasonable gain to our
country and the world.
Had that rebellion succeeded with all its
| malign purposes, what then would have become
OF our grand example OF free institutions; OF
| what value. then, would have been our govern
ment OF the people, by the people and for the
| people? What ray OF light would have been left
above the horizon to kindlethe just hopes OF the
| toiling millions In Europe3 Every despot in the
| old world would have seen In our manifest In
stability Of government q new and powerful
| argument In favor OF despotic power.
| WHAT FAILURE WOULD HAVE BEEN.
failure to suppress this rebellion would not
| only have lost US prestige abroad, but it would
have entailed upon us tnnumerable and intol-
cradle troubles at home Successful wicked
ness is contagious, and repeats itself Jefferson
| Davis and his rebellion successful would have
| prepared the way for other rebels and traitors
| Instead OF one rival and hostile confederacy I'm
| that case, this great country would have I'm time
| become divided. torn and rent into numerous
petty states, each warning upon and devouring
| the substance Of the other So this one great
war Of ours may have saved us many wars.
1t Is said that We might have lived in peace
4 yzvifh laA fad tor %c&
To my mind such peace would have been I'm
possible. II We could have lived I'm peace I'm sep
aration, separation itselfwould have been impos-
| sible. II we would not live In peace when
we were citizens of the same country, under
the same flag, participating In the same govern
ment, with the same powerful national motives
| for cultivating friendly and fraternal relations
| 1t Is not reasonable to suppose that peace and
amity would spring up between us under sep
arate governments. based upon Numerically
| opposite principles.
To us, the suppression OF the rebellion means
peace, nationality. liberty and progress. It
means the everlasting exclusion from the entire
borders OF the republic OF that system Of bar
barism which gave birth to the rebellion, a sys-
tenn which branded our declaration OF indepen-
dence as a lie, our civilization as q sham our
religion as a mockery, and made our name q
by-word and kissing among all the nations OF
| the earth.
In q speech delivered recently I'm the CITY OF
New Orleans, Mr.. jefferson Davis made the fol-
lowing statement: "As for mel speak only for
myself-our cause was 80 just, so sacred, that,
known what was to be inflicted on me- all that
| my country was to suffer- all that our posterity
| was to endure, would do 1t over and over
again" tGreat applausel
| When we see sentiments like these emanating
from southern men, and 90 rapturously APP
plauded by admiring assemblies OF the people
| we may well enough keep In mind the principles
and benefits which we sought to sustain and did
sustain In our struggle with that slave-holding
| rebellion.
But what Of the emancipated CLASP How
| stands the case with them to-day? Has liberty
been Q blessing or . cursor Has their freedom
been credit or a calamity I admit that on
the surface there are some reasons for asking
these questions; but plainly enough they are
| superficial reasons, and are derived from shall
low and imperfect reflections
! THE CONDITION OF THE FREEDMEN.
Unquestionably, the condition Of the freedmen
Is not what 1t ought to be- but the cause of their
afaction is not to be found In their freedom but
In their former slavery. 1t does not belong to
the present, but to the past. They were emanci-
pated under unfavorable conditions. They were
literally turned loose, hungry and naked, to the
open sky. They had neither home friends or
| money. Such was their restitution at the start
that their enemies consoled themselves with the
| thought that hunger and exposure would soon
thin them out, and possibly destroy them alto
| gether. Those who now carp at their destitu-
1 tiOu, uuu speak Vi THEM WIFI COntempI, 6nOulQ
judge them leniently, and measure their progress,
| not from the heights to which they may in time
| attain, but from the depths from which they
have come. They have persisted from neither
cold nor hunger. and from the last United States
| census we learn that their increase is ten per
cent greater than that Of the native white popu-
| lation Of the south.
| Twenty-Five years ago no child OF these people
was permitted to attend school and learn to
| read. Now there are two hundred thousand Of
| these children attending school. The time
would fail me to tell Of the various efforts now
being made to improve the condition of the
| emancipated class and to place them within the
| range of an equal chance In the race Of life,
and to tell you how the opportunities now
afforded them are embraced, appreciated and
improved.
While as most OF you know, my whole life
has been devoted to the work OF abolishing
slavery and to the further work Of making q
favorable impression for the colored race, on the
minds Of the American people, when freedom
came to the enslaved, In the sudden and start
ling manner in which it did come. I was OPP
pressed with serious doubts and fears that they
might, In some way. In the intoxication Of this