Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1883-03-17
NORTHERN TRIBUNE.
SATURDAY. MARCH II. 1888.
ALEXANDER III. STEVENS.
A Scathing Review of the Political
Life Of the Ex-Presitlent of the
COnfederacy.

Life OF the Ex- president of the
COnfederacy.
From the Denver Tribune.
Alexander IL. Stevens has been polit-
ical Lazarus. The war killed him, and
the magnanimity of the republic raised
him from the dead. He had patriotic
instincts and sectional cOwardice. He
never possessed the moral courage to
fight his surroundings. If he had been
born in the north he would have been an
intense uniOnist. His Georgia assOcia-
tions made him deprecating secession
list. He wanted to do right, but was
afraid to. When the war first broke out
he raised his voice against the crime of
national dissolution. Numbers conquered
reason, and he went with numbers.
Geography had more to do with 1t than
judgement. He sacrificed right to local
ity, and he took his chances with the in
sanity of rebellion. A constitutional
lawyer of unusual ability, he defended an
attack on the constitution. An Ameri-
can with mellow ideas of nationality, he
sacrificed everything to sectiOnalism. A
citizen of republic he fed his best
years as fuel to slavery. When he was
elected governor of Georgia, his election
was vindicatiOn of the republic and a
condemnation of himself. Under usual
conditions he would have been hanged.
We have no desire to be bitter, but
when a man knows better and does not
show the manly assertion of knowledge
he deserves no praise and little pity. A
clean life and Christian one does not
palliate stab at the heart of the Union.
Alexander III. Stevens knew better. He
knew he was q traitor when he stultified
himself and supported the treason which
he had but short time before denounced.
With eyes open and head clear, he
sought to destroy the republic. A moral
coward, he became traitor because the
local atmosphere was full of treason.
Wrong was rampant. and he went with
it, knowing it was wrong.
In his case there was no excuse, be-
cause sOphistry could not reach him.
He went into tropical movement with
an arctic mind. He had an intellect as
severe as the wire grass of Georgia. He
was as logical as fate. The scales were
never before his eyes, and he never had
the warmth to color wrong into enthu-
siasm. He was deliberately mistaken.
He played game of chess in which the
safety of the republic was the stake, and
he never missed move or Loss point.
Since his return to public life, many
kindly things have been said of him.
OF the man they could be said. OF the
citizen they were concession of mag
nanimity to treason. OF all the men
who joined the,sOuth in its mad masquer-
AIDE of independence, he had the le lst
excuse. His blood was never warm in
his brain, and his course was the murder
Of patriotism by social cOwardice.
Since the war he has been "recOn-
structed." In other words, fate has
forced him back to reason. He has given
an occasional admission that the Union
was good for something after all, and
has claimed considerable consideration
because he approved of the government
which failed in its duty when 1t did not
hang him. On the floor of the house he
was useful member, because he had
brains enough to make himself useful.
He has been progressive because it was
part of his life policy to recognize sit
uatiOn and take advantage of it. He al
ways knew his atmosphere, and this kept
his head above trOubl0us waters. He
had the instinct of anticipation, and this
helped him along. political "JOseph
Surface he INDUCED in sentiment"
Had he belonged to the old regime in
France he would have been the first to
knock at the door of NapOleOn's court
for admission. He had presence Of
mind enough to fawn gracefully. He
was actor enough to be dignifed
traitor. He was logical enough to be
smart coward. He was quick enough to
become brand snatched from the burn
ing. With one foot in the grave, the
other always touched the future. He
could do the egg dance very artistically.
In the late cOnfederacy there were
great many private soldiers. They had
a false inspiration and they acted upon
it. The majority of them fought blindly
to the bitter end. They had confused
idea of an invasion, and definite one of
defense. They went from titled fields
and quiet homes, marched around the
circle, and came back to find desOlatiOn
where they had left peace and plenty.
Any one of these men was stronger
figure than Alexander II. Stevens. De-
liberately, and with full knowledge, he
became part of the most criminal re-
bellion the world has ever known. With
calculation he became part of gigantic
tragedy. Against his Judgement, and
without quickening of the blood, he
encouraged and assisted in the horrors
of war. With conscience and with
knowledge he sought to perpetuate an
era of murder. An American he strOve
to destroy his country.
He is dead now, and it is customary to
speak kindly Of the dead But we can
not speak kindly of him. He knew
better than he did; he made conscience
secondary to ambition; in the court of
liberty he was felon; in the eyes of
man he was coward in the judgment
of history he was a derelict; in the
record of his country he is and will con.
tinue to be traitor. Time cannot ex-
plain away the stain. 1t is there, and
will remain. He wrote his own epitaph