The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1883-02-01
diaboiical be imagined than to compel these
heroes to lay bare their disabilities to the
gaze Of the public or run the risk of being
denounced rs imposterS?
a lesson That Should be Needed.

There IS Il good deal of truth in the sug-
/ gcstion of one of our subscribers that the
/ North did not give the Rebel Brigadiers
sufficient time to repent before readmitting
them to seats in Congress, but there is a
I great deal more force in the statement that
the North did not take proper precautions
1 10 have the interests Of it's own soldiers rep
I resented in that body. 1t is not our purpose
to find fault with the Southern people for
selecting the most distinguished generals 10
/ represent them in The Senate and House of
Representatives. Far from it. 1t was but
natural and Just that the men who had
proved faithful 10 their interests in the field
should be chosen to advocate their interests
in Congress, and if they STILL at this late
day, exhibit an intense hostility to the
granting Of pensions and bounties to Union
. pectod Of them, crushed rs their Confederacy
was by these selfsame soldiers. When the
North in 4 spiris of magnificent magnanim-
ity threw open the doors of Congress to
the Rebel Brigadicrs it ought to have fore
seen that they would vote and act together
on all questions growing ont Of the rebel
lion, and made It's arrangements accordingly.
For all the injustice which our ex-soldiers
have suffered at the hands of Congress,
through the combination of their enemies at
home with those Rebel Brigadiers from the
South, it is the North that must he held
responsible. Indeed, all history scarcely
furnishes a parallel to the course pursued
! by the victorS in cur civil war towards the
conquered, nor an instance of a more sudden
reversal of their relative positions. With
few exceptions the North, instead of select
ing men whose fidelity and ability had beer
tested in the war to guard its interests,
chose its Senators and Representatives from
the ranks of the politicians. Nothing, in
deed, is more common now than to hear the
soldier spoken Of as played out" But the
soldier is not played out in the South.
The Southern people set higher price upon
human valor and devotion than their con-
querors, and. although they reaped nothing
| but death ard desolation from the proves
of their armies, they are none the less CRATE
full to the men who did what they could to
save a hopeless cause. If any one doubts
the warmth of their gratitude, let him in
quire into the history of the men who rep
resent the South in the Senate of the United
States to-day He will find that almost
| without exception they are ex-oficers of the
Confederate army" Rebel Brigadiers," as
they were aptly called when this fact was
first brought to public notice. A single
glance at the Congressional Directory will
be sufficient to convince him that such is
the case. There, duly recorded, will be
found the date when they entered the Con-
| fedeTate service, the rank which they bore,
| and the promotion which they earned by
| their efforts to overthrow the Republic. As
! he runs over the list, the names of Ransom
and Vance Of North Carolina, of Wade
! Hampton and Butler of South Carolina, of
! Gordon and Barrow of Georgia, of Morgan
| and Pugh Of Alabama, of Lamar and Jack
son of Mississippi, of Jonas of Louisiana, of
Maxey and Coke of Texas, of Walker of Ar
( Of
and of Williams of Kentucky, viii meet his
eye, and, should he happen to be a stranger
in this country, he may be led to believe, by
the particularly with which their military
records are given, that they fought on the
winning side in the late war, and that it was
the North which rebelled against the Gov
eminent But his establishment on learning
that Just the reverse is the fact, will be as
nothing compared to the feelings of surprise
which lie viii experience on turning to the
list of Northern Senators and discovering
that instead Of the majority being ex-sol
diers, but pitiful minority enjoy that dis
tinction, and that q considerable number,
indeed, were known during the war as
southern sympathizers." lie will be puz-
lied to account for such a singular depart
IRE from the usual policy of nations, and it
viii, perhaps occur to him to inquire
whether in view Of the slight esteem in
which the North seems to hold the men who
preserved the Union, the suppression Of the
rebellion, involving, as it did, such an awful
waste Of lie and money, was not, after all,
o stupendous blunder.
But incomprehensiblc as all this must be
to stranger, it IS no mystery at all to
Americans. 1t is the fault of our ex soldiers
themselves that they are not properly repre-
scented in the Congress Of the United States.
They have permitted themselves to be made
the sport Of politicians, and instead of voting
rs they shot have suffered themselves to be
beguiled 10y empty promises into blindly
giving their support to party candidates
without pausing TO inquire whether they