Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1885-08-14
TOOMDS AND FITzHUGH LEE.
The Remarks of One Sharply Araign-
ed by the other.

The Remarks OF Ons OndlpiJ -AAA"'o
ed by the Other.
ATLANTA, Aug. 10.-In an inter
view Gen. Robert TOombs expresses
himself on many points in his past
career. "The elimination OF my
political career" said Gen. TOombs,
"was the secession agitation. The
statement that there existed among
the Southern Senators in 1889 and
1860 a conspiracy to force secession
is untrue. There was no con
spiracy, no understanding. The
encroachments of Northern Con
gressmen upon the reserved rights
of the States, the incendiary aglta'
ton of disturbing questions in that
section, had alarmed the people OF
the Southern States. They elected
men to Congress to represent their
views. These men were represen.
tatives, and were only guilty OF
the same conspiracy as always eX'
lists between constituent and repre-
sentative.
"The question of secession came
up from people just in the same
shape as other questions come up,
and consequently Southern Sena-
tors merely presented the views OF
those whom they represented.
They went homo and addressed
their constituents upon that as
they did upon all other questions
All of my speeches were so made
to my constituents in Georgia, or
in my place upon the floor of the
Senate. always gave my utter
ances to the press freely. | never
suppressed a speech nor spoke III
riddles. Ny life has been an open
page which all men might read"
"Was there ever a hope Of sue
cess for the Confederacy, and if 50
why did it falllD
"There was no doubt of success"
answered the General. THE
South could have succeeded had it
not been throttled by West Point.
The Presidency of the Confederacy
was offered to me and declined.
When South Carolina, with singu-
lar stupidity, wrapped itself around
Jefferson Davis, Mississippi was
not so insane, but could not, out OF
courtesy, vote against her own
citizen. Hence, Davis became
President, and West Point was
the school whence he drew his
ideas. He had graduated from
that institution, and could never
be brought to realize the fact that
men in civil life knew anything,
He filled commands with West
Pointers and he stuck to them
throughout every reverse. The
martinez discipline of that institu-
ton was the only reliance OF Mr..
Davis"
" Under whom could the Confed-
eracy have succeeded ~
Albert Sidney Johnston was
the one man who could have GER
tainly succeeded, but death cut his
career short. Joseph Il. Johnston
came next. When Jefferson Davis,
inspired by domestic intrigues, re-
moved Johnston from the COM
mand of the Western army he kill
ed the Confederacy. Davis was
thoroughly incompetent. His forte
was review writing. He would
have been a successful magazine
man, but in the hustle of practical,
everyday life he was utterly lost.
My personal feeling for Mr.. Davis is
of the kindest character, but that
does not remove the facts Of his
tory"
NEW YORK, Aug. 10.-General
Fitzhugh Lee was to-day shown a
newspaper containing the inter.
view with Robert Toombs, in which |
that gentleman says that Jefferson
Davis ruined the Southern cause |
by letting West Point men control |
the policy of the Confederacy. |
Gen. Lee expressed surprise and |
then indignation.
"There was scarcely soldier Of
renOwn Oh either side who was not
a West Point graduate" he ex-
claimed. "TOOmbs cOntradicts
himself by saying West Point
ideas Of martial discipline throttled
the South and then going on to
state that Albert Sidney Johnston
or Joe Johnston could have saved
the Confederacy. Both these gen
erals were West Point men. Among
the famous Southern soldiers edu-
Gated at West Point were Il. E.
Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Joseph Il.
Johnston, Albert Sidney Johnston,
Beauregard, Mcpherson and Jeb
Stuart. Gordon, of Georgia, and y.
B. Forrest were almost the only
Southern soldiers who did not owe
heir military education to the
school on the Hudson
How about ToOmbs having been
,ffered the Confederate Presidency,
Is he states ?"
81 never heard anything of it,
md do not know who could have
endered Gen. ToOmbs the Presi.
lency. AS | remember it, Jefier.
on Davis and Toombs were the
in 1861, and Davis was
lected. We elected Jefferson
Davis because he was able and
essential qualifications
n craftsmanship and private life
nd we believed that his military
ducation would be of great value
D the President of a nation Just
lunging into war of independ-
nce.p
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