The DeSmet leader. (DeSmet, Kingsbury Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-06-12
MS and self controlled I'm modern civilization.

lasting four years, var whose arena or con-
fiict should extend more than 1900 miles from
north to SOUTH and over 800 miles from east
to west, Il war which would include 2. .265 en-
gagements In one battle of which (wilderness)
the killed and wounded made larger list
than the standing army of some empires, a
war which would count more than two
millions of cnlistments on the Northern side
alone. But the republic did know and feel
that q deadly foe was within-that this most
notable modern experiment for government
of the people, by the people, and for the
people, was in danger OF perishing from the
earth: that the fate of untold generations
depended on the issue OF this struggle.
Whittier was writing:
The haEd-breadth cloud the sages feared
Its bloody rain is dropping,
The poison plant our fathers spared
Ali else Is over-topoing.
East. west, north, south, II curses earth,
All justice dies, and fraud and lies
Only, live In its shadow.
What gives the wheat field blades OF steel?
What points the rebel cannonY
What sets the roaring rabbles heel
On the old star spangled pennon?
What breaks the oath Of the men OF the South9
What whets the knife for the Unions lifeY
Hark to the answer. Slavery.
Above the naddening cry for blood.
Above the wild war drumming
Let freedoms voice De nearu.
And ut liberty's call all the land trembled
with the steady tramp Of marching armies.
The old Declaration for which our grandsires
died was echoed from hundred battlehclds
in the thunder OF libertys cannon on the
ranks of her flying foe, anu the spirit OF the
nineteenth century had abolished human
slavery forever. Poor old Jefr Davis may say
the lost cause is not dead. He is crazy
granny sitting on the grave of dead convict
and saying his darling Is alive. Nobody but
that old granny thinks that corpse will ever
get OH its feet. TO all such demonstrations as
the late rebel gathering ut Montgomery We
say, howl IL you want to, but your wake IL a
late one There are men here who twenty
years ago buried the lost cause under millions
Of broken fettcrs and cultivated the Southern
fields with grape and canister till the seed OF
equality and respect for Northern workmen
was well narrowed In. II necessary they will
20 down and take out the weeds No soldiers
ever fought an abler foe, and never, so far as
arms could do it, was q work more thoroughly
done. The hand of the starving rebel dropped
the muskct to receive bread from the bounty
Of his Northern foe. JEFF Davis owes his life
10 the pity Of men who, though dead and In
their graves. he hates as only devils can hate.
II is now as it was all through the war, the
saddest fact OF the struggle, that the South is
governed by caste instead of equality. by
hate instead Of reason.
While leading men OF both races. like white
Longstreet and black Rewels. accepted the
logic of events, the high caste southron sits on
the grave of the lost cause and grinds his
teeth at the nineteenth century. He kills
covertly by ku klux as many as he dare, and
treats I'LL believers In the Declaration of Inde-
pcndence with a social boycott. Scorning to
earn his own living or to pay his own way he
spends his time I'm bulldozing. till at least five
Southern States are practically disfranchsed.
He hinders fair ballot MS long as possible by
terrorism In the South and holding out Of the
Union the workers ia the Territories OF the
North. Some have had hope OF the admission
of Dakota under this administration. Lay
not the fattering JUNCTION to thy SOUL" 1t il
not the old Declaration Of Independence, but
caste, In power AZ present.
No one knows better than the southron
that in another generation the increase OF the
black population of the South and the toiling
population OF the Northwest will aggregate
thirty millions. This fact as n matter OF simple
arithmetical progression will submerge the
lost cause I'm hopeless oblivion. No one knows
better than he that mis- own persecution of the
black, his ostracism of the cultured immigrant
from the North. his scorn of the homcsteadcr
of the West, Is Fastening the annihiiation
OF his caste. His motto seems to be. after us
the dcluge. There is 10 finer example In his
tory Of caste blindness triumphant over both
ole int racft than tho South
presents to-day. Meanwhile the republic Is
patient. for the growth OF population, the IN
creasing wealth OF the black, the intelligence
of the Northern laborer, will soon place the
lost cause where there is no resurrection.
1t is fitting that while we lay the wreath on
the graves OF our patriot dead we look back to
the dark days hen they offered their lives
that our republic might not perish. They
said, we are not professional soldiers. we do
not love fighting, but by the help OF Heaven
we will whip every foe Of the Union till this
asylum OF the oppressed of all lands shall be a
refuge for earth's down-trodden millions and
an inspiration to all friends OF humanity for
ever. And they did II. Father brought "the
sword Of Bunker Hill" nnd buckled it on bis
boy. Sisters made all sorts of handy things to
carry on a long campaign, and pictures Of
dear ones found their way into the soldiers
pocket Sweethearts scraped lint and made
bandagcs, and presented banners, saying;
Thou shOuldst meet q sol iicrs bier,
If the nuffied drums should beat
TO the tread OF mournful feet
Mother brought a last drink from the old
spring. and her tears fell I'm the dipper. and
the boy drank a beverage OF mothers tears
mingled with the cold sparkling water, but
she did not cry where he could see. In every
cottage OF our land love warred with duty In
wOman's heart, but she kept back the agony
and tears TIL the boys were gone-gone. with
bright new uniforms and lump In his throat,
gone Mt their couniry's call. gone 70 camp and
disease. and battle, and hospital, aud prison,
aud death. Gone, and the very birds sing
sadly. Gone, leaving mother with whiten'
ing hair, sister who viii sob and weep all
the night long for many night TO come
Gone, leaving a sweetheart whose cheek
grows daily more pale and who reads every
report of the battle with dilated eyes to see II
the name Of her dead is there.
We waitcd--waited till all the air was quick
with pain and heavy with deeds of blood
waited while the storm of war rolled back and
IOrtn ONeT tnt Coutu III WV iuticaSibS boi
ror; waited till the mounds that covered the
bodies of our dead grew into long rows oI
soldiers graves. and yet the American eagle
was only hawk with which to catch human
game. and yet liberty and slavery could MOI
dwell together, and yet God would not let Vi
conquer till we cast out the sum Of al. vii
ianies. Waited till other nations said thu
American war is a vast butchery without al
object; waited till we feared the angel Ol
liberty would take It's flight forever. We wer
nation on whose sight the light OF liberty
had paled. and before whose uncertain stops
yawned the dark abyss o: political dissolu
ton. a people blindly struggling I'm the dark
ness Of despair 10 find the pillars OF victory.
1--WE waited In the furnace blast
| The pangs of transformation,
| Not painlessly dld God recall
And mould another nation"
Letters came telling Us Of soldier life, Of th'
1 Sc,,thorr, acauarv oe MI m huuors Of tn