The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-09-22

I luC lCSllNLDlCS DIT L1DClQCCu WibuOuN
gaging in the exercises, and he would re
gretfully be compelled to decline. While
entirely approving of the object of the
association, he would have to deny himself
the, great pleasure it would afford him TO
be present. He advised that, in writing a
history of the war, the story of the private
soldier should not be neglected. Around
the camp fire, said he, one could hear the
whole truth concerning that great war;
it was true that no soldier saw the whole
of battle, but each one saw a part, and
he would rather accept these individual
and collective statements than the majority
of the official reports; in which Mr. DAVIS
showed how skilled he is in relation to the
affairs of mankind, and what thorough
judge he must be of those men and things
which are or were about and with him and
the cause for which he risked and dared Sc
much.
1t is quite common to speak of JEFF.
DAVIS and his kind as ounrepentant
and unmitigated traitors to the
government which gave them birth
place and home. Not even the
lapse of many years has tended to
soften such asperities in the breasts of
those who live but for themselves and for
this life only. Above and beyond his per
sonal and political predictions they are
unable to see that great and undefinable
| quality, known as character and give the
man credit for his exact worth, or else for
temporary advantage, they prefer TO will
fully falsify the facts.
! Unquestionably the war settled the doc.
| trine of the right of states to withdraw
that will against such doctrine, and all that
it is proper to say in favor of it is that
those who espoused it were shown by such
arDitrament to have been wrong But it
was not forbidden by the organic law,
and those who took the losing side
of the proposition were fully as
patriotic as in most instances more
so than, those whom they confronted
and who overpowered them. Among the
class so described as having fallen and lost,
DAVIS was at the head; he recognized and
has always admitted that the cause for
which he and his fellows contended was
lost, but never would and never will admit
that he or they were what their conquer
ers have so freely and continuously des-
cribed them as being traitors, rencgades
and men without country.
Here and there we meet with a man who
fought brilliantly and well for the Union
cause, and who when questioned regarding
his estimate of the struggle and those en-
gagged in it, is free to state that it
is an insult to himself and those
who were with him to depict the southern
soldiers as anything but brave, patriotic
and resOlute men-men who, however mis-
guided and mistaken, were still such foe
men as would have been an honor to any
cause. They have not forgotten, and will
never forget, how the confederateS in infe-
rior numbers, met them face to face in the
storm OF death and fought them furiously
step by step TO the last ditch, never giving
up an inch of ground or q point of Gdvan-
tage until by the sheer force of superior
strength they were compelled to. And
then those Union soldiers say to themselves
can it be possible that these men were
altogether bad: That. being so brave. so
rcsolute and SO determined under ,ircum-
stances so severe and in such hopeless
array, they were what the politicians of
the day would fain make US believe them
to be. And the answer will cOme-not
at all.
Men like JEFFERSON DAVIS have lived
before and will live after him. 1t is also
worthy of vote that there may have been
one or twoj who were contemporaneous
with him and who also shared the ''slingS
and arrows OF outrageous fortune" which
he received so many vOlleys of, and who,
ike him. must look only to their immediate
friends and to history for complete vindi-
cation. The HERALD has now in its minds
eye man who did more and dared nearly
as much in order that those who saw as he
did might have at least such privileges as
the great charter granted aud who, in order
that he and they might not constantly con
fict with established prejudice, sought to
escape it by getting out of the way of it.
But it followed him as it did DAVIS, and
after every point was made by the adver
sary, the opposition still did not cease. As
TO whether he was right or wrong, it is not
necessary at present to discuss. 1t is only !
mentioned in order to show that men may |
and do become so welded to ideas of their !
own that nothing but force can separate |
one from the other: and because they be !
come separate by such means is no reason |
that they are altogether or at ali bad or I'M /
worthy of belief IN their more recent utter |
ances.
The southern people viii always, as 4 |
class. venerate such men as JEFFERSON |
DAVIS, ROBERT. f. LEI: and THOMAS JErEB-
son JACKSON. There is no reason why /
they should not All being conscientious, |
Con Fearing, upright, able and danger
defying men, who did and dared all /
that they asked others to do and dare in |
behalf of common purpose-why should |
not those. who rallied around them, |
who sustained them with their
ballots, Drawn and blood in the dark |
days of the civil war, now cherish the |
memories of those of them who are dead |
and encourage and strengthen by their
voices and their acts the declining years OF |
those who still live! Why not, indeed!
The better classes of people in the United |
States instinctively praise and preserve the
recollection of those pioneers whose hardi-
hood and courage enabled them to either
acquire success or deserve it, and whose
perseverance and sacrificing devotion
TO principle enabled them to lead their PEG
pie I'D to the last moment in which leader
ship was available We may disagree as to
their being right or wrong, as to whether
they sought themselves beneath the garb
Of welfare for the many or on some other
p o 20. zion; hut we are not at liberty to
dispute, if we be anywhere near fair