Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-10-15
THE VAR rs OYER.
An Eloquent Speech Made at tho Banquet
of the Army of the Tennessee.

Ii icSpOuSo W INC lUubl, iut w al is
Over--Let Us Have Peace" Henry
Watterson spoke substantially as fol-
lowsi
believe that at this moment the
people of the United States are nearer
together, III all that constitutes kindred
feeling and interest, than they have been
at any time since the adoption of the
Federal constitution. If it were not go
should hardly venture to come here
and talk to you as l am going to talk to-
night As 1t is, surrounded though be
by Union soldiers, my bridges burned
and every avenue of escape cut off, am
not in the least discouraged or alarmed.
On the contrary, never felt safer, or
happier, or more at home.
You have been told that the war is
over. | think that myself have heard
that observation. am glad of it. Roses
smell sweeter than gunpowder; for
everyday use the carving-knife is prefer
able to the bayonet or the saber, and in
contest for first choice between can
non balls and wine corlts have de-
cided prejudice in favor of the latter.
The war Is over, and 1t Is well over.
God reigns and the government at
Washington still lives. | am glad Of
that. | can conceive nothing worse for
ourselves, nothing worse for our chill
drcn, than what might have been If the
war he'd ended otherwise, leaving two
exhausted combatants to become the
| prey OF foreign Intervention and diplo-
macy, setting the clock of civilization
back century, and splitting the noblest
of the continents into five or six weak
and warning republics, like those Of
| South America, to repeat in the new
world the mistakes of the old.
Tho war is over, truly: and, let me re-
peat, 1t Is well over. If anything was
wanting to proclaim It's termination
from every house-top and door post in the
land that little brush we had last spring
with Sig. Macaroni furnishes it. Atthe
touch Of an electric bell the whole
people rallied to the brave words OF the
Secretary Of state, and for the moment
sections and parties sank out of sight
and thought in one overmastoring senti-
ment of the racchood, manhood and
nationality.
shall not stop 10 inquire whether
the war made us better than VIC were.
1t certainly made us better acquainted,
| and, on the whole, ii seems to me that
We are none the worse for that better
acquaintance. The truth Is the trouble
between us was never more than skin
deep, and the curious thing about il is
that IL was not our skin, anyhow! Ii
WINS a black skin, not Il white Skin, that
brought it about.
AS see 1t, our great sectional contrO.
yersy was, from first to last, the gradual
| evolution Of u people from darkness to
light, with no charts or lamps to guild,
them, and no experience to lead the way
The trainers Of our Constitution found
Themselves unable TO fix decisivey and
to define accurately the exact relat Oh OF
the states to the Federal government
oh TINT point they left what may be de.
scrlbed as an "open clause" and
through that open clause, as through an
open door, the grim specier of disunior
stalked. II was attended on one hand
hy African slavery; on the other hand
by sectional jealousy, and between thi.
trio OF evil spirits the household flower
OF peace was torn from the Intel and
tossed into tho flames of war.
In the beginning allof us were guilty
ana equally guilty, for African slavery
II was the good fortune of the north
first to find out that slave labor was MOI
profitable. 50, very sensibly, it sold it:
slaves To the south, which, very disas
trously, pursued the deluson. Time AZ
last mas done Its perfect work; the south
sees now as the north saw beforeit, thai
the system of slavery as il was main.
tanned ~ lis was the clumsiest and cost
nest labor system on earth, and that
when we took the field to tight for il VI
set out upon u fools GRAND. Under slave
labor the yield of cotton never reached
5,OoO,OOO bales. Under free labor it has
never fallen below that figure, gradu
ally ascending TO six and seven, until
ms year it is about TO reach nearly
9,000,000 bales.
lhls tells the whole story. | am moi
here TO talk politics, Of course, but put
II To. you whether that is not pretty
good showing for free black labor, and
whether, with such showing, tho south.
ern whites can afford any other than
Just and kind treatment To the blacks
without whom, indeed, the south would
ben briar patch, and half our national
gold income gaping hole in the ground
Gentlemen, beg that YOU will not be
apprehcnsive. know full well that thi.
Is neithera time nor place for abstract
economies, and am not going to afliict
you with dissertation upon free trad,
or Tree silver. came, primarily, to bow
my head and to pay my measure Of
homage to the statle that was unveiled
To-day. The career and the name which
that statue commentaries belong to mo
no less than to you. When lollowcc
nm 70 the grave-prond to appear il
his obscquies, though us the closures
OF those who bore any official par
thcrelil-I felt that | was helping te
bury not only a great man, but lru,
friend. From that day to this the stor,
q the lie and death of Gen. Grant ha.
more and more impressed and touched
me.
never allowed myself to make hi!
acquaintance until lie had quilted In,
White House. The period of his politi
cal activity was full of uneouth and I'M
spnring partisan contention. 1t was ,
Kind OF civil war. had my duty to do
and did not dare trust myself to th,
subduing influence of what | was sure
must follow friendly relations betwee,
such man as he was and such a MAI
as knew myself to be. In this / wa
not mistaken as the sequel proved
met him for the first time beneath m,
own vino and fig tree, and a happi
series of accidents thereafter gave M
the opportunityito meet him often and I,
know him well, He was the emhodi
ment of simplicity, integrity and courag
every inch a general, soldier and
man; but in the circumstances Of hi
last illness figure of heroic proportion
for the contemplation of the ages.
recall nothing in history so sublime a
the. spectacle of that brave spirit, broke
: In fortune and in health, with the drea
hand If the dark angel clutched abou
his throat, struggling with every breat