The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-06-08

brother against brother, are happily
past. The great republic that had
experienced the shock CT radical dis
intergration and had been threatened
with dismemberment and destruction,
is again restored to health and unity,
to concord and to it's pristine strength.
Its children today gather from every
section as members of the same
family, to celebrate the glorious ami
versary of the discovery of the new
world that gave them a
home and freedom-a freedom that
they intend to transmit intact to their
posterity. Erstwhile errant brethren
are again happily united and dwell
together in harmony and peace. The
heroes of the Blue and Gray, who, as
"Yank." and "Reb. ;" during the dark
days of our unhappy internecine strife,
snapped newspapers at the picket
lines and exchanged coffee and to-
bacco, are happily reconciled, and
they now amuse one another with
personal "reminiscences and stories of
the war. Only few days ago, on
A pril %, the historic field of Gettys-
burg was visited by officers of the
Blue and Gray who thirty years be-
fore had taken leading part in the
battle of the first day of July. With
General Howard, who, after the
death of the lamented Reynolds, COM
manded the Union forces, and Gen.
G. G. Howard, his brother, were the
erstwhile Confederate Generals
Longstreet, Malone and Alexander.
It is pleasant and edifying to see
these great men meeting on The scene
of their former conflict as friends and
brothers, devoted citizens of a COM
mon country. But it lies in the ma.
ture of things that men of patriotism
are
MEN OF NOBLE MANHOOD;
heart. Your fellow citizens, gentle
man of the Grand Army, look upon
you today as patriots standing beside
patriots graves. We feel assured that
we are not mistaken in you when we
see you nobly generous, not only to-
wards your companions and their fam
lilies, but also to your old opponents;
when we recollect that the CHIEF
aim of your organization is not to eX-
ecute factional or sectional strife, but
to keep alive the brotherhood in arms;
when we see you gathered
about your comrades graves
for the purpose of renewing in
your hearts the feelings which united
you all in the face of death and MAX
ing your fellowship go forth in active
sympathy to comrades in distress, be
they friend or Zoe, and to their widows
and orphans in want. We look upon
you as patriots upon patriots graves,
your generosity does not stop at the
immediate comrade, but appreciates
and honors militrry valor for its own
sake wherever found, and you en-
brace as a brother the patriots who
bore arms against you, and extend
your sympathy and generosity to him
accordingly. The benetactions of your
post to the Confederate Home
IN this city relieves me of all
suspicion of exaggerated praise. In
deed we may trust that you will ever
hold as sacred the cause of that ma
tional welfare, upon the affairs of
which your comrades were slain, and
you offered yourselves willing victims;
that now, even as amid the thunder
OF he deadly cannon, your political
creed is "Our county, our country,
and nothing but our country" that if|
anywhere you discover wounds or
scars disnguring the fair features of
our national union and concord,
you will exercise your in.
fluence towards their perfect
healing and complete obliteration;
nr ha of nf
discord be detected insiduously creep
ing into the starry field of our national
union, the lively solicitude of your
patriotic hearts will be active in their
eradication. Hence we love to see
you as patriots upon patriots graves,
and we wish to breathe with you the
the inspiring air of this patriotism, to
have it permeate the inmost soul of
every citizen. With such as you to
defend it, our nation need
not fear any danger or
hostility from without; but also, it is
exposed and will be continually ex-
posed to dangers from within. 1t is
easy to forget that upon the same
principle upon which we repudiate
monarchy we must also repudiate
oligarcby and aristocracy in govern
ment; that the individual has indeed
individual rights, but that these can
not be in conflict; that the individual
who seeks to extend imaginary
rights of his over others, has become
estragned from the spirit and meaning
of the constitution which recognizes
only the supremacy of free
people. The seed of discord
and disintegration may be sown
in ignorance and allowed to grow un.
needed until disaster reveals their ex-
istence. Those who teach that man
born upon one plot of Gods earth is
by that fact, superior to his neigh Dor
who happened to be born on another,
blows at the very foundation which
bears the proud edifice of our national
constitution.
Ifthe executors of civil authority be
given power to enter the home and de-
throne the natural ruler of the family
circle; if the law be given such extend
ed sway as to coerce citizen in the in
different customs OF his private life
then. we can no longer find free man
within our borders. If peaceful and
law-abiding citizens be regarded with
suspicion of disloyalty, for no other
raaSOn than their nnIitioal viawa avon