Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1894-03-19
General Lon@street.

To the Editor of the 4leraadria Gazette:
have just read paragraph in your
paper concerning General Longstreet
for advocating latter the war the polit-
zeal principles against which he
fought" Longstreet, like all other
southern soldiers. fought to establish.
as the Confederate Vice President said,
Southern Republic Chased on the
cornerstone of slavery" His attempt
failed-slavery is "a lost cause" Many
Confederate generals subscribed on
oath of allegiance to the government of
the United SnateS which expressly
sanctioned the abolition of slavery, and
petitioned for pardon and amnesty.
Fidelity to Confederate principles is
utterly unreconcilable with fidelity to
their oaths; if the man could have been
at the same time Union man and a
good Confederate there would have
been no war Those who served in the
southern army are called er-Confed-
crates, which implies that they are no
longer Confederates; Suppose any pc
titioner for pardon had avowed in his
petition his abiding devotion to the
Confederate cause, do you think it
would have been granted? Long
streets abandonment of his Confeder-
ate principles should therefore date
from the time he took the oath of al
legiance and accepted a pardon; and
not from the time when he gave his ad-
herence to the republican party. AS
Longstreet has been pardoned for hav
ing been q Confederate, he no longer
processes to be one. Neither does eth
er one of the Virginia Senators. A
man who would to-day in Congress adj
vocate secession and slavery would be
like Elijah when he got under the jun
iper tree-in the wrong place. When
southern men are sometimes reproach-
ed as still being rebels and harboring
in secret their hostility to the govern
ment, it is resented as an insult
and imputation upon their honor.
Longstreet, in other words, is censured
for not being what it is considered dis
honorable in southern democrat to be.
One, says Macaulay, who conforms his
political conduct to circumstances and
changed conditions can, with no more
propriety be called an apostle, than he
could be be called an oriental traveller
because he make daily revolution
with the earth from east to west. Long
street couldn't stand still in space-the
world moved and he had to move with
it. The Contederates fought for seces-
sion and slavery. IF Confederate and
democratic principles are identical then
the democratic party in its national
platform should have given thanks and
offered pensions to the old Confeder-
ates and not to the union soldiers who
defeated them. Ifsouthern democratic
Congressman still stand by their Con-
federate principles then why is it that
they vote hundreds ofmillions to north
crn soldiers and not a penny to the
southern? Mr.. Mills, Of Texas, a few
years ago moved in the House sus-
pension of the rules sin the name of
300, 900 Confederate soldiers to allow
a bill to pass creating General Sheridan
a full General He forgot ali about the
humiliation of the South in the Shenan-
doah Valley. am not critizing those
who voted to Sheridan the honor, but
it came with very bad grace from
them to be reproacbins any southern
man with deserving his principles. Mr..
Grady at New England dinner where
Sherman was guest, forgettingall about
"the march from the mountains to the
sea-" poured out his loyalty in strains
that made the bean eaters weep over
the prodigal's return. Did Georgia
condemn Grady's gush over her in
vaders? Not much; he died soon after,
and Atlanta erects Il monument to his
memory and inscribes upon it his New
England speech. Sic SEMpER.
A mob of Italians and squad of
police had a hand-to-hand fight lust
before dark yesterday evening at the
c0rnar of First aNanna and / 1 OIL .I..L