The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1895-10-03
INGERSOLL'S ELOQUENCE
ADDRESS TO HIS OLD OLD COMMAND AT
ELMWOOD, ILL.
A Broad and Patriotic Spirit-Hope-
full View of the Future of the United
States-The rlouth of the Missis-
sippi River - "Nature's Protest
Against Secession"
News and Observer !

soil, to his old command, at Elmwood, ,
ILL.,, last Thursday. 1t is remarkable, =,
not only for its broad and patriotic
spirit, but also for the hopeful view he
takes of the future ofthe United States.
Ot course there are portions of it that
southern men will not approve, but
there is very little that would not find
a cordial Commendation here. We
never read anything Col. Ingersoll says
without regret that man of his splen-
did endowment should be wanting in
that faith which is chiefest ofall endow-
mentS.
In this speech be was talking to his
old comrades in arms as they were pre-
parlng to 60 to the great G.. A. X.
gathering. Small men use such occa-
slons to revive bitter feelings and to
wave the bloody spirit We make
room for two extracts today to show
how eloquent, broad, patriotic were the
utterances of Col. Ingersoll. 1t will be
difficult to find a sweeter and more
elegant exordlum to an address than
this:
"lt gives me the greatest pleasure 10
meet again those with whom | became
acquainted in the morning of my life.
1t is now afternoon. The sun of life
is slowly sinking in the west, and be-
fore evening comes, nothing can be
more delis htful than to see again the
faces that | knew in my youth When
| knew you the hair was brown; it is
now white. The marks were not quite
SO deep and the eyes were not quite
SO dim; and mingled with this pleasure
Is sadness, sadness for those who have
passed away-for the dead And vet
| am not sure that we ought to mourn
for the dead. do not Know which is
better-lfe or death. And it may be
that death is the greatest gift that ever
came from natures open hands; we do
not know. There is one thing of which
| am certain, and that is, that if we
could live forever here, we would care
nothing for each other. The fact that
we must die, the fact that the feast
must end, brings our hearts together,
and treads out the weeds between the
paths. And SO it may be after all, that
love is little flower that grows on the
crumbling edge Of the grave. SO it
may be that were it not for death there
would be no love-all life would be a
curse. | say it gives me great pleasure
to meet you once again; great pleasure
to congratulate you on your good for
tune-the good fortune of being a Cit
izen OF the first and grandest republic
ever established upon the face of the
EARTH"
In all the G. A. r. addresses de-
livered we doubt if any ex-Federal SOL
der has viewed the true situation more
wisely and philosophically than Col.
1ngersoll in these words:
"And let me tell you here today
am somewhat older than | used to be;
| have little philosophy now that l
had not at the 9 o'clock in the morn
Ing portion of my life-and I do not
blame any body, l do not blame the
South; do not blame the Confederate
soldier. She-;he South-was the
fruit OF conditions. She was born to
circumstances stronger than herself,
and, do you know, according to my
philosophy, which is not quite ortho-
dox, every man and woman in the
whole world is what conditions have
made them. So let us have some
sense. The South said, 1--WE will not
submit; this is not a nation, but part
nership of States" | am willing to
go SO far as to admit that the South
expressed the original idea of the gov
ernment,
"But now the question was, to whom
did the newly acquired property be-
long? New States had been carved
out Of that territory; the soil of these
States has been purchased with the
money of the republic, and had the
South the right to take these States out
of the Republic? That was the ques-
ton. The great West had another
interest, and that was that no enemy
no other nation, should control the
mouth of the Mississippi. Iregard the
Mississippi River as Natures protest
against secession. The old Mississippi
River says, and swears to it, that this
country shall be one, now and forever
What was to be done? The South
said: "We will never remain," and
the North said "You shall not 60"
1t was little slow about saying it, il
is true. Some Of the best Republicans
in the North said, "Let it 60" Blu,
the second, sober thought OF the grea,
North said; ono, this is our country
and we are going okeep it on the map
Of the world"
If the Mississippi river had reached
the ocean any other way than through
the South, it is doubtful if the West
would have furnished so many men fol
the war. Their prosperity depended
too largely on the Mississippi river fol
them to permit its mouth TO be closed
to their commerce. Col. Ingersol
has emphasized what the wisest men
of the South foresaw, to-wit: That the
Mississippi river was the great '.pro,es
against secession.