The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-06-15

not now afford to give up the princi-
Piles won by the war.
The North should be forgiving,
and magnanimous to the conquered
South as it has been; should be
ready to join hands in brotherhood;
but only so as the South acknowl-
edges itself wrong. That must be
condition precedent to fraternity and
forgiveness. The plain facts are that
the South plunged the country into
terrible war without the shadow of
an excuse. The war was begun by
the North simply to put down an
armed rebellion, and to maintain
the Union, not to abolish slavery or
with any intent of interfering with
the government or the domestic in
situations of the South. The slave
was finally freed, not as purpose of
the war, but as war measure neces-
sary to it's successful issue.
At the recent reunion of Confeder-
ate veterans at Houston, Texas, Cen
eral Stephen D. Lee said "The true
cause of war between the States was
the dignifed withdrawal of the
Southern States from the Union to
avoid the continued breaches of that
domestic tranquility guaranteed but
not consummated by the Constitu-
ton, and not the high moral purpose
of the North to destroy slavery, which
followed incidentally as war meas
ure." He practically accuses us of
classifying history in our school books
as to the causes and issues of the
war. We may admit that it was not
for the purpose of abolishing slavery
that the war was begun, but whose
were the breaches of the peace that led
to the war? Who was it that seized
United States property, forts, docks
and arsenals without shadow of right
and thus made breach Of the peace7
Who fired on Fort Sumter and the
Star of the West? Was it not this
breach that constituted the overt act
of rebellion which led to the Presi
dents call for troops and the begin
ming of the war? We can afford to
be generous to our late foes, but we
must be just to our own fallen heroes.
1t was war to put down rebellion,
not of the people, but of the aristoc-
racy of the South, who desired to cut
loose from democratic and free in
stitutions SO as to set up slave
oligarchy.
If this dedication meant the gloss
ing over of this fact we might rightly
protest against it; but I think it does
not Rev. H. W. Bolton, the presid
ing officer at the ceremonies, himself
a Union veteran, took especial pains
in his remarks to make clear this
point. He said, 'In this we do not
commemorate the cause for which
they fought nor encourage the feeling
of devotion to that confederacy which
surrendered at Appomattox in 1865"
This monument is simply me-
mortal to the bravery of the Southern
soldiers. In consecrating one of the
cannon spiked on this occasion, Miss
Mitchell said: "This cannon with its
glorious record on the field of battle
having been silenced forever, / do
consecrate it to the memory of the
Confederates whose soldierly remains
lie beneath this sacred sod, in monu-
mental token of their firmness and
manhood on the field of battle and in
prison"
Mrs. Currie, in summing up, said of
the cannon, they are dedicated as a
military tribute to vdlor, fortitude
and DEATH" This was the whole
sentiment of the occasion. In it there
was nothing to object to. No one
can doubt the bravery of the South.
To belittle it is to belittle the
bravery of the North. Her heroisms
are now part of our national heri-
| tage. Southern prowess was that of
Americans and all can be proud of it.
A monument with this purpose is
proper and well. 1t will help the
South to forget the bitterness of de-
feat, and to learn love for the North
and the Union. What is wanted now
is peace and fraternity and the heal
ing of old wounds; but hatred will
never be conquered by hatred; hatred
is conquered only by love. That is
an old rule.
This occasion, then, may result in
helping us to that real union of heart
and sentiment we want, when the
South shall be as loyal to the Union
as the North and our flag shall wave
over nation which feels that its
greatness and meaning can be SYM
bolized only by the Stars and Stripes.
OAK PARK, I'LL.