The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-05-31
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In no way responsible for the unhappy war
which brought an Iliad of woes upon our
country. And yet these humble private sol
diers, anyone Of whom coud have gained
freedom by taking the oath CT all 'glance TO
the federal government, prsfvrred 1eatn TO
possible dishonor attach to the brave men
OF Chicago because they are willing 10
recognize % the courage and Devotion 10 oo'y
Imagine il you can. my friends. the de-
spair, the horror of these poor pr1vates I'M
gering in prison and dying Tor tnelr Ialtn;
a foreign and hostile land, far from
the land Of their birth, with no tender
entrance into the dark valley OF the shadow
Of death, and with all the memories or
their far Off homes and loving kindred to
add the sharpest pains of death itself.
They were true men, and say. n you please.
that they were mistaken. that they were
wrong no Il ;sr man on ea art Sr Ssn a 10
fast adherence TO what they conceived TO
be their duty.
You, the brave citizens OF Chicago. in
doing honor to their memory. honor your
selves and humanity. Nor will you blame
us of the South. while appreciating CRATE
fully your generous action in their memory:
You could not respect us were We to feel
otherwise. Death places its seal on the
actions of men and it is after death that
We measure men, We of the South meas
ure our dead comrades buried by the stand
ard applied TO men after death and you
OF Chicago have measured them by the
same standard the only standard by which
We can measure men, and by applying this
you have shown that you have come TO
and on this North and south can stand,
with honor alike 10 both sections.
Are any federal soloiers disloyal to the
flag under which they fought because they
join in decorating the graves OF brave
men whom they met in battle? Thousands
of federal soldiers rest under Southern
skies, in Southern country, many In un-
known graves And when, on Memorial day
in the South. the graves or our dead are
decorated. gray5haired. Gonfederate rate veter- eo
ers over the graves Of the federal soldiers.
If the humane, generous action of the peo-
pie of this city in doing honor to the mem
ory of their old antagonists is denounced
as desecration il would seem TO follow that
the desecration of federal graves by rebel
cism. but no denunciation of Southern peo-
pie for daring to honor the memory OF
men who were once their enemies has met
'Such unnatural and bigoted feelings as
would prompt the discordant note on an
occasion of this sort is rarely found among
true men and brave soldiers and l have
often thought that If the two great cap
tains who were engaged in that death grap-
pie in Virginia had been left to settle the
faithful followers. the country would have
had a peace, indeed one honorable alike to
victor and vanquished and which would,
/ believe have prevented the evils brought
about by the politicians. AS 1t Is, the
South recognizes and honors the magnanim-
chief General Lee. and deplores as an un-
mitigated misfortune the ASSASSINATION or
Lincoln. 1 repeat optically that the untimely
death of President Lincoln was regarded by
all thoughtful men of the South as one
of the most serious evils which had be-
fallen our and her po a
will sustain my assertion. we Know that
during the war he devoted every energy
the Union. and. that result accomplished.
we felt that his big. brain, and his kind
heart would prompt him to deal kindly and
Ienently with his fellow-citizens OF the
South; for his highest, If not his sole aim.
was to see the Union restored. and IL was
cruel fate that deprived nm or wnat ne
and the South of one who would have
been one of her strong protectors in her
some of our Northern fellow-citizens
seem to paraphrase the biblical question.
Can anything good come out oil NaZa-
reth? by applying 1t TO the South; but, my
yourself in our place and judge us from
that standpoint. In the convention which
formed the Constitution there were two
parties which held opposite positions, one
urging the formation of a strong central
government and the other advocating the
doctrine of State rights. 1t was attempted
to reconcile these antagonistic views by
compromise, by which 1t was declared that
all powers not delegated to the general
government were given to the States, but,
like all compromises, 1t left this vital
question unsettled, and from 1877 until 1861
the proper construction 10 De plaCeQ on the
clause of the Constitution just referred to
has led to constant and often angry dis
cussion. This unfortunate condition of af-
fairs was further complicated by the in
lection of the question of slavery into IL.
and all know what has been the result
of these unhappy differences. These are
now all dead issues and / do not propose
to discuss them.
THE vexed questions which have disturbed
the country since ssed the nd of the
them is made only to show how natural
the course OF the South was, educated,
the people there were. in the school of
strict State rights Every Southern man
felt that a call made upon him by his
State was an imperative command and that
and at all hazards. Wnen the North called
it's to rally to the flag, they, too.
responded to the summons from a sense
of duty as did the people of the South to
the call made to them. State allegiance and
State pride in each case was the 1noving
cause which arrayed millions of men in
may have brought untold misery to the
country. 1t has taught a lesson to the ma
tions of the earth, that America in arms
can defy the world. 1t seems to me. too,
that it should inculcate another lesson TO
us. and that is that the time has come
strife and those whom they represented,
should Judge their former opponents as
they should be Judged: This can be done
side, as the examples of our mother coun-
try has shown us. York and Lancaster
Cavalier and ROundhead no longer wage war
on each other; all are Engisnmen, proud
of their country, and the red rose and the
white are emblems OF peace and the men,
ory of old England. Can we not all be
proud OF the progress OF the American
SOLDIER"
A memorial poem. by Major Henry T.
Stanton, Of Kentucky, was next. and the
literary portion of the day was closed with
address by Right Rev. Samuel Fallows
bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church,
Chicago, late general of United States Vol
unteers.
CONSECRATING THE GUNS.
Then came the beautiful and impressive
ceremony of 'consecrating the guns" At
each corner Of the monument stood a field
piece presented to the association by the
United States government. The ceremony
is known as "monumenting the guns" and
consists in making the ordnance part Of
the monument to the dead. The monument
ing corps consisted Of the following: For
cannon No. ], Col. r. H. Stewart and Miss
Lucy Lee Hill; for cannon No. 2, Col. Sam
uel j. Sullivan and Mrs. Albert Akers; for
cannon No. 3. Lieut. Col. George Forester
and Miss Laura L. Mitchell; for cannon
No. 4, Lieut.. Col. John W. White and Miss
Belle Armstrong; spiking party, Lieut.. Col
r. Lee France and comrade Theodore Noel.
This party formed In a procession. and the
gentlemen. escorting the ladies' passed
gun, and when they stood beside IL General
T-pderwooi gave the command s'(,onsecra 70