The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-05-11

South. The process was slow but sure
that eXterminated and up,Ootvd the
Split of cnmily which hung for a time
like the deadly Upas tree, blighting
and whitening as it fell upon the So
Cial, religious, political and commercial
interests of n reunited c, untry. Steadily
the clouds upliftcd, and the clear,
peaceful sky looked down upon scenes
that even The actors themselves behold
with wonder. The true representatives
of the blue and the grey have frater-
niZed in public assemblies from the
ST. Lawrence to the Gulf, and from the
grim and catered walls of Fort Sum,
ter, where valor stood the test ON both
sides OF the controversy, more than
once has gone u welcome response to
the pmans of peace waited by the sol
diery of the North. 1t was peculiarly
appropriate that, among the notable
instances where fraternity broke
through the crust of prejudice and sof-
tened the asperitics cngendered by
war, Fort Moultric and Bunker Hill
led the way The extremes were met
again, and the ties of reconciliation
were the stronger because South Caro-
l'nl and Massachusetts,, ancient and
honorable foes in after times, hal COM
nor memories and transmitted SYM
pathics that even deadly strife and i'm
placable hatred could not e]Xterminatc.
Ii is not wonderful that the embcrs of
IL great and heroic struggle faded
away in the presence and sunshine of
such hallowed associations as knit to-
gether the Puritan and the Cavalier
when resisting tyranny and defylng OPP
preston. Rather would be the wonder
that the descendants of revolutionary
sircs should keep forever apart when
there was no longer contention ovcr
the issues of the past.
New duties, new aspirations, new
alliances were brought into play, and
there was never more Il new South
than its counterpart in the new North.
The ideas and opinions prevailing
there were as surely undermined and
cXtinguishcd as were the customs and
habits OF This section swept away to a
large extent by the arbilralnent OF the
sword. Both sections came 10 realize
the fruitlcsSness and barrcnncsS that
must inevitably follow unless the old
lines of strife and bitterness were Oh.
ilS'blSt) st'lu III lCSN tIl,llL lnIcC uC-
cades there was fading away in the
dun distance all traces of the deeply
imbcddel p,cjudices which marked the
division between North and South.
Any other result would have heaped
disaster upon disaster, and wrecked the
future OF this country. Need il be said
that to the heroic patience AID manly
resolution of the Confederate soldier is
largely due the happy issuance of these
events? He came back from the sur
render of his hopes and the abandon
mcnt of Ills cherished aspirations to
begin life NEW with all the dis, our
aycmcnts and difficulties that confront
ed him. 1t required Il courage and
consistency for this struggle against odds
far more cXacting than was the hero
ism which had given him the glory of
rcnown and the imperlshablc cllaplet
accorded to him with generous epthu-
slasm by the outside world. His move
mcnts were watched and weighed, anil
his every expression rs a citizen WAS
Scrutlnlzed and sifted to find that he
was stcadfastly adhering to the counsel
given him by the immortal Lee, as he
urged his folio wers TO atquit themselves
in peace with the devotion and forti-
tude they had shown in war.
Bronzed by sun
And lit by winters cold, they bear the
scars
And blows of e~nvious time as vaiiantly
AS once they bore the butfetings of war.
For them,a nations Golfers have not bled
10 salve their wounds with gold, but when,
worn out
With fatal victories, they left the field
Where valor long had strove in vain with
might,
Like that great son of Rome, whose con-
49, quering arm
Did not disdain to guide the pillow, they
sheathed
Their swords, and asking aid of none but
BY honest toll redeemed and eloriied
The land their f%ruitless valor could not
save.
Aye, the Confederate soldier stan. Is
uniquely among the representatives of
a cause that was lost. He has never
made apologies to the NEST rance Gus
foe or admitted to his most intimate
friend that there "a regret for the
part borne by him in the struggle for
the mastery. He accepted the situa-
ton in which he found himself, and
entered without delay upon a career of
industry, frugallty and hopeful energy
that has rescued the waste places and
restored the vitalities that were sup
pressed for four long years. The alb
sorblng interest during that pc.iod was
directed to Il single point, the achieve
mcnt of independence for the South
crn C~oDfcderacy, and when that had
failed utterly and irrcvocably, the lien
who had braved all and suffered all,
thrusting aside the spirit of revenge so
natural in human disappoinlments,
went earnestly to work with the pur-
pose of retrieving the losses incident
to a state of war. No matter that q
stroke of the pen had destroyed mil
lions upon millions of property, that
the hclds were barren and the store
houses empty, that food and raiment
were scarce and high, that the aged
and iniirn were in deepest despair,
and that almost every household was
wearing the cmblems of mourning.
these men were not dismaycd or faint
hearted, but with slender resources
and limited opportunities they entered
again upon the battle of life, with a
determination that augurcd victory
from the outset, and compelled the
goddess Of fortune to smile upon their
efforts. How well and truly this has
been realized may be seer in the prog
ross made, despite the untoward sur
~rOunlinos and in tho foco nf olyo,co