The Indianapolis journal., 1898-12-19

The present trip of President Mckinley
to prove an epoch-making event, the be-
ginning of new era. In some important
respects it is without a precedent in our
history Other Presidents have made trips
through different parts of the country, gen.
orally the North and West and sometimes
accompanied by one or more members of
the Cabinet but this is the first time that
a President has visited any portion of the
country accompanied by five members of his
Cabinet For obvious reasons the secretary
of state could not leave Washington at this
time, but the secretaries of the treasury
war, navy and agriculture and the post
master general are with the President. An
other notable feature Of the visit is that
these officials represent a Republican adj
ministration. 1t is the first time since the
civil war that Republican President has
received or could have expected to receive
in the South such evidences of approval and
popularity as those which have attended
this visit The demonstrations at Atlanta
Montgomery and Savannah might fairly be
described as popular ovations. 1t was at
Atlanta that General Sherman, after de-
stroying the town so far as to render it
worthless for military purposes, began his
famous march to the sea on Nov. 16 1854
He reached Savannah and invested the city
on the 10th of December, and on the 22d he
telegraphed to President Lincon: 81 beg
to present you as Christmas gift the city
of Savannah. with $50 heavy guns and
plenty of ammunition; also about 25, 900 bales
of cotton" Yet no Republican President Of
the United States ever received a more hos
pitable, cordial and evidently sincere well
come in any Northern city than President
Mckinley and his Cabinet received in these
two cities.
Coming soon after the Spanish war in
which Southern loyalty and patriotism were
splendidly shown, these demonstrations
must be accepted as proof of the desire of
the Southern people to bury the memories
of the civil war and maintain brotherIy re-
lations with those of the North. 1t would
be very unwise on the part of the Northern
people not to recognize this fact, and very.
ungenerous not to reciprocate the spirit that
has dictated these cordiafF receptions in
Southern cities of a Republican President
and Cabinet. The President himself has
evidently been deeply impressed by them,
and in his address at Atlanta, speaking with
deliberation. he said:
Every soldiers grave made during our un-
fortunate civil war is a tribute to Ameri-
can valor And while, when those graves
were made we differed widely about the
future of this government, these differences
were long ago settled by the arbitrament of
ticn of sentiment and feeling. under the
providence of God. when in the spirit of
fraternity we should share with you in the
care of the graves of the Confederate SOL
dierS
This is likely TO prove the keynote of
new departure. the animating motive of
new era. Just what form the action will
take that will signalize the complete recon-
ciliation and closer union of the North and
South remains to be seen, but it is already
evident that between the official action of
Congress and the voluntary action of sur
viving veterans of the war on both sides it
will take a very expressive form. In this
way the Presidents Southern trip, besides
furnishing occasion for a fine outburst of
popular enthusiasm, will probably have last
ing and important consequences.