The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-30
Should Not Hurry in
Criticising Gen.
Joe Wheeler.
BARTLETT'S PACIFIC WORDS.
The Past Commanders Atti-
tude on Col. banners
Bitter Denunciatinn.

The speech of Col. James banners
of Chelsea during the memorial SER
vices of Gen. Hooker command, U. ".
u, in Boston, Sunday evening, was the
subject of prolonged discussion in local
Grand Army circles. yesterday. Col.
banners is reported as having begun
by saying that, like certain rebel gen.
erals, he had nothing to apologize for.
But as for the rebel generals, how
could they apologize? What could they
do, anyway, to atone for what they
have done? The killing of all our
Union soldiers was not a thing they
could atone for, should they devote all
the rest of their lives to the attempt
What a mistake our dear, great-heart-
ed president, Mr.. Mckinley, has made,
in allowing a confederate badge to be
pinned upon his breast! Rather should
he have spurned it, and said, Take
back your badge, l am president of the
United States, and cannot wear it,
1T is outrageous to have Gen Wheel
er here on Decoration day. Why
couldn't a Union man be found? None
here would be present" Col. banners
declared, land 1t would be just judg-
ment should the roof of the Boston
theatre fall in when he should make
an address under such auspices. This
changing of textbooks and alterations
of histories have gone too far. Enough
of this spirit"
The congregation seemed dazed for
an instant, and then burst into tremen-
dous applause, the service coming to a
Clo~e amid much comment.
When a representative of The Spy
called upon Past Department Com
mander William II. Bartlett last night,
he said he read the report of Col Dam
mers' speech with much interest. Ask
ed if he had any opinion to express of
the incident and of the appropriate
ness of Gen. Joe Wheeler being invited
to deliver Memorial day address in
Boston Mr.. Bartlett said:
ut would seem to be the part of wis
dom to wait until Gen. Wheeler has
spoken on Memorial day, before sub
jecting him TO criticism. 1t is an in
teresting innovation to have a former
general in the confederate army ad-
dress a Grand Army post on Memorial
day
LAS far as Wheeler is concerned, he
has certainly made partial atOnement,
at least for his attitude during the
years of 81 to 65, when he donned the
uniform Of general in the United States
army and fought under the stars and
stripes To Tree an oppressed IdnQ-CuDd,
By that act he proclaimed louder than
he could by any words, that he was
wrong when he fought under the stars
and bars to keep a race enslaved.
1T is one of the sad. legacias Of civil
war that the generation which takes
part in such war, on either side, can
not in the nature of things, become
fully reconciled to each other during
their lifetime. More progress has been
made undoubtedly toward such rec
onCiliation than would have been pos
sible in a less enlightened country. Fer
many, many years there viii undoubt-
eddy be a long-draWh discussion az to
which side was right and which wrong
in the great struggle, but no perversion
of history can blot out the fact that
the Union army secured absolutely and
completely everything for which it
fought-the salvation of the Union, the
emancipation of a race, publication OF
the constitution, the preservation OF re-
publican institutions and constitutional
government for the world and the rails
ing of our country from valley Of
humility to the height Of glory on
which She stands today, the envy and
admiration of the world Neither Gen.
Wheeler nor anybody else could prove
the contrary if they felt disposed