Evening star., 1899-04-07
Points in the Discussion.


Col Pierce. in his report, gives the lead
ing points developed in the discussion in
the several commands, all of which he Wis
tied. as follows:
Il. d. d. Porter Command, a body of
Union soldiers, by its formal resolution
commemoratng the sacrifices of the con-
federate soldiers in their efforts to destroy
the nation, assumes a far-fetched and un-
seemly position, and is apt to incur, even
among the cOnfederates the suspicion OF
ulterior motives well as to justify the
suspicion OF a Willingness TO tolerate the
cause in support of which those sacrifices
We're made. The proteStation of its own
loyalty, before any accusation against 1t,
adds to the latter suspicion. In these omi-
nous times for the Union soldier it is high.
ly important that every member of the L.
V. u. should stand, like Caesars WIFE
above suspicion
-. To change the name of the war from
the war of the rebellion to the war be-
tween the states, and otherwise lessen,
agreeably to the spirit of the resolution,
the logical results of the war, not only
tends to promote that spirit of lawlessness
which seeks to destroy the franchises re-
sulting from the war to the negro race,
but tends to embarraSS those particular
cOnfederates who, in good faith, accepted
the decision of the war and now conform
their conduct to the principle of national
sovereignty as against state sovereignty.
but the evil effect of the spirit which the
resolution promotes goes further 1t tends
to justify the epithet applied by the state
sovereignty party 10 the Union people of
the seeding states-the epithet of traitor.
ANY domestic peace based simply upon the
principle of national loyalty as against a
foreign foe IS prccariOus. The only endur
ing peace-the prize the Union soldiers won,
the peace your just and vigorous policy so
eminenty prOmotes-is based upon a more
sacred prlnciple-the principe of national
loyalty as against domestic foe; the prn-
clple which wrote in the irreyocable page
of history a Appomattox that the gov
ernment was right and the rebellion was
wrong
=; That when these ridiculously few men
styling themselves d. D. Porter Com
| mand go forth with brass band and ban
! ners in search of unmarked confederate
| graves they will find that unsuspected
| members of the L. V. u. have long since
! quietly marked those graves and said
! nothing about it. And yet the U. V. u.
acting as a patriotic organization, would
, lor the sake of public policy, if for no
I other reason. draw a distinction between
! the graves of those who fought for the
nation and of those who fought against i.
/ II, IN the nations gratitude these admit
! OF no distinction, then the nation can draw,
| none between the graves of President Lin
/ com ana those of the nations dead at An
! oefsohVile as compared with the graves
| 0L Us most extreme enemies, represented
Dy captain WirtZ and John Wilkes Rooth
| In general terms the individual mer-hers
! or the u, Y. L. will ever be as they ever
| nave peen. pleased to place delicate and
fragrant flowers upon the confederate SOL
oiers graves, often significant of pers,na1
| attachments and always significant of the
| Iact that beneath the sod lie human beings
| ma mace IN the image of God More than this
nn. rne % onioh soidler, true to his colOrs. can
| not give; more than this the confederata
! = soialer' true to his vow at Appomattox,
IN general order No. then follows gem
efai ofder NO. 3, the substance of ubio;
mas already been published in The Star
ana otllcial copies of the resolutions of in.
| ao[semeht by the three commands above