Washington sentinel., 1900-11-24
MISS DEMOCRACY WILL THINK 1T OVER.

the Government, and Washington, who
headed a successful attempt to secede,
and argues that because the effort Of the
Southern States, "nobly sustained,
finally failed, is no reason why Lees
fame should not remain secure" And
another correspondent of the same
paper who signs himself "Southerner, ="
writing from Greenville, N. c., says:
"Lee, in drawing his sword for the
South at the behest OF his State, Vir
glnia, was no rebel BY the doctrine
of State rights held generally from the
adoption Of the Constitution to the
outb reak OF the war between the States
both North and South, each citizen owed
paramount allegiance TO his State, not
to the Federal Government, and there
existed no constitutional power IN the
Federal Government to coerce a seced-
ing sovereign State to return to the
Union. The great daily newspapers at
the North steadily advocated concilia-
ton and deprecated force up to the
attack on Fort Sumter. That rash
attack created the storm which swept
forever every vestige &C sovereignty in
the States, and completely Obliterated
the right of secession, The W r revo.
lutionized the Constitution ofthe United
States ana fused all the States into one
great nation No right thinking ex-
Confederate would now have the results
otherwise.
"But when Robert f. Lee obeyed the
call Of his State, he acted according to
his lights not only as a true patriot but
as true citizen"
The Richmond Times, in the most
vigorous editorial that had up to that
time appeared on that side OF the dis.
cussion, declared that in view Of the
opposition to giving General Lee a
place in the Hall Of Fame, the Southern
people "would very much prefer that
his name should be erased" 1t con.
tInued:
There is no honor conferred upo
General Lee by placing his name there.
The honor is the other way. By all broad
minded, independent, and unpreiudiced
men in the world, even those OF them
who dwell in the Northern States, Robt.
f. Lee is considered the greatest Amer
ic7n that ever lived, except that some
of them rank George Washington above
HIM, How can it honor a man thus
thou ght OF by mankind TO inscribe his
name in a two penny show gallery along
with number OF nobodies that people
have to ask about to know that they
ever lived2 When Cato was asked why
his statue did not appear in the gallery
OF the statues Of Romans thought at the
time to be immortal he answered in
substance that he wished It to be noted
that his statue was not there. The
Southern people have that feeling about
this incident. Secure in his Immortality,
looming up upon the worlds horizon as
a colossus around whose knees Grant,
Sherman, Sheridan, and Thomas mas
querade as pigmles, how can it be Of any
consequence to General Lees memory
whether his name does or does not
appear in a collection OF names that will
be totally forgotten when mothers are
teaching their sons at their knees that if
they would be men to command the
esteem and reverence OF their fellow
men they should set Robert + Lee
before them as the example to initiate?
And it is IN order to remark here
that it is not Lee the soldier who Will
continue to grow, for he has already
reached the largest possible proportions
in that character. It IS Lee the man
who dwaris all other men brought into
comparison with him, and forces the
verdict from ages as they succeed, that
he was the most God like mar that this
world has ever seen.
Therefore, say we, for one, strike
his name from the tablets Of your Hall
OF Fame. There is nothing there to
honor Lee And if the narrow minded
bigots who carp at his being there can
not appreciate the honor which Lees
name conlers upon them, let his name
be Withdrawn that It may blaze in the
armament with his own undyIng light,
uninterrupted by the petty screens which
the bIgots would attempt to interpose
between it and the admirers who dwell
all over the civilized world