The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-05-11

his character his steadfastness IN dis
charging Of duty; his lofty patriotism
the vigor Of his well-rounded intellect;
the virtue of his life; his kindly nature
and the simplicity OF his faith will yet
be recognized by others as they are
known to and honored by us.
There is inherent in our people sense
of right, love of play-dormant or
overshadowed at times perhaps, but which
some day must impel the victors in the
war between the States to do justice to
the vancuished, and when that shall be
frankly done it will bring about mutual
confidence and perfect reconciliation.
Feelings of this kind, / venture 60 be-
lieve, even now animate many of our
fellow countrymen, and, in the near flu
ture, will influence all intelligent and
generous men in all this broad land
though their magnanimity will have to
undergo the severer test of according full
Justice to beaten, instead Of to vic
torious foe.
That / am not without warrant for such
belief the following extract from North
ern paper, whose editor was an officer
OF the Federal Army, will in great meas
ure prove. He says:
ed from the binding passions that cloud
ed cur Judgment, and as the soothing
hand of time quiets our wrath, engender-
ed by deadly conflict, there is one name
that rises higher and brighter, not only
at home, but throughout Europe, as that
Of the greatest military leader of all
time, and that is the name OF Robt Il.
Lee. Gathering an army up from
4 #,+I, hon
the brave hearts of its doomed people,
poorly armed and worse equipped, to
march without pay sleep without shelter,
and fight without food, through the long
years Of that terrible conflict, he rode on
from victory to victory over superior
numbers marking the boundary line of
his country with death and disaster to the
enemy, until his devoted army, wasted
through sickness and fatigue, fell from
sheer exhaustion"
A great struggle like that which ended
at our own Bentonville must some day be
regarded in its true light by all men, no
matter what their predictions for the
contending parties, and not from the
standpoint of passion and prejudice. A
proper sense of self respect aud right
estimate of the unanimous action of
brious terms which 1t seems good to many
to employ when speaking of the war be-
tween the States, and of those who took
part in it. Men who fought TO maintain
the Union, without yielding in any de-
gree their own convictions, or natural
pride in their success in unfolding Them,
will in time freely accord to their oppo-
nents equal honesty and earnestness, and
Of tI, lrrae
cant about rebels and treason" Each
party to the strife should willingly allow
to the other what it claims for itself.
No sentiment is more worthy of con-
demnation than that feeling of faction,
that petty spirit of party. that wilfully
excludes from view everything that is not
within the direct range of it's own narrow
vision In spite of the boasted liberal
ism of this land of popular education, in
tolerance is still a marked defect in our
national character; one that it is our
duty to correct, to the end that preju
dice may fade away and give place to that
large mindedness that going hand in hand
with large heartedness makes up the per-
feet man.
Resting in the rectitude of our past,
honoring our dead, and fulfilling every
present obligation, we are content to
await the coming of that day of justice
and reconciliation. And should some I'M
co-righteous brother denounce us as ''re-
bells" and brand as treason" political
belief and acts older than our govern
ment itself, we may point to the tombs
of the Revolutionary patriots, Francis
Nash and Joseph Warren, of Edward
Buncombe and William Davidson, who
nd Tod in
ing us,-and make answer: Every tree is
known by his own fruit" The land that
gave the ''rebels" George Washington
and Patrick Henry, Richard Caswell and
Jethro Sumner to lead and counsel the
men whom we commemorate in centen-
NAL celebrations, gave also in these latter
days Robert e. Lee and Stonewall Jack
son, Alexander Stephens and John C.
Breckenridge, Leonidas Polk and Albert
Sidney Johnson, worthy sons of noble
sires.
"A good tree bringeth not forth corrupt
fruit, neither doth a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit" Behold in these men
the true opponents of the South and her
cause, the outgrowth of her civilization!
Does any land show their superiors? BY
them our exemplars, let us be judged,
But why multiply WOIuS LCJ tnS WIOlG
world eontemn, still will we love and
honor the voiceless dust that lies here
aye and all our patriot dead, 1t recks
Rot where their bodies lie! Even had
they in mistaken zeal done wrong, we
would still revere their memories fer their
unselish devotion and unrepining sacri-
fee.
Long years ago when the lowly Naza-
rene, who .spake as never man spake,
was doing his work of mercy and love
among the hills of Palestine-Himself,
the incarnation Of loye-it is written that
he said;
Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his
friends
That, Ladies of the Memorial Associa-
tion-that fellow citizens and soldiers
that, men and women of the South, is
what alike the men of the Revolution
and they who sleep in this consecrated
ground did for you and for me. Shall we
not cherish their love?
Their precious lives though vainly sped
Long as it's share old Ocean laves.
Wen bow with reverence Ger our dead,
And bless the turf that wraps their
graves.
Ladies of the Memorial Associations:
This poor tribute to the deeds and