The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1902-06-06
NUMBER SO.

ism, and disloyalty and treason. To
such sentimental effort I am OPP
posed to it's further encouragement,
(which, as have stated, fails to dis
tlnguish patriotism from treason.
Our children have been taught in
some localities, as matter of his
tory, that there is no distinguishing
features underlying the causes of the
war of the great bebellion, as be-
tween the action of the north and
south. 10 inculcate such an idea is
wrong in shaping the policy Of this
nation. BY so doing we are half per-
forming our duty. If you will ash
the average school boy today what he
knows about the causes that lead
up to the war Of the rebellion he will
|give you the real cause but only
one OF the incidents of that great
struggle Of four years. He will tell
you that the great cause was slavery
and its result was the abolition Of
slavery, while upon the other hand
he has been taught through his his
tory to readily tell, and correctly, too,
the true cause of the war Of the rev.
olution. 1t seems to me that the i
boys and girls in our public schools,
as matter of history, should under
stand the real cause of the war of
the rebellion just as well as the war
OF the revolution he should be told
fr11 I, of
the real cause Of the war of
the rebellion was the attempt to
overthrow the federal constitution
and to divide this union. Any
other policy is false one, mis-
taken notion, and a serious retiec-s
tion upon the motives that actuated
these old soldiers and led them to
venture their lives. While I would
teach the children the correct issues
that led up to the war Of the re
bellion I would, nevertheless, teach
them to be generous to the mis-
guided brethren Of the south.
would not arouse in their hearts
feeling Of hatred toward them, but
on the contrary I would have them
pluck out of their hearts every senti-
ment, excepting pity and regret, and
thus without malice + would have
them taught to stand by those prin-
ciples which made the union perpet-
ual and the name of Abraham Lin
coin immortal. These old soldiers
loved their country in 1861 and the
whole country, as We'll as the people
OF the country, and through those
four years they were inspired by lofty
patriotism in their effort to perpetu-
ate the union, and our children
should know that the cause for which
you fought was right, and that the
cause of the confederacy was wrong,
that you fought to keep the stars on
the flag, while they fought to pluck
them from the flag; therefore, we
should teach our children to know
this distinction and would, if 1 had
the power, write the grand deeds Of
the defenders of our flag in letters of
living light on the broad arches of
the sky so the youth of the land
might have before them, forever, the
patriotic inspiration of your noble ex-
ample. But I have a word of great
consolation for the sons of the con-
federacy. We pity them in the error
of their past, Judgment, but, withal,
we love them for the devotion they
have given our country and the flag
during the past four or five years, for
within that time they have proven
their devotion and we have seen their
sons stand shoulder to shoulder with
ours of the north in upholding the
! Continued on page 2.)