The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-08-24
~ UNITED DAUGHTERS
OF THE CONFEDERACY. y
-
CAV

I now set apart.
| 1t is we'll for the whole order to OBJ
serve these especial days when it is pos
sible but Presidents of State Divisions
should have discretionary power to ap-
point or acquiesoe in the appointing of
such days as may be most convenient for
local reasons to some of the Chapters
some day, for example, when the old men
would have to turn out for voting or at
| tending court, and one coming would ac-
| compltsh both purposes. Dear, Madam,
our order was evoked by love for the
Confederacy and the Confederate soldiers.
The former has passed from the splendor
or life to the glorious Immortality of his
tory. The latter linger with us yet,
sacred heritage
Let us see to 1t that formal rules do
not deprive them of this tribute to their
vaior, their devotion to duty, their suffer
ings during the war and their tenfold
greater he-oism and endurance amidst the
furnace fires of the terrible years that
came after. Their ranks are fast thin
ming and surely we should lose no time
in bestowing honors on those who still
tarry awhile with us. Why should the
getting of his cross be hedged about with
such difficulties to the old soldier? 1t
should be Of paramount interest to us
that he get 1t as soon as possible, at the
most convenient time to him and in the
most convenient way. A day that Is suit
able in one part of the South for the vet
Grams to turn out is not suitable in an
other In the far South the 18th of jan
uary does not inevitably suggest bitter
cold, inclement weather. yet with us that
is almost invariably the rule. The men
are scattered all over the county and
those who are old and infirm, the ma
Of fhana could hra
posture TO such weather even for the
longed-for cross. and they do long for
them with pitiful eagerness.
Now If the State Presidents had dis
cretionary power suitable seasons could
be selected and the bestowal of the
crosses go on more rapidly. and the old
men get what by the present inViolable
rule, they are denied. The three days
are not enough. and they are unequally
distributed thro' the year.
should stress of weather or any una
voidable delay prevent the cross giving
on Memorial Day and the Sd of June,
why then would come the long waiting
Of eight months before ii would be law
full to give d handful of old men the
querdon they won full forty years ago.
Dear Madam. will you not join with us
in striving to have this law repealed? If
the Cross of Honor Is the Southern wo-
mans tribute to the Incompatible Valor
of the Southern soldier, why, then, let
us make haste TO give it to them ere
taps sound and they pass beyond our
reach.
Through the extreme illness of our
President and Secretary, and mistake
in sending us the wrong class of certid-
Gates, we could not present crosses on
the 10th OF May or June 3d. therefore the
large number of veterans in our county
must wait until the 18th of next January
and then many of them, most probably,
will be unable to turn out on account
of the weather
Then, in all that time, some more Of
them will die, as several have already
done OF course. this is the experience
of all the Chapters in the South. Think,
then, of the aggregate of men who die
wanting what they could get but for the
interference of a Rule which defeats it.
self and the object for which it is sup
posed to exist.
May the majority in the convention re-
alize the urgent necessity for changing
this rule so that the Old soldiers NAV
have their crosses before it is too late,
II all the necessary precautions are taken |
and the certificates properly filled up |
signed and endorsed, why should there |
be any delay?
The shadows of evening are lengthen-
ing across their pathway ana the Old sol |
diers who are With us today tomorrow |
will he gone. Shall they 60 wanting
something that -" could have done for |