The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-05-31
JUDGE JONES SPEAKS AT
THE TOMB OF u. S. GRANT

the Confederacv.
Whatever NAV have been the causes OF
the differences that divided us then. the
spirit of this hour forbids their presen-
tation here Those issues have gone out
of life into judgment, and statesmanship
and patriotism are no longer concerned
with them save as their remembrance
may preserve us from the mistakes OF
the past. Whether we believe in special
Providence. or the operation of general
laws which. under the same ctrcum-
none will deny that the Creator permits
the things that are done on earth. and
that He is the author of the general
laws. under which cause always proceeds
to effect. Gods will was that the Re-
public should not be severed In twain,
and who shall dispute His fiat? Heaven
to build up the future oft skaters the
past"
Do trespass upon your soldierly kind
ness because in passing from these re-
Elections do not forbear to say that deep
down in nv soul is the belief. when COM
ing generations weigh the great struggle.
clear of the mists and passions which
time alone can dispel. that eur children.
that the embattled millions. though they
differed. were yet united In the higher
and immortal bond of equal fidelity to
principle that the differences of those
days were not so much of principle as the
application of them. to the apparently
unaiterahle conditions which then exist
ed; and that of the men of that day.
who. as God gave them to see the path
OF duty, marched out in arms to set3e
issues which they did not create and
could not control. history will declare all
were making noble sacrifices on the al
tar of a common country, without WHICH
it could not live to achieve its great mis-
Forbade the Separation.
The will of God, the Mississippi and
the Potomac. and common border of
more than. thousand miles. with no
natural barrier to separate people unit
ed by a thousand ties of kinsfdp. inter-
est. and hallowed traditions of the sacri-
fees and achievements of their forefath-
ers-alI forbade the separation. None
who followed Lee, and bow In reverence
to his memory. would have 1t otherwise.
now, that conditions have been removed.
whose only solution then seemed to be In
separation. Strange as 1t may seem to
the unthinking, 1t Is net strange that
the defeated soldier no longer cherishes
the aspirations for which he would have
given his life scarce a third of century
ago. The cause of quarrel has gone.
When the Confederate furled his flag.
no strange flag vexed him. The banner
which again rose over his home. was
the flag Of his forefathers. Every battle
field and every glory it recalls Is bright
with lustre of the valor of his ancestors.
When he left, he did not claim the nag.
AS it comes back to him now. tht<1ks to
the inspiration inc UidH vi
stamped upon our times. 1t stands for
no thought at war with the interests.
liberty or honor of those who for time
gathered under another ensign, but
streams proudly in the skies of every
land, a Witness to the grandeur of a re-
united country, and an emblem of the
majestic power of the millions enlisted
under its folds God grant that 1t may
wave on forever.
No true soldier can deny to the Illus
trious man whose mortal remains lie
here, the possession of all the qualities OF
a great commander. 1t was the genius
of great soldier which planned and
executed the campaign around Vicksburg.
raised the siege of Chattanooga, con-
tended with the immortal Lee, and con-
trolled the gigantic operations elsewhere.
which conjoined to bring the struggle to
an end. The man who died at Mount
McGregor was never envious of the glory
of the -ptains who won the battles for
him and sustained them Loyalty In the
field. So long as he Justly praised them.
he rocked little that his own share of
achievements was hidden in the back
ground. Like the great artist who
"weaved the Gobelin tapestry, he was
content to stand behind the screen while
others worked out the design" No ig-
noble emotions came to him in the hour
of triumph. He did not take time after
the collapse at the little Virginia VII
lage, to pass through Richmond. the prize
for which armies had SO long commended,
gin the disbandment OF the army. He
was called to the highest civic rank on
earth. The gaze of the world beat IN
upon him there and found no stain. None
unfalteriEgIy and sublimelv the pathway
of death. In recalling these things I
am forciblv reminded of the faltering
words with which Bossuet began his
splendid eulogy of the Prince of Condo;
AT the moment 1 open my lips to cele--
brate the immortal glory of the Prince or
Condo. find myself equally overwhelmed
by the greatness of the theme and the
needlessness of the task. what part OF
the habita BILE world has not heard of his
victories and the wonders of his life?
Everywhere thew are rehearsed. His own
countrymen in telling them can give no
information even to the stranger, and
although I may remind you of them, yet
everything / could say would be antici-
pated by your thoughts and l should sut-
fer the reproach of falling far below
them There is one phase of his life
upon which | venture to enlarge, be-
cause it appeals even more strongly to
the men who stacked arms at Appomat-
tox. than to those who followed to vic
tory there, and future generations VIII
dwell upon it with ever increasing admi-
ration.
Kind in Victory.
His soul broaded with the intensity of
that awful conflict. and in its closing
days he regarded his former foes not as
enemies to be destroyed, hut as country
men to be reconciled. When he saw
the inevitable end approaching, no
thought came to him of unconditional
surrender then. He did not desire it..
The proud army of Northern Virginia
had no thought or resolve then, but of
bitterness of the hour. for the great COM
mander whose bearing amid the wreck of
fortune assembled to the dignity of the
Gods, and determined to spare him even
hn in Of ha init at in he n
ing capitulation. No useless ceremonial
of surrender Knocked his countrymen
there. and all his acts displayed the deli
cacy of a great SOUL When the arms
were stacked. he became the sympathiZ-
ing friend of those about to return to a
desolate land to begin anew the struggle
of life. The sting of defeat was half
wiped out ere these men, themselves the
victors on many a stricken field, had left
the little village and begun their home
ward journey.
The good, the victorious soldier did
there was imperilled for time when a
Southern-born President, newly succeed
ing to authority. proclaimed the terms
OF peace in acknowledgements. confisca-
ton of property and prosecutions for
treason. and dashed into renewed fury
the passions which swept the country af-
fer the death of the kindly Lincoln. who
was taken from us when the South
needed him most. For time, though
the unthinking little conc lived 1t. the
country was on the verge OF tue IIllStTles
Of a second stage of the conflict in arms
The leader of the defeated Confederacy
had been immured in cell ana shackleJ
with irons. The great soldier who lead
its armies was threatened with arrest and
punishment in violation Of the terms of
his parole. The magnificent armies
which 50 nearly made a nation. thin
ned nv disease and slaughter, mao peeh
diana nded in defeat but the survivors re-
turned among the sullen and dispairlng
peopIe who waited without hope The