The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-05-31
TRIBUTE TO GREAT LEADER
His Kindness to Paroled Con-
federateS Appreciated.
Northern General Dared the Ire Of
His Fellow Federals and Pre-
vented Persecution of His
Late Foes-MemoriaI
Day Observed.

New York. May Especially OBJ
servance of Memorial Day in Brooklyn
was an extensive one. The parade, which
was the principal feature of the celebra-
ton. and anticipatory of the DELEGATION
services at Grants tomb. Riverside, show
ed many missing faces in the ranks of the
veterans, but was watched by larger
throng than has ever before viewed a
the re ute the sidewalks were crowded
from curb to houses. The reviewing
stand was in front of the Hanover Club,
and on it was an agusut company to in
spect the impressive pageant.
After passing the stand, U. S. Grant
Post, No. 3Z7, A. c. Tate, Commander,
went in special cars to South Ferry. from
where the veterans and their guests were
conveyed to Riverside. Here Memorial
services Lave been held by the Grant Post
every year since General Grants body
was placed in its last resting place. Upon
arrival at the wharf, the party marched
to the tomb, where great crowd had
already assembled. The services. listened
to with thoughtful fsoes, were opened
by the reading of the ritual of the G. A.
r. by Commander Tate and Officer of the
! Day O'Reilly. Then the orator of the
day, Judge Thomas G. Jones of Montgom-
cry, Ala. was introduced. His address
was an eloquent, thoughtful tribute TO
the great leader whose remains lay near
him. He reminded his audience of the
deep significance of the occasion and babe
his hearers never to let it's meaning be-
come dulled. He referred to the strong
bond which has become established be-
tween the Southern and Northern people
which allows no thought of former diff
ierenc1s to weaken 1t.
Judge Jones's Speech.
Judge Jones said:
FELLOW Countrymen, and may | not say
Comrades of u S. Grant Post: Your
gracious kindness has touched me deeply.
1T is not for me. but for the people from
whom, come. This hour Is one of in
describable moral gradeur. No one feels
more keenlv than | how vain it is for
nv poor tongue to strive to give mt Ut
terance to the emotions it stirs. Despite
all this come, for there was stronger
call which babe me obey your summons.
When but a beardless youth | drank of
the cup of defeat at Appomattox, and
was one of those allowed to return to
his home not to be disturbed by the Unit
ed States authorities so long as they OBJ
served their parole and the laws in force
WIleTe tHSy ISStOSu. iOHt titne AdS W
this there has never been an hour when
j would willingly omit any opportunity
to do honor to the memory of the I'M
mortal who forbore TO add to the burden
of our sorrows then.
| was once a member of burial party
on a field left in the hands of Jackson S
men. In the valley near the little Nir-
glnia hamlet, Mcdowell. we came upon
the hospital of an Ohio brigade. We
succored the living and reverently buried
the dead. We had not yet become ac-
customed to the horrors and sight of war.
and the memory of that day will he with
me always. Among the dead twas an
Ohio boy. hardly old enough to carry a
musket. He had died peacefully and not
in pain; for his blood had slowly trick
led away from a wound that could not
be staunched. Death had fixed in the
lnaments of his sweet young face
solemnitv and. dignity all its own. Near
him was a Bible and a letter These had
been the last things on which his eyes
had rested IN life, We scanned them to
learn who the dead boy was. in the hope
that chance might offer the return of the
Bible and the letter to those who loved
him. with some word of his peaceful end.
The letter from the Ohio grandmother
startled me. 1t was almost word for
word the letter which had come to me ny
the last army mail from my grandmother
in Virginia. Both letters told news of the
little things at home. Both spoke of a
soldiers duty. and encouraged the per-
Torrance of it. Both told OF prayers at
that God would shield them in the hour
of battle" Both dwelt upon the happy
return home when peace should come;
Both breathed in every line, trust IN Goa
and love Of country and the righteous
ness of the cause the absent ones were
serving I'could not sleep that night; AS
I Law upon NV blanket ana watched uh-
til they went down the stars which shed
their serent light on the bivouacs in the
valley and the shadows of the mountains
above. thought after thought came 10
ME. WHY was the dead boy there! why
was I thera? What enmity did We pear
each other? What agency had we in
bringing on the strife? What power 10
avoid it? Did We not love country anu
liberty alike? Why had God enVlroned us
by circumstances which made II duty
for each to slav the other? Would
Divine Providence to promote some nc
sign, hidden from our weak eyes. vet
work good out of i'll. or was II an the ne
work of blind and horrid chance, OF
which we were but helpless playthings:
Each to His Principles.
Time and time again the question asked
itself: How was it possible that men Oh
the same rage, who worshiped the Same
same language. and lived under the same
institutions. which their forefathers. I'M
der the same flag in the past. had made
such fearful sacrifice to create and sus-
tain. could become e. -broiled. in a day
as it were, in the deadliest struggle OF
modern times? Then and there the con-
vlction came TO me, 10 abide forever, tnat
the dead boy was actuated by motives as
pure and high as mine. loved his country
as well. and sAcrified himself to as no.
BILE ideas OF truth and manhood as anil
mated those who gave him a soldiers
burial that he and l were but types Of
all ths rest, and behind US in the hostile
lands were millions as good and true as
the grandmothers who wrote the letters.
Then came the other thought that the
dead bow was my brother in all that is
good and true. and 1t was not for a SOL
der TO pass judgment on the motives of
any map on the other side. who went
down To battle with pure heart and came
out with clean hands. The reflections
which came to me that night came time
and time again to thousands and thou
sands in both armies as they lay in
camp and on battle fields. IT was in
evitable then, when the conflict I'm arms
ceased. and the years began to pass. that
the soldiers of either side would nay sin
cere tribute TO the VaIor, patriotism and
worth of their countrymen on the other
side
II is a qualification to me to recall that