The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-02-22
Y. the lion Of the contederaoy-Robt.

Lee.
! All. little they knew us who deem that
tho pledge Of halr-hearted allegiance
And as little those who think that we
would have him there on subtle legal,
| plea-or on reluctant sufterance-or on
| any other terms than those OF grateful
welcome to the American Hall OF Fame
to the great captain and Christian gen.
tleman whose: name IS the synonym Of
genius. 4yalor' and virtue throughout the
wide, wide world.
But. notvyithst anding the truth OF all
that have said !; nay, rather because
| Of Its tru th-for.sgwere we recreant to
our past, otAlittle worth would be our
plighted faith for the time that Is and
is to be-just as true 1t Is. that. still,
our souls are haunted. as the faithful
by the proud and tender recollections Of
the days that were and are not. 10
! have borne a part In them-no matter
how humble, If faithful-is to us a
badge ofYt.honor such as no earthly
prince orr potentate could confer.
And anchored in our souls. along with
the creeds which entitle US to hope for
heaven. and to meet our loved ones there
| is the faith that history will mete out
Justice to the Confederate soldier and
! his cause, and will reverse that verdict.
which. in the face Of righteous plea and
! worthy precedent, was yielded to the in
i fluence of 1.-THE heaviest battalions.
LEE CAMPS PATRIOTIC TASK.
To ensure and hasten such a verdict Is
the holy and patriotic task over which
you. my comrades Of Lee Camp. have
labored SO wisely and so we'll.
By preserving ingyonder gallery the
forms and faces, and in your archives n
record Of the deeds and characters Of
men both great and good. you have en-.
tered a perpetual and cogenl appeal
against that adverse Judgment of their
cause which rests solely upon our arbI-
trament Of the sword.
Such men are: not Of the spawn that
foul and designing treason breeds. Not
OF such stuff are traitors made, Not
from the thistle do We gather grapes,
nor thorns from fig-trees. #
And you are handing down to future
gen erations, In the most vivid and APP
pealing form. tho Indictment to revere
and to emulate the heroic virtues and
the strong, pure lives which speak from
the grave with testimony strong as the
tongues of angels. Thus shall your re-
ward be two-fold, not alone in vlndca-
ton Of our past but in perpetuatlon to
magnificent example. A statue OF the
ancient days bore this inscription: mot
to Aristides, but to Aristides the Just"
So we make idols, not of our leaders.
but of the genius and virtues shown
forth III their lives, Without such idols
4 people is also without ideals. Without
ideals no people can survive above the
level Of the beasts that perish, A race,
a nation. civilization. may be fairly
i judged and Its destiny fairly predicted
by the moral dimensions of It's ideals
and the veneration i accords them,
Look there and there and there, my
countrymen! And how shall we despair
| In The limo that Is thnf which 1c tn
come, of the land We love?
| And now. comrades OF Lee Camp, 1t
Is my privilege to tender to your pous
| custody the counterfeit prescntment OF
a real presence we'll worthy to join yon-
der goodly company Of patriotic war
| rlors,
He was man in whose character and
career the highest attributes OF true
manhood weresa Illustrated, AS a sol
der, no was brave as the hravest, loyal
to the CORE faithful to the end.
LOWING TRIBUTE no KEN1PER.
A Vrginian. he loved his State with
all the force Of an ardent and earnest
sturdy. martial breed OF Norsemen which
has preserved its national identity against
Moslem, MuscoyIte and Gaul. through
centuries of bloody battle.
When war came, he did not belle his
| lineage, but responded to tho first call
Of the State upon her sons, in full con-
victIon of her sovereign claim upon him
and Of the Justice OF her cause,
He was a graduate OF that school Mt
| Lexington which n Federal general
styled ''the Military Nursery OF the
South" and he had served as captain
Of volunteers in raylors column In Mex
He entered tho Confederate service as
|colonel Of the soventh Virginia Imam
y try, but early In 1869 was given command