Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1903-02-12
SENATOR HARMAN'S SPEECH
On Robert E. Lee Statue.

Mr. Harman spoke as follows:
Mr.. President:
Like the Senator from Lynchburg, too
am a son of Confederate soldier, and
heartily endorse every sentiment uttered
by him on this floor in advocacy of the
bill to place a statue of Robert E. Lee IN
nations Capitol.
If the words and works of such great
and good men as Grant, Garfield, Grady
and Mckinley and scores of other repre-.
sentative men, both in the North and in
the South are to be taken as indicating
the true sentiments of our common cOun-
try, for one do not see why this bill
should be defeated or postponed because
som war veterans are still engaged in i'm
aginatiop in fighting the battles of GIGS.
1t seems to me, Mr.. President, that
forty years of wandering in the wilderness
of passion and prejudice engendeied by
the war is enough. If a few over.zealous
partisans in both sections of the country
are determined to stay on this side of
Jordan, and keep us on this side of the
Potomac, / insist that the great hosts of
patriots shall no longer he retarded in their
onward march to the land of promise,
whereIthose who wore the blue and those
who wore the gray, and their sons shall
sit down together in their Fathers house
and forget that sad period of estrangement
which separated us, in their joyous re-
union of hearts and hands to make and
keep this great country IN the forefront Of
the nations of the earth.
l am glad Of the opportunity to test the
professions of friendship and brotherly
love, by resolution offered in Congress
to have the statue of our immortal Lee
placed among those whom the whole
people delight to honor. If any of our
Congressman desire to give expression to
any hostility toward the South and her
heroes in this way let them speak. If |
am right in believing that no representa-
tive in Congress will do such thing, l
want to know it. If l am deceived in
my faith in regard to this matter of the
unity of this nation, let me be unde-
ceived
sToNG APPEAL
When l look over this Senate Chamber
and recognize Ito me) the painful fact
that of the forty members of the Vir-
ginia Senate, am confronted by thirty
seven of them who differ from me in
politics l might well pause in any effort
to take any great part 10 trying to shape
the legislation by this body; but when |
remember that every day since / have
been a member of this body l have been
the recipient Of courtesies and have been
accorded such consideration at the hands
of every member of this body forget we
differ on political lines. My pleasant as
sociations here with lny political oppO-
nents doubtless has something to do with
lmpelling me to insist on the passage of
this bill, that it may be demonstrated to
all that the same sentiments will prompt
all the members of our national Congress
to forget the past and face the future as
a reunited country of brothers and fel-
lows who are as Jealous for the honor
of the Stars and Stripes,> as we of the
South were for the Stars and Bars.
No man on this floor will regret more
than will every vote in opposition to
the passage of this bill. May we not
hope that a good nights sleep and pleas:
ant dreams of the few men who are in
clined to oppose the passage of this bill
have dspelled the fearful nightmare
that has so preyed upon their sensitive
minds as to induce them to lear only the
f eble voice of the few who feel that they
are called upon to speak of our hero as
traitor to his country. Those who have
uttered these discordant notes are more
to be piiied than to be blamed. They are
entitled to our commiseration rather than
our censure.