Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1903-01-25
LEE IN sTATUARYS HALL u
Views Of Mr. Hnlsey, Patron OF the


Views OF MI. Halsey, Patron OF the.
Bill.
To the Editor of the Dispatc
the bill offered by me In = the Senate, to
provide statue of General Robert E.. Lee
70 be placed in the National Statuary
i5A, at Washington. that Il deem It not
itHpFOper@to make some statement of my
own IDEAS and motives In offering the
bill; especially assthe impression seems to
prevail in some quarters that there Is q
possibility that the statue might be of
Tered by Virginia. only to be rejected by
the national, government.
N my judgment any such apprehensions
are s. absolutely grou- ldless. do not be-
4!leVe that there is any authority vested
IN any one whomsoever to reject tho
statue. The law is clear and explicit,
and is to the effect that every State
snail have the power TO select such two
OF its illustrious dead to be- represented
by statues OF marble or bronze in Stat
uary hall, as each State shall deler-
nine worthy OF this national commemo-
"a on. 1t then goes on to provide thai
several States shall be placed in the old
hatl3of the House Of Representatives in
tnea capitol OF the United States. which is
hereby sci apart or SO much thereof as
may be necessary. as a national Statuary
Hail." There is no provision In the law
giving the authority to the President or
any one else to nave anything whatsoever
70 90 with the acceptance or rejection of
slhese statues, and passing by the Ques-
tion, OF whether Virginia was In or out
OF Z the Union at the time that the laT
was passed. and the Invitation extended.
y viii, only say that there. is no ques-
t1on about her being in the Union NOW,
and having the same rights under the
lays OF the Union as every other State.
line only people, therefore. who have the
fight to say anything as to whose. statues
Virginia shall send, are the people .Of
Virginia themselves. who speak through
their representative in the General AS
sembly.
These are virginia's places that .vir-
GINA is invited to fill, as she herself shal II
determine, and no acceptance is necessary
beyond the mere mechanical act Involved.
there. ore. there did not appear to me to
In consulting the Secretary of State, nor
the President, before submitting the bill
to place the statue Of Lee in the Ma tional
sratuary Hall. nor do ! link now thai
any such necessity, expediency, or pro-
priety; exists. TO consult the President,
or the Secretary of State as his prime
minister, is simply to raise question
where none exists or to invite it's being
made, and to involve them, perhaps. in q
question foreign to their Offices, and
which they might prefer not to be in
terrogated about. Virginia has generally
been able to attend to her own business,
and there is nothing before US to require
that she invite somebody else to attend to
this matter.
The President has time and again re-
ferred with prlue to the fact that he
served under an ex-Confederate general
at Santiago, where he won his spurs,
and when that general SAT- down. on the
idea OF retreat, and has pointed out Lee
speaking race. s 1t is injustice to- the
whole subject to suppose :or suggest Sthat
those who have most WORT. y welcomed
and applauded the living Confederates,
cherish any sort of feeling against due
honors by his own State to- the most
Industrious Of their dead. Whose country
is this any way? It is just as much ours
as it Is any mans. The places In the
capitol are ours just as those OF other
States are theirs; and the capitol al
Washington is just as much ours as any
body elses. It was designed by the act
Of Congress TO enable us to ill our places,
in our national capitol. In our own way
|. If Kansas chooses to send John BroWn
statue. can we object? Certainly not W.
can only say that II Kansas can stano
it, we can.
But, it is said. You will raise ma
tionaI issue by sending Lees statue tc
ashington.' How? few bigots
cranks. and Bourbons might well like &c
Keep the living out of Washington, ano
every one of them can MAKE more russ
than million OF sturdy. honest. and true
Northern men, who are quietly attending
to their own business, and are filled Wltt
thoughts of genuine patriotism and friend.
ship for a., that is good and true anc
noble in the South. 5.i-s
We are simply inviting somebody TO Cd:
1ect,t and advertising tina tive: are ready &c
quit at the flrst screech, when We .rur
around CRYING out that we expect to De
questioned and expect to be rudely treat
ed. Some talk as If the United. States
were q foreign country. and not our owl
country and they feared the strain or IN
ternational relations. They are carrying
themselves back to and borrowing the
feelings Of an ancient day. L 90 not De
|4ueve that the sending of Lees statue Y
Statuary Hall will offend true Nortnefi
sentiment, and surely if the pubic ane
private utterancesa o. the Nortn. +apAes
and most distinguished pGbllc menItnt
NC Iures the Adainses, ne Mchihte!s
the Roosevelts. are to be i;snen as sincere
then there is no reason to uoubt that @tns
statue Of Robert e. Lee viii not De era
ciously acknowledged by the NORTH. a:
well as the South, to be IN us Propel
MACE when erected by Virginia at tht
Side of her other majestic hero. Georss
Respectfully, -; !, -, -.
Richmond. January a. 1903
An Unusual Lemon.
10 the Editor uf the Dispatch -
Mrs d. Jennings Sipe. daughter O. MT
z, --S,T Il Pierce, OF News Ferry. Hailla1
co,,y,tv55 va. has grown lemon OF re
|. S4TFY,ha SnpCin1en Q1ea sur e