The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1903-02-01

..,oret Of the New AOlA
s.rp lss' week
Adams on Lee
..w Englander-by birth, descent ira
90 anne and environment closely asso-
efon ~ Nsssachusetts-I was Union
tliso s s-arn 1861 to 1865, and the one boast
Iadisl no was and is, and Will ever
naN also bore arms and confronted
b. iDn ,.sorocv. and helped to destroy Il.
ne pOI - the army of the Potomac
l1ne.' ~, years was intent on the
u'Ou s-or Of the army of Northern VIZ
t' e. far moreover, as that great past
FlA .,r,ed. having nothing to regret to
'S ~ 10 extenuate, l am yet here on
ueI' % respond to a sentiment In honor
nu,tarv leader once opposed to US
a.i.I.n and q Confederate. Nor, Gil
'ss s,sr thus and so, II asked why ! am
nS ,d tho answer DO far to seek.
lde No. n. 40 Massachusetts man, con
n phnar"! feeling Of special kindness to.
~ " ether States Of the Union, two
4 st,ss original thirteen, ABOVE az Ine othe5
ape ,ertv and FIVE, South Carolina ana
4 erselI ~ those. with Massachusetts, !
'lpns' have been, essentially, pivotal
tao Communities peculiarly prolihc OF
fnNeit avDOueuts of ideas, from them
Iel zone forpn those migrating columns
vt.b met In fierce grqpPle iQl tne mum :
'nsA ,S,s banduet given In honor of the
~ ". NJ Robert L. Lee, am asked 10
pslei IN A sentiment In his honor and,
n Sont reservation, do SO; Tor, as a
rra,a'.sbusetts man. ] ser y. HIN exempt
"a .Sose lofty elements of personal chur'
N w a,hich. tvpifyiug Virginia, made
= tTvs,,rgton possible The Possession o,
w rralities By an opponent can not but
" -ss thrill of satisfaction from the sense
,ssf We also. as foes no less tlan as cnuh-
. w. we're worthy OF him, and of those
FL - be tvpihed 1t was great company
II ~, ia original thirteen and IN the front
. .s ~ thst company Virginia, Massachu
3 ..9s and South CaTeslna stood .consplc'
n uors So recognize a peculiar teIloWslll
y sssrsen them-tbe fellowship Of those who
M i,re both commended shoulder TO shoulder,
"a ,rd fought face 10 face.
Al Tsls However IS Of the past. Its Issues
AZ settled, never 10 be raised again. But,
IA n matter how much we may discuss the
# rrhts and the wrongs of day that Il
Ss,S-Its victories and defeats--one thinl
n b dear beyond dispute, victor and van
81 ouished Confederate and Unionist, the de
X s,enisnts OF those who between 1861 ant
III lsS. wore the gray and oil those who wore
BIZ ihe blue enter as essential and as cqua
"a ilctov into the National life which now Is
~ tM In future is to be, Not more so THAI
IA III Puritan and cavalier On England, mr.
& he offspring Of Cromwell and STAFFORD
Ia descendants, With us, as with them, uh'
lraydual opponents Of either side becaml
I'd ID tine common property, and equally tn
Il s. | am here this evening, as I hav,
- kaa a Massachusetts, man as well Ms
~ MEMBER Of the Loyal Legion, to do homo
70 the memory Of him who wac chic
Y tneng those once set In array against a.
q bin, what shall ! sayf Essentially
soliier as a soldier Robert r. Lee wa
q nRny.sided man. I might speak OF h!i
asa strateglst; but Of this aspect Of tn
mn enough has perhaps been said.
ri night refer TO the respect, the cophdenc
and love with which he Inspired thOs
III tlder bis command | might dllnte O
Bis restraint In victory; his resource an
patient endurance In the face of advers
fortune; the serene dignity with who
b, 10 the end, triumphed over defeG'
But passing over all these well wor
lasnH ] shall conhne myself to tina
+ one attribute OF his which, recognized
solder by an opponent, I can NOT Dl
regard as bis surest and Hottest title
tntnring fame ! refer 10 his humanity
" lfrt and his scrupulous regard for tr
|H most advanced rules Of civilized warfare.
W % this point, two views I am well awH
esve been taken from the beginning, az
W Sill ere advanced. On the one side II
eltsnded that warfare should be strict
n md deysstatons brought within the no
pTsst limits, that private property shou
M Il respected and devastation and violen
united 10 that necessary to overcou
unsd opposition al the vital points Of GO
neg But on the other hands 1t is insist
- rit such q method Of procedure IS me
Elsiy IN disguise, that war at best
ael and that true humanity lies In exc
lGatng that hell to such an extent as
5ike i unendurable BY so doing, II
N EoIced to q speedy end. Let me cite II
Instances separated bv half a centur
IA Two names which have come down
Y sded with eIecration and suukeD de
MANY the instances, the repeated a
complete devastation Of what was know
ne Palatnste, once during the war
anty years and again at the order
lgus NV, the names, lilly and Melsc
rAs an American, as an eN-soldler of {
snlon, as one who did his best in hone
.sn hight to destroy that fragment
s amy Of the COnfederacy 70 which
lang himself opposed ! rejoice that
"a s.a hatred attaches to the name of l.
sAess OF life TO attain the legitima
s u war be sought to mitigate
IVHoA opposed TO him at Gettysbul
ae'e' Forty years later, do him JUST