The Van Buren press., 1903-04-25

principles is causing the unprejudiced
scholar of history in the North
to admit that if one was right, the
other was not wrong in the great con
test of '0l to 65.
1T is not necessary for me to dwell
upon the moral and legal right of the
South to secede, for history and public
sentiment is solving that now, without
the aid of partisan or advocate in the
South.
I'm commemoration of the acts of
your fathers have you met here and or
gained this camp. Some things of
the past would we love to blot from
memory, and some do we ever strive
to keep green. The acts of the past
stimulate and direct us for the future.
We love to refer with pride to our fore
fathers who founded this government,
and to those who fought to wrench it
from the hands Of a British tyranny;
and TO those who framed the cOnstitu-
ton; and yes, to those who so nobly,
ardeutly and Chivalrously defended
that same constitution; to the acts of
those who followed Jackson and Lee,
Johnson, Price and Hood, and our own
Pat Cleburne
The Boston man may refer to that
Saiuted Lee as the General of a rebel
army, but we can point, in answer, to
the military schools of the civilized
world, where Lees military tactics are
being taught, and to foreign nations
where Lee and Jackson are regarded
yes pronounced the military geniuses
of the world. Yes, where such history
makers in warfare as XerXes, Alexan-
der, Caesar, and Napoleon pale into in
significance, compared to the great
generals Of the Coufederacy.
"Aud gentlemen, if il is the man
who makes the country, it is the sol
der who makes the general. It was
your fathers that made these generals,
and it was these Confederate soldiers
and their sons that made the New
South and what it is today. And,
" What constitutes a state?
Not high raised battlement or labOred mound
Thick walls or mOated gate;
Not cities proud with spires and turrcts
crowned
Not bays and broad armed ports,
Where laughing at the storms rich navies ride
Nor starred and spanged courts,
Where low proved baseness watts perfume to
pride
No, men-high. minded men"
MEN who their duties know
But know their rights, and knowing dare
maintain,
Prevent the long-aimed blow
And crush the tyrant while they rend the
These constitute state"
$50, gentlemen, you constitute your
country. Nature and the Almighty
God has favored You, tbs true, but
you must do your part, The enter
prises in your town, your churches and
your schools are but simple reflections
mirrored from your citizenship.
"You are not history makers in one
sense, but you have resolved to protect,
promote, and, if necessary, defend the
the history that your fathers did make.
The time has almost passed, it is true,
when SO-called historians dare refer TO
Confederate soldiers as rebels and trait
ors, and it is your duty TO see that your
children are not taught such Islander
in your public schools and in your other
institutions Of learning; yes, it is
your duty TO see that only the true and
fair histories of the country are allowed
recognition in this land of civilization
and intelligence,
when we think of the hardships
and privations of those followers Of
Jackson and Lee from 'ol TO '65; when
we realize what a legacy they will
leave to generations; what lessons of
patriotism, virtue, unseihshness and
self-sacriiice they set, it is enough to
inspire every man, woman and child in
the South to do noble acts, and cause
them TO reverence the deeds of Chivalry
and valor Of their fathers,
"When we recall the siege of Vicks-
burg, the battle Of Shiloh, Chickamau-
ga, Pea Ridge, Oak Hill and Prairie
Grove, in our own Southland-of the
picture of '0l, and then again in '6s,
when desolation was everywhere, we
feel that the ashes of the cabins that
were burned at that time should have
been preserved as sacred, and like kiss
ing the very dirt Of these spots as COM
ing from holy ground. When your
fathers came home battle-scarred and
with empty sleeves, aud viewed this
then desolate land, still their own sweet
country, and while adversely, yes, hcfl
itself, was staring them in the face
under the carpet-bag regime, which
was worse than war, they began TO re-
build what had been destroyed These
memories should suffice for the organi-
cation of your camps; they should cause
your blood 10 course through your veins
faster, and your heart to beat with
pride when you meet an eS-Coufederate
soldier, They, these men, who not
only made the best soldiers in the
world, also made the best citizens,
The men who went among the ashes
and lifted their country upHup TO
land of peace and plenty, when every
obstacle on earth, strong enough TO
test the patience of Job, was thrown
in their way, But it was these acts,
and 1t was these ruins that caused our
lands 20 be sweet to rs when redeemed.
Father Ryan, whose memory we love,
the sweetest singer the South ever had,
says;
" Give me q land where the ruins are sprcad
And the living tread light on the hearts Of the
dead
Yes give me the land that blcst by the dust
ANA bright with the deeds Of the downtruddcn
iugt'
Yes give me The land that hath legend and lays,
Eushruiug the memory Of long vanished days,
Yes give me the land that hath story and song,
70 tel OF the strife NJ The right with the wrong
' os, give me The land with grave IN cnch spot
And names IN The graves that shall not be for
got"
"Thesc memories are hut TO portray