Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-06-16
Cornerstone for Soldiers
Of Confederacy.
Tribute Of Southern Veterans
to Enlisted Men.
,,oressivc Ceremony Under Direction
of Masonic Fraternity-Able Grafton
hv Hon. Henry Watterson Of Louis
yale-The New Commander-in chief.

Nashville, Tenn, June 15.-At Centen-
,i,I Park today, the corner stone to the
memory Of the private soldiers of the
Ccnf,derdcy the tribute of the Nash
vile veterans to the enlisted men, was
laid with impressive ceremonies, under
tbe direction of the Masonic fraternity.
state Grand Master James L. Sloan
rresided. The orator of the day was
Hon. Henry Watterson of Louisville,
Ky. Mr. Watterson said in part:
We are here, today, to lay the foun-
dation Of monument to the Confeder-
~ dead. That monument, when 1t is
completed, will forever mark and will
keep forever watch and guard over the
memory of brave men who died fighting
against the national government In the
thoughts which crowd our minds, in the
emotions which fill our hearts, in the
words which we shall utter, we are to
make no paltry admissions, no mean
confessions, no dishonoring renuncla-
tons, but standing uncovered in the
presence of Almighty God, proclaimlnS
to the world the allegiance of the dead,
signaliZing the cause for which they
died renewing our fidelity TO the sacred
compact of brotherhood and soldiership,
we are to reconcile this act of pious
homage with perfect loyalty to the
Union, to the flag and to those of our
countrymen who successfully fought
against us.
1t will never be known-nor muse
Of history, nor genius of philosophy,
will ever be able to tell uS-whcther
the war Of sections could have been
.,,.rt II rCuy, conflicting schools nf
thought. two antagonistic systems of
labor. slowly but surely erected them
s,lyrs within certain well defined geo
rrtihi" partitions. Seventy and one
wears that which WAS in the begin
ming built upon compromise, was held
together by compromise. The last 30
years of the struggle between irre-
cnnci1bl" conditions. between opposing
iIc1S which would down at no mans
bidding. revealed an ever increasing
intensity of feeling, an ever widening
area Of conviction. revealed in what
haI become, long before the guns of
EcaUregGlrd opened fire unOn Fort
Sumter, little other than two hostile
,nin;ls. The battlefield seemed the only
cuuit Of last resort. Into that dread
/ tribunal each litiCant brought the best
that was in him. All minor differences,
all doubts and Hl fears We're sunk in
tn" single issu" of the Union on the
one Si.lc. the. confcdcracy on the other.
The law of force against force alone
was to decide. 1t. did decide and the
d. iejon. which was equally complete
arI ti'al left nothing to wish for by
III" North, nothing to hope for by the
S"uh.
" it WAS the will Of God that there
should BE- new birth Of freedom; if
. it WAS the will of God that government
"f tn" people. by the people and for
IN" people should not perish from the
earth, then it was the will of God that
thrr" should he n mighty sacrifice and
l't no man forget that the same God,
which struck down myriads of the best
beloved North. struck down myriadS
nf tho best beloved South: that the
dnctrin" of secession was born at the
North that the sin Of slavery, such
as it may have been. belonged equally
t" both the North and the South: and
that the tale of free. popular govern
mcnt Is not yet told.
we build this monument to valor. We
build it to probity We build it to glo-
liuus tribute to the men who fell by our
sid" W" build II to the spirit Of the dead
t"nfrd"raCy. We need not assert-we
gave four years Of proof-that We fought
Tor liberty. Millions of us loved the
(ri"n. Millions of us dctcsted slavery.
Millions of us denied the doctrine of Sc
tcS>t"E. We may not argue now who
brought the baltic OMIT was battlc-and
Ia" same Anglo Saxon and SCotCh-1rish
hcwl which wcllrd up in the North wclled
up in us: fought and we fought to n
finish. there is no smell of treason on our
Elrn" ntS: no taint of corruption in our
blood Grant was the first pcacCmakcr.
Lee CAV" himself ms hostage for the rest
oi rs. Two Confederate generals Wear
thr blue again aud the gray wurshipS at
its Shliro, cvcn aS we worship this day.
without 81 much the suspicion of dis
LOYALTY; yea. with the cncoura cement
and sympathy OF every true soldier of the
North
Let MS rejoice that out of the wreck
the South and our beloved Tennessee. my
own beloved Kentucky. saved her race
l!wd AMI her manhood. Finally. let US
r"S"lv" that if another day Of travail
St"'lld oNCrtakC the reunited Union. tho
Nrth shall find in the South a shield
and a mIckler alike against the organ-
lzrd corruption of mammon and the mill
t'Ut insanity of agrarianiSm. forbidding
e second 'irrCprcsSihle conflict forbid
dug the threatened collision between cap
ital ard labor. forhidding it in the name
'l the constitution. which assures uni
i"rmity If laws; in the name of the gov
crUmcnt which. whilst enforcing these
Laws. VIII met" out exact justice and
compel equality Of opportunity"
The United Confederate Veterans. to-
DAY. elected as ommandcr-n-chief Lieut..
Gen. Stephen ID. Lee of Columbus. Miss.