The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1904-04-15

not only the greatest of all the
Southern generals, but one of the
greatest generals in all the world.
On the other hand, had General
Johnston's life been spared, and
had he followed up the first days
victory with the defeat and route
of General Grant, his troops and
himself flushed with so great q
victory would have met the APP
preaching ARMY Generals Bull
and Mitchell, fifty thousand strong,
and in all probability would have
overwhelmed and routed them.
These great successes coupled with
the victories that Generals Lee and
Stonewall jackson were winning
at this time in Virginia might
have dampened and checked the
ardor of the North as to have
stopped or so greatly hindered re-
cruiting the national forces. Then
too, the further effects would have
been on Eoropean powers, most,
or all of whom were friendly with
the South to such an extent as to
have led to their recognition Of
the independence of the Confeder-
acy-to break the blockade at the
time, not very efficient and far
from complete, and so altogether
have brought about ere long the
] fully established and admitted fact
of the independence of the South
ern Conrederacy. Such on the other
hand was the deadly and far reach
ing effect of one little bullet, one
little minnie ball, in destroying at
such critical iuncture the life of
great general and leader; such,
on the other hand, might have
been the vital and far reaching
effects had the life of Just this one
man, at this crisis, in the affairs Of
great, brave and courageous peo-
] pie, been spared. In rejecting on
these facts, we are reminded of
lines of a sacred poet. "Great God,
on what slender thread hang
everlasting things" and, applying
them to temporal affairs, espec-
tally, too, when we remember SINH
lar situations in the histories of
other great p eople, such as Napo-
leon Banaparte and the French
nation, such as the word Of a cow
boy, had be given the wrong direc-
ton to Blucher's army as to the
way to the battlefield, might have
changed the result of the battle of
Waterloo. So we, applying the
lines above quoted to earthly af-
fairs, might say, Great God,
on what slender thread hangs
most momentous affairs" The re-
Election reminds us of some Other
lines of the powef Of small tah1,
to wit:
"a pebble in streamlet scant
Has turned the course Of many
river,
A dewdrop on paby plant,
Has warped the giant oak forever"
But an allwise and benevolent
Providence ordered that different
results should come about. Had
General Albert Johnston lived and
the course of events we have indi-
Gated as probable had taken place
then we would have had two, if
not more, Confederacies, with ira
litional and inherited bitterness,
md standing armies, and occasions
IT international war, and before
,hese things republican and repre-
sentative government might have
gone down, and we, as different
people, would have been driven to
monarchy or despotism; but now
lot only we people are free from
he curse of slavery, with its
responsibility, its weight on our
but we are one great
United people and have become
mighty recognized world-power,
md though distressed with the
wills incident to free institutions,
ret are in the very forefront of
christian and twentieth century
utilization, shedding the light and
,ower Of a mighty people over all
he world.
There is more Catarrh in this section OF the
o1intry than an other diseases put together,