The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-06-04
Confederate Dead Are HOnOred
at Arlington Cemetery
MRS. ROOSEVELT is PRESENT
John Sharp Williams of Mississippi
Makes a Stirring Address-Ten
Thousand People Attend
Memorial Services.

washington, June 3.-(SpecaD.-O the
birthday anniversary of Jefferson DAVIS
and at the old home of Robert Il. Lee, the
Arlington National cemetery, ten thou
sand people. composed of Confederate
veterans, their wives, sons, daughters and
friends, assembled this afternoon to dec
crate the graves of 265 Confederate vet
erans, twenty-five of whom came from
Alabama, buried on the historic spot laid
aside for them by the late President
N sKlnley.
sithin a few hundred yards rests the
/ hains of General Joe Wheeler and
some three thousand unknown Union
dead, upon whose graves were also placed
loving floral tributes. Representative
John Sharp williams of Mississippi and
former Secretary of the Navy Herbert
of Alabama both made speeches to the
veterans, and the Thirteenth United
States cavalry band, by order of Secretary
Taft was present and rendered num-
ber OF appropriate selections. The fea-
ture of the proceedings was the southern
cross. composed of eighty southern young
contributed by one of the local Confed-
crate camps. They were drilled by Cap
tain T. Raleigh Raines of Mississippi,
member of the McLaurin camp, which
has for its sponsor Miss Elizabeth Gould
of Maryland, and also Miss Youngblood
of Alabama and the Misses Greene and
Williams of Mississippi. The Daughters
were dressed in pure white with red dag
onal sashes and made one of the prettiest
scenes ever witnessed on a similar occa-
sion.
Annual Custom.
southerners of Virginia, Maryland and
the District of Columbia have for some
years observed the custom of making a
pilgrimage to the National cemetery sur
rounding the old Lee mansion on the
first Sunday of each recurring June for
the purpose of paying homage to the Con-
federate dead and strewing the graves
with flowers. This custom has become
stronger and more sentimental each year
and attained It's climax this afternoon
when balmy weather permitted an unusu-
ally large number to gather south of
the old mansion in the section devoted to
The Confederate dead joining the Spanish
and the Blue rest. Behind the stand,
where the exercises were conducted, stood
a large army tent which had been filled
with contributions of flowers sent in
large quantities by thousands Of people
in Washington. These tributes were a
large donation of loose cut flowers, pam
sies and trailing red porch roses. such as
clung around the columns of many old
southern mansion. sent from the white
<0,-t-
Mrs. Roosevelt and her sister, Miss
Carew, witnessed the ceremonies in an
open carriage. in which they drove to
Arlington during the afternoon. They
were present inconspicuously as the hum
blest members of the throng, and few
OF those who were watching the progress
of the exercises knew that the first lady
of the land was also looking on from the
roadway
Confederate Monument.
The address of Representative Williams
was extemporaneous but full of mingled
power and sentiment. Towards the close
of his remarks he referred feelingly to
the movement now on foot to erect a
monument in the Confederate section to
the memory of the southern dead. He
said that when this movement was first
brought to his attention he wrote a let
there would be any objection to it's erec-
tion. He read a letter he had received
from Secretary Taft saying that he. as
the head of the war department which
has control over the cemetery could as
sure the people of the south that the
erection of such monument in the ceme-
terry would be received with great favor
Mr.. Williams suggested that no attempt
be made to erect a monument which
would be pretentious in form or descrip-
ton. He hoped that the monument would
be rugged, plain and simple as the lives
of the men in whose memory 1t was
to be erected and that the inscription
10 be placed upon 1t should be drawn with
charity to all and malice towards none.
ut should be- said Mr.. Williams, some
thing like this Sacred to the memory
Of our dead southern boys. They gave
to the land they lived in and the land
they loved, as a perpetual and saving tes-
timonial of their devotion to the cause
of the civilization of their race. all that
God gave them-their lives"
Mr.. Williams said there could be no
more striking illustration of the abiding
fact OF a united people than that the
federal valhalla at Arlington had been
established at Lees old home. where both
Union and Confederate soldiers were rest
ing He said they fought for four years
some revolutionary ancestors mutnied for
their pay.
Southern SoIdlery.
Soldiers of the south, he said. were
worthy of storm Graded nation that
rose without a stain, and fell without
a smirch, with no tarnish on its sword
and no calumny on its men. The Confed-
eracy struggled and lost without scape-
goat. At the end blamed nobody The
south made no mistake. In the essentials
of the cause judged by the worlds history
II the south believed itself opposed to
tyranny, interferenc and emancipation
and yielded withol a struggle. Dixie
would have sunk into condition like that
of Hayti San Domingo and any other
hybrid country.
Much had been said recently about the
strenuous life and the simple life Neither
of itself. he thought. was the right life
The proper life was the brave and honest
life of simplicity with strenuousity added
when necessary. The mission of the
south was to teach devotion to ideality.