The Washington herald., 1907-01-20

| Veterans. wives. widows. sons. ana
daughters Of the Confoderacy. composing
1 the United Confederate and Southern So
cieties OF the District of Columbia. gath
/ cred IN the assembly room OF the New
Willard last night to pay homage TO the
/ name Of Gen. Robert Z. Lee. the great
leader Of the daunuezs gray hosts that
fought, bled. and died for the lost cause.
/ Il was the centenary anniversary Of the
bi-tl Of the famous Virginian. and not
alone those bloodhound to the cause Of
/ the COnfederacy. but hundreds OF stanch
/ Unionists We're numbered among the bril-
i liant throng that paid its enthusiastic
/ tribute to the Southern leader.
/ Al TO similar gathering in recent years
( has the name Of Lee evoked such thun-
/ deroUs acclamations as those showered
upon last nights brilliant speakers. Time
and again the great hall resoUnded with
cheers and applause. and high above al
+ otaer sound, sh-il penetrating. nearly
/ IOverpowering in its inspired discoTd, send
Iing the blood whirliag through the veins.
rang the historic rebel yell" the battle
Icry that challenged the men in blue in
I every conflict from Bull Run TO Apo
mattox.
/ There were men present last night
white bearded. grizzIed veterans Of both
+ iarmies-tO whom that thrilling cry had
+ been. during those four years Of strife,
! the presager Of fierce hand to hand COM
/ bats to the death. and 10 these the forty
odd years since the surrender Of Lee
I seemed sDanned. and for a moment they
were living again in that period of pas
sion-but only for a moment The speak
Iers of the evening launched their elo-
quence too well along the lines of a re-
united North and South for anything but
/ the spirit Of national patriotism and rev
eretFse for Lee the man, not the warrior,
/ 10 prevail
EiOquence ArOuses FervOr.
| And there was eIoquence in plenty to
/ rouse the fervor of the assembled ad-
mirers Of the great leader. There was
stirring letter from President Roosevelt,
/ "a rousing opening address by the chair
man. Hon Hillary Herbert; a eulogy by
Senator Berry. of Arkansas, a crippled
/ Confederate veteran, whose eIoquence 1t
was that first brought forth that johnny
! Reb yell:' a mastery address by Mr..
Justice David J. Brewer. and. as a fitting
close, a scholarly. fervent appeal from
Hon John Sharp Williams.
President Roosevelts letter. read by
Mrs. Ralph Walsh, president OF the
/ Daughters of the Confederacy Of the Dis
trict received an enthusiastic welcome
and was referred to giOwingly by other
speakers. The last paragraph of the
/ Presidents missive. suggesting the estao-
/ Iishment at some representative eduCa-
tional institution Of the South a peTma-
nent memorial 10 Gen Lee that viii
serve the youth of coming years. as he.
in the closing years of his life.- served
those who SO sorely needed what he 50
freely gave" struck a particularly re
sponSiye chord and Is expected 20 bear
fruit in the near future.
Chairman Herbert in his Introductory
remarks. in referring to the union of the
North and South as such reconciliation
as never followed such "a war in all the
history of mankind" said.
"Our civil war buried sectionalism. and
out of It's grave has arisen the triumphant
spirit of AmeTicanism. American valOr.
American willingness to die for American
lberties-these, as displayed IN that awful
carnage. are now the common heritage
Of al the people of our reunited coun-
try
The reading Of the Presidents letter
followed Immediately after Mr. Herbert's
address.