Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-01-21
LEES BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION.

| was uIlueI tile OI MT.
Miss Grace Gardner and Miss Martha
Gould Powell.
! LEES BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
The celebration Of Lees birthday In
the graded school building under the
auspices Of the Winnie Davis Chapter
of the Daughters of the Confederacy
took place according to programme, a
part on Friday night and a part last
night with a large crowd of inter-
ested people in attendance.
The feature of Friday nights pro-
gramme was the defamation contest
The participants acquitted themselves
most handsomely. Miss Rita Beard
was adjudged as the winner of the
medal.
The feature of last nights pro-
gramme was an address on the life and
character of Gen. Robert E. Lee, by
Prof. Yates Snowden of the South Car
olina college. This address was a
most admirable production, but because
Prof. Snowden was reluctant about
giving out the full text at this time, we
summary:
Prof. Snowden briefly contrasted the
views Of Gen. r. E. Lee as expressed tC
General Hampton, and the views OF
General E. P. Alexander as given in his
address to his fellow alumni at West
Point some years ago, and reiterated In
the foreword to his recent great work
Military Memoirs Of a Confederate
The two views differ diametrically as
to the manner in which the results OF
the struggle should be regarded by
southerners, and perhaps suggest what
will probably be the verdict Of after
times.
He gave a brief photography of the
biographies of Lee by various southern
and English authors and deplored the
fact that as yet there was no detnitive
| life of the great soldier. The untime-
ly death of Col. Henderson, the emf
nent English soldier-critic and BIZ
ographer Of Jackson, prevented his use
of the invaluable material for defini-
tive life" which had been collected by
the late Col. Charles Marshall, Lees
personal friend and military secretary
Two aspects of the life of Lee were
|
"reminiscences of Maj. Henry E. Young
Of Charleston, judge advocate on his
personal staff, and on the statements OF
the eminent scholar, Prof Edward 5
JoyneS, Lees associate on the faculty
| of Washington college, after the war
| Brief extracts were made from trlD-
utes to Lee by General Lord Wolseley;
Col. Chesney and Col. Freemantle OF
the British army and Maj. I. Schiebert
the eminent Prussian soldier and schol-
lar.
Special attention was directed to the
entire change of attitude of northern
writer's regarding Lee, and the speaker
held that this was only forecast OF ar
utter change in northern views regard
ling every Confederate from Jefferson
Davis down to Dan Whitaker, jim
HaginS, or any other of the humblesi
soldiers of the Sixth South Carolina
regiment who followed Col. Asbury
Coward from Yorkville to Virginia.
In emphasizing this change in the
northern point Of view, Prof. SnOwder
cited the extraordinary statements OF
Alpheus Crosby, in an address before
the Phi Beta Kappa Of Dartmouth col
lege in 1865, in which he claimed that
the negro had "the appropriate attri-
butes Of a citizen and a voter" ano
concluded with the amazing question
I'm the hands of which Robert would
the vote be safer, Robert Smalls OF
Robert Lee?"
Charles Sumner too, shortly after
| the death of Lee had denounced him
in the United States senate, as a trail
tor, "who stands high in the catalogue
| Of those who have imbrued their hands
in their cOuntry's blood" Il hand him
over" said Sumner, ito the aVenglne
pen of History But in less than a
generation. Summers "Avenging Per
of History" had been blunted by his
own fellows in Massachusetts, and
Forber and Rhoades pay hearty and en-
thusiastic tribute to the illustrious
southerner, while Charles Francis
Adams not only proposes that the north
and the nation erect a statue to Lee
but declares that similarly circum-
stanced I hope should have been fila
and unselfish enough to have done as
Lee did. Such an utterance on my
part may be "traitorous," but l here
render that homage.
| II is a happy augury said the speak
| er, this tribute from "our friends, the
enemy" and when all good men ano
true at the north shall echo the NOBLE
sentiment of Mr. Adams, what Joy
| 1t will bring to you women
"Who have forever clung
| With a love that will not die,
| To the memories Of our past;
| Who are patient and who wait,
True and faithful to the last,
| For the Easter morning sky
| When wrongs rock shall roll away
From the Sepulcher of right"
Till the children of our foes
Shall be proud and glad to claim
| And to write upon one scroll
Every dear and deathless name
| On our Southern muster ROLL"
A people is known and judgeIby its
ideals of manhood and womanhood, ano
so long as Lee Is our highest type, we
need not fear to look the civilizations
of the old and new worlds in the race
Eminently proper is it for you
Daughters Of the Confederacy to hon
or one who was as pure as yourselves!
The committee charged with the duty
of criticising and judging the merits OF
the various papers submitted in the u
ID. c.. medal contest, were unable TO
agree as between Nos. Is and 22, and
decided to award first place to both.
| No. IS was the paper Of Miss Dorothy
Montgomery and No. % was the paper
of Miss Annie Ashe. The committee OF
Judges were Rev. w. c. Ewart, Miss
Maggie Gist, Messrs. G. w. S. Hart and
| ]. G. Wardlaw. The division stood MT
Ewart and Miss Gist for No. 1S and
Messrs. Hart and Wardlaw for No. 22.
There was no other way for it than to
present two medals, and this was done
most appropriately by Mr.. G.. w. 3
| Hart.
LOCAL LACONlCS.
Southern's Division Headquarters.
What is known as the Rock Hill di-
vision of the Southern railroad is to be
abolished and the division headquarters
are to be moved to Charleston, from
which place trains are to be operated.
The change is understood to be in the