Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-01-22
LEES BIRTHDAY.

The celebration Of the birthday an
niversary Of General Robert E. Lee at
the Graded school auditorium Tuesday
evening, under the auspices of Winnie
Davis Chapter, Daughters Of the Con-
federacy, was attended by fair-siZed
audience. The exercises were presided
over by Superintendent Witherspoon
and were opened with prayer by Rev.
E. f. Gillespie, and included the read
ing of an original poem by Miss Poag.
A quartette rendered Just Before the
Battle, Mother "Tenting on the Old
Camp Ground" and "Massa's in de
Cold, Cold Ground" followed by read
ing of prize essays on the subject Of
THE Causes Of the Civil War;" and an
address by Jno. R. Hart, Esq Two
medals were awarded, one to Miss Anna
Lewis and the other'to Miss Elizabeth
Finley: the efforts Of these two being
considered by the judges, Of equal
merit.
Mr.. Hart's address, in part. was as
follows:
Today being the anniversary of the
birth Of the south's greatest soldier
and man, 1t is expected, Of course, that
such remarks as l shall make, shall
be of, and concerning him.
1t Is with difficulty that one can
speak Of the life and character of Rob-
ert E. Lee without being accused Of
both plagiarism and repetition. Per-
haps no man Of any nation has had so
many eulogies paid him as has Lee.
Some of these are without merit, or
value, by reason OF Their very fulsom-
ness and extravaganza; others fall
short of his true worth, and it is only
by reading the estimate placed on the
man by all, or many, that we can form
a true conception of his character, or
the character Of any great leader,
whether civil or military. Perhaps,
too, no man was ever loved and Idol
lied by a people as was Lee loved and
idolized by the people of the south;
nor has any mans record ever been
held in such tender memory and re-
garded with such unbounded love and
veneration by succeeding generation,
or generations as has Lees been by
the younger generations OF the south.
1t has been said, by Napoleon, l be-
lieve, that The victories write the
history of war" If such be the case,
We could expect scant justice to be
done Lee by the Union as a whole.
But such IS not the case, for today
Lees name and memory are respected
in the north, and he Is claimed by
them as one of the greatest of great
people. 4 full measure of his great
ness and goodness has not yet been
accorded him. but even now the north
ern press and northern people speak
Of him with a degree of fairness that
one writer characteriZes as little less
than a miracle, considering the COM
paratively short time that has elapsed
since the war" 1t has been the GUS
tom for the average nOrtherner to refer
to Lee as rebal, as a man who OBJ
tanned his education at West Point at
the expense of the Union, and then
traitorously turned his arm and sword
against the Union. At the close of the
war he applied for restoration Of his
citizenship, and it was denied him.
We will not discuss the question of
the right OF the southern states to
secede; we Of the south know that we
had the right, and impartial students
Of the constitution admit that we did;
nor will We attempt TO answer the
north'S accusation that Lee was d
traitor. by accepting an education at
West Point and then fighting for the
south, except To say that the south
maintained West Point and the other
expenses Of the nation just as fully as
lid the north; and the mother state
had right to claim and demand the
services OF 4 son for whose training
she had paid. and whose strong arm.
In her distress, she now needed.
say that the north today adds her
need Of praise to Lee. Charles Fran
els Adams, a northerner Of northern
ers, close student Of history, a vet
eran of the civil war and who COM
manded negro regiment from Massa-