The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-06-04

longs. 1t is memory Of thu past. re-
for what both sides Ssiisvsd an insiisn-
able right, the greatest war ever waeed
between Engiish- speaking people pro-
was bound TO bring its sacrincss. losses.
anguish. ruin and desolation, and along
with these, as product OF passion and
prejudice. there ensued many Things
| pei universal regret; but. notwtthstAud-
| Ing all these, we may say feariessly
that no nation ever passed tnrouxn
such strife with. after ali. so ii.tis that
causes sorrow and lingering regret.
| Mr.. Davis suffered as no other Com
federare could suffer: He was refused
declined to ask It. The same boon
had been refused Robert. e. Lee. and
with this before him, there was no
hope for ought he b msSt se would sn
| punge this from the unchangeable past
| could ii be expunged, and It ought 70
be. boast Of our common country that
and isolated. can be found an Aneri-
| can who does not deplore the extrem-
| ity OF punishment meted out TO Mr..
Davis after the war.
Cali to soutk.
These words are not spoken to awak,
| en- q single emotion OF pre1udtos or III
will; they are only spoken to emphasize
the duty OF the South TO the memory
Of Mr. Davis. In every Southsrn state
1nens snHaia to q ss sfs memory Els fs
was pure and his career upright, his
integrity beyond reproach, and his pa
triotism Unreasonable. He became the
| leader of his people over his personal
protest Of unworthiness, He assumed
a task at which any human being might
hesitate. The South had no resources.
| yulnerabie seacoast six times longer
| than that Of the other States; IT had no
standing army. upon which even 70
base the conflict. MT; Paws p states
! and no responsibility SO stupendous
4 was ever laid upon human ncarts no
burden so great ever placed upon hu.
q sense nseu Of duty. Mistakes he was
| bound to make. He was to choose
| generals, agents and aides In all lines.
| He had the chivairy and devotion q
to rely. but In his heart was puIsing
| nations life beat, and its throbs and
| agonies both sorrowed and ssrengtn-
stranger to fear, responsive to every
call of duty. he occupied posi'ion
never assumed by one man since the
sunrise OF history. $1,000
| by his friends; criticised by those
| from whom he had rightIsto expect
unquestionfng and unqualified, support;
% stoOd sna mis5aa Rssds By his enemies
he yet bore In his soul q nations
hopes, ambitions and woes. ana ms
magnificent spirit did not quail before
| voived. He never hesitated In the dis
| charge Of all that the hour demanded,
| and ne refused his countrymen moth
ing. that his genius and his courage
| xsswa< u.vA u.a pe...
There were times when Mr.. Davis
might have had peace. There are are
the TOP, and iii In the balance as you
| please" but It must not be forgotten
| that Mr.. Davis was at the head OF the
Confederacy; that he had been placed
their lives, their liberty and their ali
on success. and that no peace was pos
sible or proper which did not come
t thso srm,e sn Of the South The men and
women OF the South, who had made
such tremendous sacrifices I'M their eff
forts to maintain a nations life. would
never have understood or appreciated
the conditions which enforced submits
sion. The President OF the Confeder-
acy. day by day. saw and felt the d.
pulse beat. He knew that it was dy-
Ing slowly, surely, but he dared not
relax his efforts; and thus surrounded
by circumstances he was powerless to
struggling on In the throes Of anEuish
and death, while he stood with his
great and loving heart unable to allay
single pang or change the course
When the Confectionery had passed
the period where success was no long
err possible. when the struggle was
wasting. the energies and lives Of 81
stood undismayed. but no craven spirit
of fear touched his brave, brave heart,
and he exhibited the highest and mo-
man breast as ne battled on without
hope, and yet without fear. In a dark
cell at Fortress Monroe, for twenty
four weary and wasting months, with
to minister to his wants or cheer his
spirit, he sat and thought and remem-
berei and suffered for the Southern
people. nm
steadily ravaging HIS energies and un-
dermining his constitution. he review
ed the tragedy and realized that he
had endured all this for the men and
women OF the South. and submitted
himself to his surroundings with q
| dignity and splendor of manner that
undying, love the hearts Of his coun-
| trymen. No breath of criticism dare
assail the conduct of Mr.. Davis during
this awful ordeal Of Imprisonment.
1
| son, denied his liberty, with limited
| opportunities to prepare for his defense,
light was none the less slowly reach
| ing into the cell where sat the beloved
| President OF the Confederacy. Good
| and true men throughout the nation
| realized that the Incarceration OF Mr..
| Davis, with all Its attendant circum-
stances, was political crime, and that
| it was a discredit to the people of the
| greatest nation upon which the sun
| has ever shone. 1t took two years for
| public sentiment to right itself, for
| the law of love to overcome the law
| of hate and passion. At last the men
| who had opposed him became his
bondsmen, and after two years of con-
fnement he again saw the light of the
sun and breathed air that did not
come to him through prison bars In
these dreadful hours of confinement he
became a thousand times dearer to his
people, and their love and gratitude
went out to him in boundless measure
and with resistleas force.
History Not Dimmed.
Twenty years have passed since he |
died and the limelight of history has
only frightened every spot In his pure. |
unsullied life. He stood In suffering. |
humiliation and Imprisonment for the
South; its head, its chief, its represen-
tatiye. He bore Pm his body and soul
tha daaneat anguish for his naonla