The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-05-21
REVIVAL OF SOUTHERN CHIVALRY
~ coMRAoE GEORGE w. suswELL.l

vehement protests against such an UNI
patriotic movement he quoted from
large number OF Confederate veterans
who were opposed, but Notwithstanding
all protests these nsatiate women
continued to push it. The Women's
Relief corps of the United States had
purchased the old Andersonville prison
grounds and had expended large sums
in identifying and adjoining the same,
thus making it a place of fitting re-
membrance of the $4,000 that persisted
there. Opposition made the Daughters
more eager than ever. They purchased
the lot Immediately opposite in bold
defiance. Appeals were made to con
gress to take action, but with all the
objections, on the 18th of this month
the Wirz monument was dedicated.
Had the Daughters movement been to
erect a monument to the memory of
General r. f.. Lee or even other lead
ing Confederate generals, the Union
veterans would have quite generally
acquiesced, fully approaching their
capabilities and distinguished general
ship. Third, | refer to the aggressive
movement in the presentation of the
silver service to the new battleship,
Mississippi, the United States govern
ment has recently launched and IS now
approaching completion. The battle
ship Mississippi is to be presented with
silver service. Upon the several
pieces the portrait and name of jeff
Davis appears, the donors thereof in
that state seeking to perpetuate his
name. and his fame and his undying
devotion to his country in this manner.
Many protests have been entered and
which finally has eliminated in the
matter. coming before the present con-
gress, a resolution having been intro
duced by the Hon. d. A. Holdings
worth of Ohio, and who was formerly
a member of the late and gallant 10th
Ohio Infantry. Fourth, | refer to one
other instance which of all the move
ments of the Daughters of the Con-
| federacy indicates how strong their
movement to turn the tide of the late
unpleasantness in their favor and in
their determined efforts to make it APP
in the right and their northern breth
| rem i'm the wrong.
Some time last year prize of 800
was offered by the Daughters of the
Confederacy for the best essay upon
the chosen subject, that of General
Robert f. Lee, the same to be written
and presented to the following COM
mittee chosen by the Daughters, to-
wit: DIR. E. A. Alderman, president
of the university of Virginia; DIR. c.
A. Smith, Dean of the Dept. of History
of North Carolina, and DIR. John r.
Finley, president of the College of the
City of New York. There was a large
number of competitors and it remained
for one Miss Christine Boysen, stud
ent at Columbia university, formerly
Minnesota girl, to receive the prize.
1t stirred up terrible tempest not
only by the Confederate Veteran, pub
lished at Nashville, the organ of the
,jOhnnies, but by the head organization
of the Daughters of the Confederacy
and its numerous branches throughout
the south. The awarding of the prize
to Miss Boysen was assailed on every
hand, the greatest objection being that
it is a laudation of General Lee at the
expense of the south, as matter
of history and an explanation was
demanded at the hands of the award
ing committee, who at once responded,
maintaining that the award had been
made upon the literary excellence of
her effort rather than its worth as a
historical document To this the
Daughters replied: chat historical
accuracy should not be subserved to
mere literary eXcelency." The conse-
quence is that there is already move
ment by the Daughters to abandon the
annual prize to all competitors, except
ing those of the southern people. The
main object as it is now discovered is,
to preserve the history of their lost
cause entirely from southern stand
| point and to formulate and issue a new
history of the United States for use
in the public schools of our country.
The words especially that the southern
women took exception to were: Tn
tellectually the South was practically
dead" 'Most of the people were
densely ignorant" How they could
consistently take exception to the
words as stated except that it calls to
mind the educationa condition in those
as is generally known were few if any.
in the states that composed the So
called Confederacy, a system of public
education in the most of them being
entirely unknown.
1t is said that our president is now
attempting to break the solid south
politically. He has already recognized
them by the appointment of two of
their leaders, Secretaries Dickinson and
Nagel. The question arises in his eff
Tort to reconstruct the south will he
make any movement or suggestion that
will prevent the public display of the
stars and bars which never represented
anything but disunion, or will he as
well as the g. A. r. be compelled m
snccumb to their persistent forward
movements?
NEW H0PSE Enp EIDE or.-ro