The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1910-02-18
THE STATUE or GEN, LEE.


against the placing Of statute of
General Robert E. Lee in Statuary
Hall Washington.
There are those who will say that
this shows a narrow sectlonaIlsm;
that it is an attempt TO revive the
hatreds of the war period.
do not think that the critics of
the old soldiers understand their
postion in this matter. There are
few old soldiers who do not have a
good deal of admiration for the
character of Robert E. Lee. They
concede that he was one of the
greatest generals that this or any
othe, age has produced. They also
concede that he was man of high
personal character and that he
probably yielded to wnat he con
sidered his duty when he abandoned
the government that had educated
HIM and became the leader Ut the
forces of the Rebellion.
Tney object to placing his statute
among the statutes Of the honored
men of the country not on account
of any bitterness toward his memory
but because they feel that the
government cannot afford to honor
tsessoA.
Suppose the statute of Lee is
placed in Statuary Hall. The
young man of succeeding genera
ton will visit the collection and
find there the statute. He will ask
what act of Lees it was that gave
him the distinction necessary to
place his statute among the notables,
the men who are especially honored
by the government.
The only answer that can be made
tothe young man is that Lee dis
tinguished himself by dong more
than any other man TO destroy the
American union, not even excepting
Jefferson Davis. His statute wills
stand there side by side with the
statutes of Lincoln, and Grant and
Sherman and Sheridan. The govern
mcnt will be placed in the posi- ion
of saying that the man who used his
great ability to destroy the govern
1nent is entitled to just as much
honor as the man who tried 10
save it.
Concede the great ability of
Robert E. Lee; concede the purity
of his character and tAe honesty of
his motives; the fact still remains
that he was the cause of the less OF
more valuable lives; the cause of the
loss of more property, the cause OF
more misery, than any other man
who has lived since the beginning of
the government.
1t is possible that without the
great influence and masterful mill
tary genius of Robert f. Lee the
rebellion woald not have gotten
started. 1t is certain that without
him il would not have lasted more
than half as long as it>did.
1t is Id glcal for any government
to pay special honor to any man
VINO did his best to destroy 1t. To
say on the one hand that treason is
the highest Of crimes and at the
same time place in the Hall of Fame
the statute of the greatest leader of
rebellion is the height OF incon-
sisteHcy.
1t tgoes without saying that if the
statute of Lee should be placed in
Statuary Hall then the statute of
Jefferson Davis should be placed
tlere also. Jefferson DAVIS was a
man of pure private character. He
believed in the confederacy a g)od
deal more strongly than Lee, wha
heistated for a good while before
deciding whether he should &c with
the South or stay with The Union.
II a statute of Lee should be
placed in the Hall, then 10 be con-
sis,ent, every rebel soldier should
be pensIoned by the government
lust as ex-UhioR soldiers are
pensloned. If there is to be no
distinction between the leaders OF