The National tribune., 1910-03-31
A PREMIUM ON TREASON.
That Is What Placing the Lee Statue In
the Hall of Fame l. DcnOnIinatcd.

! catching il at the present time at the
hands Of the survivors of those VINO
fought to preserve the Union and all
because his friends had the bad taste
to place Lees statue where ii was
bound to get its just need of unta-
yorable criticism. Lee would have
vetoed the placing of his statue in the
Capitol All the Grand Army Posts
in the country are protesting against
Congress accepting this statue, cad
as it is in the uniform OF a
man whose chief claim to honor
and fame is that he placed his own
State above all the other States in the
Union and the Constitution of Virginia
against the Constitution of the United
States, and that he thought it better TO
involve the country in a horrible war
and fearful devastation that the prop
erty of his wife and children might be
preserved to them. Lee himself was
possessed of very small means, but he
/ had married the owner of Arlington,
and Mrs. Lee had a very thrifty mind;
she had no notion of seeing her prop
erty dissipated and her slaves emanci-
pated AS it turned out afterwards, in
| order that Gen. Lee should have no IN
| terest in the property Mrs. Lee Wilied II
| to her son, Gusts Lee, under the prom
| ise that he should take the name Gus
tis. which was her maiden name, and
of Virginia he should have proceeded to
| take the name Gusts to be able to
secure the Arlington estates, but this he
didn't do. The Government finally paid
Gusts Lee about four times what the
estate was worth 10 satisfy his claim
against it. and got the title to it. Robert
E. Lee had passed the prime of life,
and had got about all the glory and
fame he ever could get in the United
States Army, having the rank of Colonel
when he resigned at the age of 50 to
take up arms against his country.
Nearly all the Posts that are sending
| in their protests against this statue re-
cite the above facts The National Trib-
une would be very glad to give them
| full space, but there are so many of
them that in order to give each hear
ing it is necessary to cut them a great
deal.
VIM. Sanborn Post 80, Port Huron,
Mich, protests against the Lee statue
| being placed in the so-called Hall of
Fame" and says that as we asked for
no revenge and no reprisals at the close
| of the war we refuse to be insulted now
without a protest against the abuse of
the Hall of Fame by installing therein
a statue of Robert E. Lee in rebel uni
form. Z. V. w. Brokaw, Adjutant.
Philip H. Sheridan Post, 10. Oshkosh.
| Wis, declares that the issue of the war
was decided by the most desperate and
| bloody struggle the world has ever
known, and that Robert E. Lee, one of
the most prominent characters in that
great struggle, forsook the Government
that had educated him from his youth
| TO take a position of the highest rank in
| the rebel army, and permitted untold
suffering of Union soldiers in certain
rebel prison presided over by fiend in
human shape, when word of his could
have prevented this. Sheridan Post
further declares that it is an injustice
to George Washington, who gave the
best efforts of his life in building up this
great Nation, for Virginia to place be-
lsde him the statue of Lee in the Hall
of Fame, instead of such men as JEFF
ferson, Henry, Randolph, Madison and
Monroe. And that Virginia seems to
deliberately wish to glorify the doctrine
of secession and destroy years of pa
triotic teaching by maintaining that it
is as honorable to be traitor as it is to
be a patriot.
The Union Veterans Legion of Roch-
ester, n. Z, are very ironic in their pro-
tests against the statue of Lee being
placed in the National Capitol, and
state that Eve Union veterans shared in
doing the wrong to those great and
good men, Jefferson Davis, Capt Wirz,
of Andersonville fame" Gen. Robert
E. Lee, J. Wilkes Booth, Gen. Winder
| ct al, and the noble leaders who
lespoused it are coming to the front to
/ be honored by the 'Vandals' who con-
quered them"
McCook Post, 81, lola, Kan. declares
| that without warrant of law the Com
| monwealth of Virginia has presumed
4 upon the magnanimity of a generous
and forgiving people to place the statue
of r. r. Lee in the Hall of Fame. Nc
Cook Post declares that to do this would
be to eXtol rebel by placing his statue
| alongside of or even under the same
roof with those of Washington, Lincoln
and Grant. thus saying to the rising
generation and TO representatives of for
| eign countries: See, we Americans
commend to the world rebels against
our Government" McCook Post urges
| the Kansans in Congress, both in the
House and Senate, to use all honorable
means TO secure the immediate removal
of the statue.
John c. Fremont Post, 729, Alliance,
O., emphatically protests against the
return of any of the Confederate flags
which are now or may hereafter exist
in any of the loyal States north of the
old Mason and Dixon line, and also pro.
tests against the display of the rebel
| flag at any patriotic demonstration OF
in any public place within the United
States. Fremont Post is also opposed
to the placing of the Lee statue in the
Hall Of Fame or in any other place
north of Mason and Dixon's line.
Stanton Post. So, Los Angeles, Cal.
declares that the placing of the Lee
statue in the Capitol clothed in Confed.
lerate uniform is an insult to the loyal
people of the country, and is an incen-
tive TO disloyalty of the coming genera
tion, as it honors a man false to his
oath of allegiance to the Government
and therefore urges all Congressman tC
vote against its acceptance
Edwin Libby Post. Is, RockIand, Me-
most emphatically protests against the
placing of the statue of the Confederate
General, Robert e. Lee, in Statuary
Hall, in the National Capitol.
. John II. Thomas Post, 2, San Fran.
cisco, Cal, declares that as a patriotic
duty it protests against the acceptance
by Congress of the Lee statue and the
placing of said statue in the Hall OF
j Fame.
Gen. II. D. Washburn Post, Dana
Ind, declares that to thus honor the
memory of Robert E. Lee is virtually tc
honor or respect his principles, anC
those principles are repugnant to The
tastes and convictions of a large ma
jority of American citizens, and thai
the boys in blue have done nothing tc
merit the discredit that is being thu,
thrust upon them. The Post further
proposes that the statue OF Lee be re
turned TO the donors, and that all tn,
other statues in the Hall of Fame b,
disposed Of in the same way, and thai
the vacant room be devoted to othel
objects.
Bronson Post. 1872 Bronson. Kan, de
nounces the placing of the statue o