Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1910-07-06
That Lee Statue.

From the G. A. r. and others in the
North comes protest against the plan
proposed by the state of Virginia of
placing in Statuary hall in the capitol
building at Washington a statue Of
Gen. Robert E. Lee clad in full Con-
federate uniform. Nor is this strange.
Virginia must have anticipated that
such action would have provoked re
sentiment in the north The right or
wrong of it, ethically, may be dis
cussed ad ininitum. How far the
north should go in the way of forgiv-
ing the leaders of the southern rebel
lion how long a time should elapse
before Davis and Lee and Jackson are
to receive the same degree of honor as
the heroes of the undivided republic;
how soon all, everything, of the 'late
unpleasantness" will be forgotten and
the chasm closed as firmly as the
Wars of the Roses are closed in Eng
land today, we cannot tell. It will
require more than one generation.
The men who fought the battles of the
union against plotters and seceders
and traitors whatever, in our softened
feelings we call them now, who shed
blood, endured hardships and braved
death in great cause, are many of
them living. Neither these, nor their
sons, their wives and daughters, can be
expected to relish the glorification of
those who led the movement that re-
quired their sacrifice. 1t is not that
Lee was not great and good man, and
probably the ablest general on either
side, but it is the outcrying of patriot
ism against seeming dissertation.
The capitol should not now be the
place of honor for characters whom
the reunited nation cannot honor in
sincerity. Randolph Herald.
The Capital Punishment Law.
Surely those who champion capital
punishment for it's supposed deterrent
effect upon maybe murderers have
occasion to reoice over the public ex-
ecution in Paris July l, when an
Apache, for his crime, paid the final
penalty under the guillotine. Surely,
if their reasoning be correct, they may
feel confident that the great crowds
that gathered in the boulevard tc
witness the execution, returned to
their everyday occupations filled with
great lesson taught by one whose
life was taken as terrifying example,
that others might profit and others
might live.
But how void of all practical truth
is this stand is shown by the develop
ments at the scene in the French CAPT
tai where the laws of man seem tt
many to have circumvented the high
} er law. Even as the blade fell, the
awful lesson was forgotten and there
was united effort at murder, a clasf
! following between rioters and police
and the poor victim was sacrificed
beneath the knife with his lesson un
. needed.
1t will be ever thus. Human passion
; cannot be harnessed by arbitrary law
: Human cunning may be sharpened b,
! it, however. With the advance O
} civilization corrective will replace
punitive measures and the folly o
t death. for example, will be recognized
and such happenings as those o
July l, will only tend to hasten tn
g day.
l There was one redeeming featur
} of the days execution, however, tn,
t fact that the fulfillment of the edic
t of the law did not take place in som
: dark corner, away from the gaze O
: the public, that is supposed to hav
s profted from the affair. 1t was don
in the bright face of day where tn
picture of hanging heads among tn
throng might be seen by others tina
h they in turn might hang their heads.
e ST. Adams Messenger.