The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-09-11
The following appeared in Harpers
Weekly on September is, 1909:
The Place for General Lees statue.

The following appeared in Harpers
on September is, 1909:
The place for General Lees statue.
Concord, Mass. August 20, leo9.
TO the Editor of Harper's Weekly:
sir.-I think that your readers wouid
infer from your editorial remarks on
some words of mine, in the newspaper
for which l have been writing moro
than half century (Which you DO not
quote). that am opposed to statue
of General Lee. On the contrary.
favor ii. and offered to subscribe to-
ward 1t. My suggestion went only to
the proper place for it. Certainly II
is not wanted at Washington, nor be- !
side the Union mans statue for-whom
Washington was named. General
Washington spent twenty-five OF the
for. years of his life in helping to
dignifpd maintain. to uphold and TO
He preshe United States of America. |.
( formed the In the convention that
large characterization, and signed in
Treason again5hc clause which says.
shall consist oniythe United States
against them. or in nc levSins war
enemies. giving them aSlng to their
fort This very serious offInd COM
era1 Lee committed for four &C. Gen
tive years, and an all three OF Fcu-
against the United States, whose COM
mission he had borne and whose exist
cnce he had sworn to support; he adj
hered TO its enemies and slaughtered
Its friends: he gave those enemies,
and particularly the French Emperor
and the war minister of England
Palmerston, every aid and comfort
that he could. 1t is not for this crime,
however. that l wish to see hts statue.
desire to comm emorate the time and
the place where he returned TO pat
riotisni. and surrendered his beaten
army TO the United States general, and
to President Lincoln. That place was
under the Appomattox apple tree, and
there. not beside the statue OF George
Washington. should Lees statue now
be placed. 1t was the turning point in
his career. as the cock growing moment
was the turning point with st. Peter.
whose statues do not commemorate
the disciple that denied his Master.
but the penitent who went out weep
4 ing. Let the Lee statue stand where
/ he returned to his Better mind--too
4 late to recall to life the haif-million
whom his treason had condemned to
death--but not too late to restore the
country to that condition of universal
freedom which Washington, Franklin,
and Jefferson had in view whom the
Z
powerful best to disunite and over
! throw. I am. sir.
f. B. sANBORN.
AS to Mr.. sanborn's letter. Harper's
Weekly had the following editorial
comment to make:
Frank Sanborn objects to having
Robert E. Lees statue stand in the
Told Senate Chamber in the Capitol at
Washington. Virginia has sent. or is
TO send, 1t there. along with a statue
of George Washington. Frank sanborn
protests with forty-year- old argu-
ments and some learned yitupera tions
which make interesting reading. His
us the only objection we have noticed.
and that is the impressive part of IT.
Virginia has an ample company OF IA.
nous SOUS to choose from, and un
doubtedly she has chosen as her heart
directed
later issue of the same periodical
contained the following.
General Lees Statue.
TWO letters that seem to belong to-
Eether will be found on this page We
believe the statue of General Lee al
ready stands in the Capitol 1t stands
there for Virginia and illustrates her
history. Those who feel as Mr.. san
born and Mr.. Wilder do. that 1t ought
not to be there. are few in number
The years are running against their
opinion, and 1t will not be long. we
Imagine, before 1t is extinct Mr. Wild
4 err describes General Lee as a "traltor.,'
1t would be hard to make that word
honorable but If it was applied Of
Item enough to General Lee the feat
might be accomplished. And then we
Should have to invent another word to
|eXpress what we mean when we think
tof Benedict Arnold.
The Statue of Robert f. Lee.
4 Ithaca, N, Y, September IS, 1909.
MO the Editor of Harpers Weekly:
Str,-On the editorial page of your
Issue for August ii, referring to Mr..
Frank B. Sanborn's protest against the
proposed placing, of the statue of Cen
eral Lee (presented by the State Of
fVirgtnia) in the old hall of the House
of Representatives in the Capitol of
Ithe United States. it is said. Fills is
THE only objection we have seen, and
that is the impressive part of it,
Mr.. Sanborn's article appeared first
in the Springfield (Massachusetts) Re-
publican and was republished in tho
Boston Transcript. presumably with
the approval Of that paper. Relnon.
strances from Civil War veterans have
been printed this summer in the New
Work Tribune under dates OF July 26,
q July IS Uwo letters, and August 2,
AT some time within the last ten
years. when the matter was under dis
cussion, tho same paper printed a pro-
test from me which elected common
datory private letters; but my own
copy is not now at hand and do not
recall what other communications OF
Hike import Appeared at that time.
In the Tribune for July 80 and Aug
Just 2 are letters (not purporting to
he written by old soldiers( deprecat-
4 Iing the maintenance of wartime ami
fmosities'' and asking the Northern sur
lyvors not to "grudge our Southern
.|brethren the pleasure of honoring thely
leaders,"
Is there not eNempliled In these
sentimental appeals that mixing up OF
Ks things which the late Mrs. Thomas
y bya rlsrl Ia SO epi errann1atical stigma.