The gold leaf., 1910-08-18
Richmond Times-Dispatch.

President Taft has approved the
opinion of Attorney General Wicker
sham that there is no provision of
law by which the statue of General
Robert E. Lee in Confederate uniform
can be removed from Statuary Hall,
in the capitol at Washington. The
Associated Press reports that the
Presidents approval OF the Attorney
Generals opinion was asmade without
comment Comment was unneces-
sary; but we shall probably hear
from some OF the Grand Army posts
about it, and we should not be sur
prised if some of the pensioners, who
have been getting a great deal Of
money out of the Treasury on ac-
count OF what General Lee did to
them, should make a great disturb
ance. Except the honor his State
has done him by placing his statue
in the capitol, there is no honor to
Lee in keeping company with the
nondescripts who figure in Statuary
| Hall as among the American worth
| les.
Mr.. Wickersham's opinion was
brought out by the protests OF the
Grand Army of the Republic, depart
ment of New York. From 1865 to
1909, both years included, the
amount paid out by the Government
at Washington-the greater part to
the soldiers who "saved the Union" "
and are still being paid for doing
their duty-aggregated $3, ,S4S, $780,
721 ,06. OF these pensioners, SO, ,54S
live in New York, from which the pro-
tests came against the statue OF
General Lee being placed in the capi-
tol at Washington. The disburse-
ments for the Western New York dis
trict have amounted to 81, ,145, ,296,-
!G6, and for the New York district,
representing East New York and
East New Jersey, $9,S3S, ,397 AZ
These disbursements have been made
in New York City. Looking at the
question from a purely business
point of view, as the Grand Army
people seem generally to regard their
services to the country, it would ap
pear that the New York protestants
have taken enough out of this mine
to make them approve instead ol
condemn the placing of Lee in the
capitol. They might very truthfully
say to their descendants, why, there
is the soldier against whom we
fought forty-five years ago, and who
has been worth already nearly $16,-
100000 to us, with more to come as
long as we and our widows can live,
'and then some"
Mr. Wickersham doubtless did the
best he could in writing his opinion.
His conclusions as to the law are
sound; but his statements as to the
war are unfortunate. In the first
place the war was not "the Civil
War; III the second place, it was not
"warlike rebellion against the gov
ernment of the United States; and,
in the third and last place, it is the
veriest buncombe to say that "his
Lee's) statue should be clothed In
the Confederate uniform, thus elo-
quently testifyiDg to the fact that q
magnanimous country has COM
pletely forgotten an unsuccessful ef-
fort to destroy the Union, and that
ouc SUdLue bHOuid 10 uIICpOCd III ohC
National Statuary Hall as the sym
Dol OF the acceptance, without mis-
givings, of a complete surrender and
a renewed loyalty, should surely pro-
woke no opposition" There is moth
ing, surely "magnanimous" in that
statement. According to Mr.. Wick
ersham's own construction OF the
law, Virginia only exercised her right
under the law in selecting Lee to
represent Virginia in the Statuary
Hall. If the statue is to be kept
there on the plea that it is there by
the "magnanimity" of the country,
Virginia could not afford in self-re-
spect to allow it to remain there.
Beside, after what the South has en-
dured since the close of the war
forty-five years ago, it does not liein
the mouth Of any truthful man to
prate about "magnaEimity." Mr..
Wickersham' view of the law is alb
solutely correct; his play to the
Grand Army galleries might well
have bpen sna red