Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1910-01-28
ANOTHER LEE.
THE Roanoke TimcsJ

1882, Robert E. Lee was born in 1907,
seventy-five years between them. Vir-
ginia has bred many great men, far
more for population and length of his
tory than any other territory of like
size in the world. These two, however,
were the supreme and superb flowers
Of her civilization and her blood, the
two, whose figures tower not only
above all her other sons but head and
shoulders above all the merely mortal
sons of men. The world has had other
men as good and great as these in some
one way; but we can find nowhere in
history any man as good and so great
as these in so many ways-soldiers so
skillful and daring, statesmen SO wise,
patriots so generous, citizens and gen.
tlemen so clean and high minded, hum
bic and kindly and perfect.
Probably when General Lee was born
people were saying that the day of
great men had past, that Virginia never
would produce a man to class with
Washington. People have talked so in
every generation and each great man
has been supposed to be the last. Gen.
eral Lee was born more than a hun
dred years ago and we wonder some
times whether there has been born or
will be born in Virginia man to rank
with him. 1t may be he is somewhere
in the State now awaiting the emer-
gency or occasion to make his qualities
manifest Heaven grant it be not war.
We want no more war. In peace some
times leaders and deliverers and men
who can uplift their people are needed
more than in war. Perhaps to inspire
and lead US in some great development
of our resources, perhaps to carry us to
higher and broader and purer standards
of political thought and action, per-
haps to bring about a great moral or
religious awakening. Lee may come.
He may arouse enthusiasm and COM
mand confidence and devotion as Rob
ert E. Lee did and by wisdom and skill
and majesty of character take his place
in our history and memories and in the
worlds history along with the splendid
warriors.
And why not?
Our tendency is to think, as they
thought when Lee was baby and boy
and young man, that there could be no
match for Washington, that there can
be no match for Lee. But why not?
We have the same stock and
blood that bred Washington and Lee,
the same traditions they inherited, the
same kind of women as bore and
trained them. We like to think that
Virginia may produce more Lees and
Washingtons. We like best of all to
think that maybe they will be the sons
or the grandsons of some of the hum
BILE, undistinguished men who tramped
and toiled faithfully and lwent fear
lessly to face death because they loved
"Marse Bob" and yearned of all things
to please him and because they were
true as tested steel to their cause and
State and country. Sir Walter Scott
in one of his novels tells of the English
Lees-the Loyal Lees'' they were
called and we believe Loyal as &
Lee" was a proverb in their part o.
the country more than four centurie,
ago. AS loyalty TO land and truth ant
pledge ever has marked the Lees, so i
has marked Virginia and virginians
She is the Old Dominion because OF al
the possessions of England she alon'
stood true and because of that she wa
quartered on the royal arms of tn
proud kingdom of Great Britain. Late
she was true to her own liberties an,
rights and to her sister colonies, CAV
the men who made the republic an
with lavish bounty bestowed upon tn
new country from her own territory a
empire. Her sons and daughters ar
born to such heritage and instincts
Why should they not breed more Lee
and Washingtons? Why should not tn
! blood of some of those who withou
; hope of personal glory or any rewar
} but the approval of theirown high SOU
3 marched and suffered and fought, bio,
1 som forth into new and splendid flower
1 of great manhood and towering achiev,
q mept?
In almost every neighborhood thel
is or bas been some one Of Lees SC
diers consciously or unconscious
shaping his life and conduct to be lii
= the leader he adored so faithfully al
loved so deeply. usually man so tim
j and modest in his bearing that mol
= would think he had rushed madly
= meet death in the tumult of maj
3 charges; a man clean in his life, kind
$ and gentle. infiexible in his allegian
$ to pure principles, patriot and
II Christian to his soul From men
this kind noble fruit should come, v