Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1910-06-08

J.
republic on the earth. He was not
the child Of chance. the prodigy Of ac-
cident- fortune gave to him none OF
her unearned crowns. Every block
In the monumental structure OF that
enduring fame which Is his was carv-
ed from the sullen quarry OF expert
ence by his own relentless efforts
Beset from the first by mean and
petty jealousies, at one time praeti-
cally prisoner. Inundated, sland-
cred and maAgned. this modest. gen.
tie, silent. patient man secured at
last hearing. not in the council
chambers where faYoritlsm advances
aspiring mediocrity, but in the open
forum OF war, In the stress and
strain OF camp and field where merit
alone must choose, and there he won.
At vicksburg he displayed the stra-
tegic skill which places that siege
foremost in the history Of the war. At
Shiloh his indomitable purpose, his
iron will turned impending disaster
into victory. At Chattanooga his
mastery Of detail, his mental endur-
ance, his inability to quit. avenged
the defeat at Chickamauga Then
the awful, Undesirable lighting in
the Wilderness. that fearful. fright
full carnage which caused men to re-
feet that the world had not before
known war. No wonder that In the
midst of petty quarreling and unceas-
ing clamor Lincoln sad in the sad
dest of tones: 81 cannot spare this
man; ne fights" Then the march
to Richmond in which took place
that wonderful strategic movement
after Cold Halbor, when he called
his pickets from within 900 yards OF
Lees pickets and swung an army OF
$4,000 men across the James river
so effectively that Lee telegraphed
his generals to find out where he
was; then the siege; then the sur
render; these are the pillars upon
which rests his colossal fame as a
general Measured by every rule
by which we measure the success of
great generals, he stands foremost
among them all. He arose by his
own exertions He met and defeat
ed vast armies. He excelled in al
the arts of his calling save the capa-
city to conduct a retreat, and know
ing his own powers he never tried 1t.
That you may not feel that these are
the words of fulsome eulogy, / call
one witness, one who knew Il have
carefully searched the military rec
ords of ancient and modern history
and never found Grants superior
as general doubt II his superior
can be found in all history" These
are the words of the brilliant and
chivalrous leader Of the Lost Cause,
Robert E. Lee. They suffice.
Mr.. Toastmaster, these are the tro-
phies which the common judgment OF
men has laid at his feet. But the re-
public which he preserved searches
for still other and greater laure.s
with which to crown his career. We
apply standard peculiar to our In
situations, and in sober, simple truth,
reveal more singular and signal
achievement than those reeounted
One may be great general without
being a great man When Lee ten
dered his sword at Appomattox the
name of Grant was upon all tongues.
Devoted to him were the veterans of
four years war. This man of blood.
the immitigable incarnation of pitt
less war. saw at his feet a broken
and PROSTATE south and heard at his
back all Christendom voicing the
most seductive music that falls upon
human ears-praise and power. Ills
word in that hour going out to a bat
tie line stretching the continent would
have spread desolation and ruin
The supreme test which Fortune has
so often placed upon a favorlte son,
unlimited power. to see him fall in
it's abuse. was applied to Grant. He
met the test Quietly the order is
given: Fire no salutes. the war IS
over These men are again our
countrymen." And the Union So
der opened his hayersack and shared
its contents with the starving Con
federate.
Ulysses s. Grant vies in military
skill with Hannibal and Caesar and
Napoleon. But the scene at Appomat-
tox has no counterpart in all the tri-
umphs and defeats of war. 1t belongs
to US and to us alone. He realized that
he was a soldier of the republic. a
government of law sustained By the
affection and devotion Of the people.
and not by armies and navies, and