The National tribune., 1910-03-31
LEES STATUE.
Tom McNeal. OF the Topeka Mail and
Breeze, Stancll to PrtnciDles

|
Mr.. McNeal. who was NOT old enough
to be in the war, has the following t.
say in the Topeka Mail. and Breeze:
The G.. A. R. Posts in various part
of the country are protesting agains
the placing of a Statue OF Gen. Rober
E. Lee in Statuary Hall al Washington
There are those who will say tha
this shows a narrow sectionalsm; thai
| It is an attempt to revive the hatred:
of the war period.
| do not think that the critics of the
old soldiers understand their position In
| this matter. There are few old soldiers
who do not have a good deal of admira.
| ton for the character OF Gen. Rober
E. Lee. They concede that he was one
| of the greatest Generals that this oil
any other age has produced. They also
concede that he was man of high per-
sonal character. and that he probably
yielded to what he considered his duty
when he abandoned the Government
that had educated him and became the
leader of the forces OF the rebellion.
They object to placing his statue
among the statues Of the honored men
of the country, not on account of anv
| bitterness toward his memory, but be-
cause they feel that the Government
cannot afford to honor treason.
Suppose the statue of Lee is placed
in Statuary Hall. The young man of a
succeeding generation will visit the col
lection and find there the statue. He
will ask what act of Lees it was that
gave him the distinction necessary IL
place his statue among the notables, the
men who are especially honored bv the
Government
The only answer that can be made to
the young man is that Lee distinguished
tr
man to destroy the American Union. not
even excepting Jefferson Davis. His
statue Will stand there side by side with
the statues of Lincoln and Grant ard
sherman and Sheridan. The Govern.
ment will be placed in the position Of
saying that the man who used his great
ability to destroy the Government is en-
titled to just as much honor as the man
who tried to save it.
Concede the great ability of Robert
E. Lee; concede the purity of his char
acter and the honesty of his motives.
the fact still remains that he was the
cause of the loss of more valuable lives.
the cause of the loss of more propertv,
the cause of more misery, than any
other man who has lived since the be-
ginning of the Government
1t is possible that without the preat
influence and masterful military ecnius
OF Robert e. Lee the rebellion would
not have gotten started 1T is certain
that without him it would not have last
ed more than half as long as il did.
1t is Illogical for any Cove -nment 70
pay special honor to any man who did
his best to destroy it. TO say on the
one hand that treason is the highest Of
crimes and at the same time place in
the Hall of Fame the statue of the
greatest leader of rebellion is The HIGHT
of inconsistency
1t goes without saying that If the
statue of Lee should be placed in Stat
uary Hall, then the statue OF Jefferson
Davis should be placed there also. JEFF
terson Davis was a man of pure private
character. He believed in the Confed-
eracy good deal more strongly than
Lee who hesitated for good while be-
tore deciding; whether he should go
Wlth the South or stay with the Union
III 5tatu" Of Lee shn;iIi be rIaced
in the hall, then 10 be consistent every
rebel solder should be pensioned hy
the Government fast as rx-Cnion SOL
oiers are Densioned. If there is to be
no distinction between the leaders of
the rebellion and the leaders of the
Union side. there certainly ought to be
none between the 'privatef soldiers who
Fought for the Confederacy and those
VINO fought for the Union.