Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-05-06

Bv1SkP1Es a. EDGERTON
fC0pyr4ght hy American Press Assocta-
ton 3e11.
UT IN a 6tt11g Suggext5on that the
nfnefh auntSers@y az the chi
war sh1zlA be q celebrGt1ou Of
peace- It In 10 be hoped that
mona OF thu hatred or rancor OF q half
ee1tuY egozwzn enter into the event
The naf1ons has never been 30 hrmly
unif1d an now. Out Of the ashes Of
The old ,eoufh anew south has sprung.
Fsctnriess dot Der pleasant lands; her
rifles are growing with the same mar
velous sxiftness as those Of the north
and west, and everywhere she is keep
ing pace with the material, political
and intellectual progress OF the whole
nation.
The severity OF the war itself was
one Of the contributing causes to this
happy outcome. Each side tested the
metal OF the other and learned to re-
spect the otner. The contest was
fought 10 such a complete finish that
nothing like II can ever again occur
IN our history. The extraordinary ex-
ert1On then called forth begot an en-
ergy that has since made for national
progress. Thus was taught an I'm
portant lesson IN democracy. In that
supreme conflict we had TO depend
upon ourselves, thus developing our
own inherent powers. which when the
war was over could be turned into the
avenues OF material Advancement
A man admires q brave and honor
able foe. Frequently when two manly
mon M No n NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. apd 6ob+
IT out they become ths best of friends
They havetried each other, and hence
forth their affection is founded on the
rock OF mutual esteem. 1t Is even so
with the north and south The vet
Grams on both sides can meet, take
each other by the hand and say. We'll,
II was a good fight" After ALL both
armies were made up Of Americans,
and each OF US can be loyal TO the
memory OF his own side and yet feel
a glow IN thinking of the bravery Of
the other. In the result the victor had
no cause for undue pride or the van
qutshed for shame. Today It is safe
to say that not one southerner in ten
thousand would have the result differ
ent.
"Let Us Have Peace"
Something OF this spirit animated
Lincoln IN the beautiful second IN
augurai address and stirred Grant
when he said, LET us have peace"
And we have peace as wide as the ma
ton and as deep as the hearts of the
people, peace 80 profound that never
again can we have conflict, at least OF
that kind. In this spirit let US remem-
Der the struggle and let no word fall
that VIII wound the sensibilities Of
either side. This is the way big and
brave men remember. Only weak or
malignant natures seek to relight the
ashes OF dead hate.
The nation is one As II was In the
days OF the Revolution and Of 1912, so
IS II now AS husband and wife, once
estranged. are reunited over the grave
OF a dead child. so are we reunited
over the graves OF fifty years ago.
without abating one Jot of our con
victions as TO the right or wrong of
the conflict we all of us know that
peace and concord are right for today
And In recalling the struggle let w
include all that is brave and noble on
both sides. now the common heritage
OF a united country. Sorrow IS dem
ocrat1c. Grief IS not factionaI Let
our verbal flowers be Ike the flowers
Of nature. knowing no section. ceas-
ing at no Imaginary tine
They Danish our anger forever
When they laurel the graves OF our dead
That IS the true spirit In the broad
er sense their dead are also our dead
and this is true in whichever section
we happen 70 live, for this is a ma
tionAl celebration.
On the Battlefield of Nashville.
Several years ago l attended the
Nashville exposition and while there
accompanied party of distinguished
men 10 the scene OF the battle fought
near that city In the party were two
United States senators, one from the
north. the other from the south Both I.
had participated IN the battle. the
northeruer as a private. the southerner .
as a general During the trip each .
pointed out the ground that he had .
fought over and told Of the struggle
In q way 10 bring II 10 life before the .
eyes The two were st the time vot-
ing on the same side in the senate and
We're warm friends To my own mind
the incident threw a revealing light
upon the stupendous change that had
come over the country.
Such Il scene would scarcely be pos
slide in any other land on earth. The
beauty OF IT was thar the incident
typited a thousand others which have
occurred IN meetings between the blue
and the gray There Is no pnerense in
the recOQcilia ton These strong men
A BR4YING MULE