Bisbee daily review., 1911-02-15
General Lee Declined
 Military Dictatorship

(From Lee and the Confederate Government by Gamaliel Bradford. Jr. in The Atlantic Monthly.)
 In the name of God. le. Lee save US. if he will; no one else can. There is no doubt that this ras the spirit of a majority Of South erners in February. 1865. There is no doubt that this was the spirit which led to his being practically of. fered the military dictatorship by congress.
 The ablest officers of the Con federate States" says The Examiner, would. we feel assured. gladly see the supreme direction of the'r con. duct placed in the hands of Genera Lee. and would receive his orders with pleasure. An citizens. and more emphatically. all soldiers. now know that the one thing needful to fill the army with enthusiasm. and to inspire the peo- pie for new effort, is to feel that our military force is to be yielded by one capable hand and directed by one calm. clear intelligence."
 Lee. however, absolutely refused to violate his subordination to the president in any way, and. accord ing to Pollard, went so far as to declare to several members of the Richmond congress that whatever might be Davis errors. he was yet constitutionally the president, and that nothing could tempt himself to encroach upon prerogatives which the Constitution had bestowed upon its designated head@
 What could an ambitious, un- scrupulous man have accomplished fn that emergency-or ever a patriot who would have been willing to over ride scrrple for the good of his country
 Would Napoleon or Cromwell have said to Davis. You may do what l want or go" have gone direct to con gross and enforced his wi1l9 Have evept fraud and incompesence ou, = the executive departments? Have
 'ndied the whole military fore, like one great machine, and SO con centrated it as to accomplish results which seemed at that late hour i'm possible?
 ''Of one thing am certain wrot, in January. 1865. the diarist Jones vino had the very best opportunitiei of forming an opinion.
 l That the people are capable O achieving independence.- if they onl, had capable men in all departmenti of the Government Tn any case Lee preferred to remain the loya servant of the civil authority, whicl was left to work out its politica
 problems as best it could.
 What interests us in our study O
 Lees character. Is the motive whiel led him not only to this final re
 fusaI. bnt to his general attitude 0 non-interference with the Confedel ate Government It has often bee
 sugvested-and Grant was of thi
 opinion--that he was consistent i
 his state loyalty and cared for Vii
 ginia only. not for the Confederac . as a whole. preferring to do hi
 fishting to the end upon his nativ soil.
 The writers of the excellent Ns ton review of Longs sf'Life of Les
 (Cox?). basing his conclusions O
 the Townsend anecdote. which have quoted in "A Hero's Cor science" holds that Lee had Iittl faith in the Confederate cause fror
 beginning to end. Some suspicio of the kind was undoubtedly at tn bottom of Pollard's harsh charge. "Tbe fact was that, although yef outside of the Army of Northern Vii
 ginia and with reference to tn
 general affairs of the Confederac5 | his influence was negative, and as
 complished absolutely nothing
 Again "His most notable defec was that he never had CT conveve any inspiration in the war An
 Pollard ouotes from a Richmond Ds
 per after the Wilderness: 'Twhe win he Qeej speak? Has he noth