The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-07-02
II, vii, mnLn'.n A{ANpERsos.


Thet the multitude Assembled here
nov nov and on each recurrence or this
guy. should with unabatAd zeal make
."udt pilgrimage To thist shrine and
, lender their offerings Of Mowers and
who half 'aeS ee gl affection i the me-, me-
heFoic struggle for a ca, .-se which four
years later went downJin ovorwhcl,n.
Ing disaster ana defeax is ono or th.
most wonderful thinAs in tho history
of mankind.
;, ',, some spssSipl signiacance and un
this eng, mEFive The inspiration Of
ms 0onlssz@cratc Memorial Day and
r 's ihtw,aaEest notes are patriotism.
ssaRe and the land in which we live,
gratitude to our brave defenders. and
to the God of our fathers for giving
them to us: and loyalty 10 dcathless
memories and TO a righteous cause.
We arc getting to he far enough
away from that momentous contest for
even those who were the active par
ticipants in it and the sufferers from
the tragedies then enacted to view the
phases OF that great struggle without
rancor.
Indeed. under the Providence when
has guided and guarded these Southerp
States through and since the gloomy
btruction' we find in their present con-
dition ground for great hopetuness
for the future of those States In the
generations to come That the coun-
TRY. North md South, and particularly
the late Confederate states, should
have, in such large measure. recovered
from the ruin and havoc occasioned by
those four arduous and agonizinE
years Is one of tho marvels of the
ages.
The Cosi Ia the Nation of the Coercion
of the Seeding Stntcs.
1t is difficult If not impossible. to
measure the cost to the people of our
country. Union and Confederate. or
that tremendous conflict. The mere
pecunary cost. computed in dollars
and cents, of the war and the after
math of the war, may be npproXi-
mated, and VIII be found, as we shalt
presently see. to be of enormous pro-
portions.
But the cost of the war To the coun-
try in the death of more than half
million soldiers. Union and Confed-
crate. embracing many thousands OF
Its nohlest best and most valuable
citizens: In the suffering and distress
OF the soldiers. and even more OF the
people at home; In the decentralization
which. a usual and nernicious inc dent
OF war. was one of the most baneful
features VI tiial unhappy struggle ana
of the events which followed II: and
aaAs>sn the wrench and injury to the Con-
- it'Stion and 10 the principles OF free
government was Inn
$measurahle and incalculable.
@The War Might and Should Have Bccn
IA Avoided.
~ To save their country from such
- lamities was the supreme duty OF
I82pe snd patriotic craftsmanship. and
result would have been accom-
5#fshed had the cCunscls of some or
the w!sest aud best Of our countrymen
been followed.
Washington had earnestly impiored
his countrymen to avoid and re-
press sectional aniinosities, and with
prophetic prGSscience had warned them
against tie Industrious consequences
which must follow II tho people OF the
States allowed themselves TO be al
rayed against each other ami to he
dominated by passions and antagon-
islns upon issues bounded by sectional
lines
In these views tho Father Of his
Country had the hearty support Of the
vast majority OF the people and OF
the leaders of the people, w,rlo he
lived and for half century after his
death. Madison. Hamilton, Monroe
Marshall, Andrew Jackson, Webster
Clay, Fillmore. Pierce. Buchanan John
Everett
and thousands of others of the wises,
and host of the leaders of the people
Were obedient 10 the admonitions Of
washington.
Most OF the people Of most OF the
states. and particularly the people OF
Virginia and the border States-Penn-
fSlvanie. New Jersey, Delaware. Mary
land Kentucky and Missouri, and the
majority of the citizens of Ohio. In
n VIII nj
he added North Carolina and Tennes-
sec, whose people are entitled to
tust pre-eninence in this regard
we're devoted to the Union They loved
tho Union with a fervor and loyalty
which had become a dominant prln-
cipie OF their being.
But there came generation which
I had not known Washington ana lead
.rs or new and a sectional props gan
ia. who oblivious OF the lessons Of the
fathers at the republic. and reckless
of consequences. were bent upon fore
ing 70 extremity tho Issues which they
:. made end the doctrines which they had
3S9Rka lousiy es2oused.
Many Of them were sincere and able
L. but there were among them also
If vaultins ambitions not over
Nous as TO the means by which
|&ffS8A attained their ends, mad whose
we're not always ahoyt criticism
81 50 a campaign 81 asttation and
pal yt,peration wasinsuguratcd
aoa,hern people were anfaigned
aligned, ana held up 10 the
&riun Of the civilized world, as
Asf8ey had been malefactors. and
- MS and sectional rrejuGices
~ - H. ~ = usies OF the people Of the
~ - states were appealed to and
c, and the fres OF sectional
until at length they burst