Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-05-30

which legitimatized in the southern
mind the extremity of action OF 1861.
The history of the movement towards
cesession is part of the story of his
life and influence. Never has man
exercised d more complete intellectual
dominancy over his section, but sadly
to its undoing.
Calhoun was a constitutionalist, but
he obeyed a greater power than the
constitution-the necessity of preserv-
ing the society of which he was a
part. His strength lay in his believ-
ing the wisdom and righteousness of
the southern social organization.
Daniel Webster was probably the
greatest political genius our country
has produced. His rep.y to Hayne of
South Carolina is the greatest memoir
able oratiCn in our history. When he
had concluded his masterful address
disuniCn and notification were forever
banished from our country, though it
required years of war to enforce its
principles. The warfare that began
with arguments in congress was soon
hall, then to the state legislatures and
| finally it was submitted to the sol
diers. II is interesting to us now to
recount the sophistry CT the south in
| the pubic utterances and arguments
| supporting slavery. They usually be-
| san with a ridicule of Thomas Jefrer-
! sons famous statement that all men
I horn ln
ment was an economic one, based on
| the value of the slaves. Three mil.
! lion slaves were worth a billion five
hundred millions of property. The
/ third argument was religious. The
/ planters invoked the words Of Moses
permitting the Hebrews to hold
slaves and therefore asserted that
, slavery was divine institution
Paul's letter sending Onesimus, the
slave, back to his rich master Phile,
mon was frequently used to substan.
tiate the same dogma. Other argu.
ments of similar import were con.
/ stantly used to fortify the position
which the south had assumed. So that
seventy-two years after the adoption
of the constitution which was called
/ into being in order to form "a more
| perfect union" a new confederacy OF
seven southern state was formed. and
the great political fabric. which hac
become the hope CT every lover Of
freedom, throughout the word. was
apparently rent n TWAIN. April IL
1861 found fully organized govern
ment established for these seveI
states with a determination to estab
lish separate nation and thus begr
a terrible Civil war.
GREAT CONVICTIONS.
The great teachers of life are it.
/ great convictions-its great funGa
mental principles. Whenever a area
movement is inaugurated in human
society, il is always discoverable tina
some heart fired with the passion of q
great principle is moving az the heat
of the column and men begin maxim.
room for the new evangel What /!
civilization but the charted land. owe
which such pioneers have gone? Tn,
genius of American life is discove!
able in following the footprints of mer
with great convictions. Heroism is
moral quality. A great war cannot b'
maintained on mere financial issues
Conscience must be enlisted or citi
, zens viii not serve. 1t was intens
, conviction, deep and profound, in tn,
heart of the soldiers Of our countr,
that made the war go terrible. Whel
England hired the Hessian army 1,
: fight Washington it was slow to al
tack and quick 10 retreat But tn,
] battles of the Wilderness. Apo
: matox, Vicksburg, and the March I
the Sea were only possible with mel
who had deep and abiding convictions
Who is the soldier? = citizen, clad II
! soldiers uniform, armed with a sol
dier's weapon, fed on soldiers r.