The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1915-10-08
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Washington City,
October 4th. 1911!

Inc Veterans of the Civil war
were in Washington the past week
1or the annual encampment of the
Grand Army of the Republic.
They were welcomed in a great
and patriotic grafton by President
Wilson. Washingtonians and the
members of the G. A. r. have seldom
listened to public address pitch
ed upon broader and more patri-
otto key than was the Presidents
masterful and epochal speech. He is
today the idol of the Boys in Blue"
AS between ex- President Roosevelt
and President Wilson in an election
for the presidency, l verify believe
that Mr., Wilson would get three
fourth's of the Grand Army votes
Fifty years ago the 18th of Septem-
Der these old Grand Army veterans
passed in review before President
andrew Johnson. Wednesday the
same date of this year they passed
IN review before President Wilson
Their g. A. R. parade was a pageant
the greatest l ever saw. Up Penn
syIvania Avenue they marched mai
est1cally, walking slow and steady
with an air THAT we will take our
time for it If it takes us all the sum-
mer' and so they did. The parade
lasted for about five hours. There
was thin grey line of Confederate
veterans in the march and | was
glad to see it. ''The thin blue line
and THE thin grey line" will soon
vanish into pleasant and patrio-
tic recollection. The issues fought
out upon the bloody and lamentabIe
fleld of carnage have been settled
and accepted in good faith and to-
day we have a better Union. Here
after American genius and states
manship will not waste it's energies
In determining what this Union was.
but in what we shall make it. I am
glad to have witnessed this reunion
of the Grand Army of the Republic.
glad to have heard the expressions
from their honest lips that the South
was not only part of, but as good
and loyal as any section of the
Union.
Sometimes it is not amiss to re-
Ter back because it keeps us from
losing our bearings. Since this Eu-
ropean war has been going on n
great deal of random talk has been
INDUCED in, our prejudices have
been permitted to run very high. If
one was inclined to be absolutely
neutral some pronounced either for
or against the Allies or Germany was
always eager and ready to declare
pro-German or pro-Allie as the case
might be. This in many instances
has been very unfair to at least a
great many public men who are only
concerned in the preservation of
American interests. To illustrate.
the Press of the country has tried to
encourage American disfavor of Ger
many because certain public speak
ers and writer's in their advocacy of
complete neutrality have not in their
1ntroductions to what they have had
to say did not thoroughly lambast
Germany. But few understand the
cause leading up to this European
war. The masses have no concep-
ton whatever. Germany made mon
umental and compendious mistake
when she blew up the Lusitania. She
did not advande her interests one iota
She just succeeded in thoroughly
arousing the indignation and pre-
JUDGE OF the American people. AS
lar as ! am concerned | am absolute
~ Impartial to both sides, and am
merely referring to this to illustrate
how we can let our own domestic
SuiISA materially WHEN we
are wrought up by partisan zeal a.
bout things that do not even remote
ly interest us aside from humanity
and international progress. In my
Judgment it doesn't make any diff
terence which whips, militarism and
navalism are going to receive desper-
ately black eyes in this contest,
while the great heart throb of the
masses will take a decided and
sweeping stride forward. The forces
OF nature are to be used in a con-
structive sense and not destructive.
Inc enlargement of human plans