The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1915-01-19
ROBERT E. LEE
Paper Read by Mrs. S. T. Sistrunk at
the Lee Birthday Celebration
TODAY

the nation is today conferred upon one
great thought, the celebration of the
birthday of the South's greatest
chieftian, Robert E. Lee. Not alone
in Old Virginia, not alone in the
Southland he loved, but throughout
the universe is this 108th anniversary
day being held in reverence to the
truest friend the South had during
her darkest hour. This afternoon we
are here to rejoice together that Robt
E. Lee was born and in love we meet
to commemorate in song and story
the life of this great and good man.
In 1861 Gen. Lee stood as a perfect
specimen of manhood's ideal, erect as
a poplar, 1.-THE and graceful; with
broad shoulders well thrown back,
and dauntless; every inch gentle
man and soldier. Deeply loved
then, tho by many greatly misunder-
stood, Lees heart was too often
wrung with bitterest sorrow. If any
man had predicted then that the one
hundredth anniversary of Gen. Lee
would be observed in all sections of
the country he would have been re-
garded as an unpatriotic lunatic.
Only generation has passed since
the passion that famed into desolate
war died down into glowing Goals
and those in turn have grown cold
and gray. The hatred that was shar-
ed in the North by factions has ceas-
ed to, be; because knowledge and SYM
pathy have made them increditable
and impossible. Time has changed
all feelings, men who fought one an
other as the bitterest of enemies, have
become the dearest of friends, because
knowledge and love have worked mir
acles. That indeed is the only power
that works these things. these days,
it being the one supreme manifesto
ton of the Infinite and the one inter
pretator of man to man. Hate thrives
only on ignorance and too often bears
hideous fruitage in the air of misun-
Outstanding. When the light of love
does break through the murky clouds
of heart despair all the evil dies at the
root, and never comes back.
Gen.. Lee was the ideal of section
and was never misunderstood or hat
ed in the North as many of his con-
temporaries were hated-his spirit,
his bearing, the evident chivalry of
his nature made hatred impossible.
He led the attack on the government
E I'D was far and away the ablest sol
der and servant of the Confederacy,
and because of his bold leadership
there was for time a widespread
| deep animosity and bitterness of feel
/ ing which took years to overcome.
/ 1t was when the great North came
to understand the cause and the Man,
then it was the mists of ignorance
dissolved into air and the fundamen-
tai issues became clear. Intelligent
men no longer speak of the rebellion
they speak of the Civil War, and if
they wish to be exact they speak OF
the "War Between the States"
The South fought foE self govern
ment, and from the very beginning
there were two interpretations of the
ideal of liberty held in common by
the North and the South. One &C
copied the Federal Union; the other
the state, as the unit of government
A strong feeling of the loyalty tx
the states had been developed before
the union had been called into be
ing, and there is very little doubt tina
the majority of the men who drew VI
the Declaration of independence, whC
framed the articles of Confederation
and who adopted the constitution
held more or less strongly the viev
that they were organizing a Confed
eracy of states rather than a nation
The formal logic. of this position i
unanswerable. 1t was the formal log
ic of national development of irresis
tible historical tendencies that pre-
. vailed against it. The passion of lib
erty was alike in all parts of tn
country. In the North the passio
found expression in the devotion O
the union, in the South in the devo
ton of the states. The war being tn
conflict between these opposing idea
of the nature of the government an
was fought by men equally sincere
devoted, self sacrificing, passionatel
loyal to their ideas of state and lit
erty. 1t was not primarily differ