, 1915-05-27

1elt that there would be a conflict soo,. ant
when or where no one could f~oreteIl II was N
day of suspense.
Lincoln, at the time, had not served tbroo
months as president. Between the time of bis
election and his inauguration seven of tho south.
ern states had seeded. Soon after his inaugura.
ton virginia had seeded, and before this tbir.
tieth of May Arkansas and North Carolina b.d
followed the example of Virginia Immodi,ta,,
after the fall of Fort Sumter Lincoln had iusuad
his call for $4,000 troops. Most of the nortborr
states, in loyal obedience to this call had CONT
troops to Washington; but many of the st,tas
near the border line between the North and tha
South had defied the call. Some of the onest,ona
asked by the people Of the North on this day
must have been: VIII these states, too. secede, ~
can President Lincoln hold them in the Union p,
But a question, more momentous than tbeso
which must have been asked by these peonle
was: Can our troops at Washington defend tha
city, For it must be remembered that n w n
only IL days before this thirtieth of MAY when
northern troops had been fired upon by n mob
while they were passing through Baltimore m
their way to Washington.
Many people, at the time, Interpreted this ont
to mean that Maryland. too, was about to secede
True, the Union soldiers at Washington seemed
at this time to be successfully defending the
city; a band of troops six days before this tbir.
Geth of May had crossed the Potomac and had
taken possession of Alexandria. This had made
the Union people hopeful, but they were nv mo
means confident, for, at this time, they had lust
CIV hSNS dUIOdu dDUuI the eXDreSSiOnS
of Joy which had Just been made by certain Eu.
ropeans who were predicting the Immediate
downfall of the American republic. Then, too,
many of the news items about events of the
war which were appearing in the daily news
papers indicated that there might be some foun-
dalton for the prediction of the people in Europe.
Here are some the news items that the people
OF the North were reading in their home papers.
The Boston Journal for this thirtieth of May con.
tanned the following telegraphic dispatches:
The report of the surrender of the United
States troops in Texas, under command of Lieu.
tenant Colonel Reeve, ; the Confederate force,
under command of Colonel Van Dorm, is fully
confirmed"
General Mcdowell mas been informed that
General Lee, with 5000 rebels, is advancing on
Alexandria"
The New York Tribune for the same date was
to its northern readers somewhat more hopeful.
Here are some of its headlines:
Frank Blair Ordered to Fortress Monroe"
"Harpers Ferry Threatened. The Rebels Like
ly to Be surrounded"
10000 Troops to Rendezvous at Cairo"
These news items. taken from northern news
papers. reflect the general mood and spirit of the
people in the North who we're at the time read.
ing the papers. Among them there was a spirit
of uncertainty and doubt. They we're uncertain
as to the strength and purpose of the South.
They doubted the ability OF Lincoln. who had re-
Gently been elected by a new and untried po-
litical party. They were uncertain as to whether
he would yield to the demands of political bosses.
Lincoln was not a trained soldier. They were
uncertain as to whether he could succeed in the
management of his army.
But the people of the South, on this thirtieth
of May, we're hopeful and confident. Loyalty
from their point of view meant allegiance to
their states. They held that the general govern
ment had no right to interfere with their forma-
ton of a new government. Their loyalty 70
their cause almost amounted to enthusiasm. They