The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-01-22
DR.. James w. Lee Contrasts
Robert E. Lees War Ideal
With Cruelty of Germany
Exols Humanity of Great Soldier of the South in Eloquent
Address Delivered Before United Con-
federate Veterans.

those who wage the war anu AuI IAAoSu
against whom It Is carried on. II
seems to be the idea of the kaiser
'hnd of those who share his opinions
that the more like hell war can be
made. that the more Of horror and
Trlghtfulness and unapeakahle iniquity
can be thrown into 1t, the more ten
der and considerable and loving 1t Is
when looked at from the standpoint
q. the anal outcome. Cruelty, In their
esteem can be so completely exag-
gerated. can BE made to pass SO far
beyond the very limits of what the
devil himself could conceive or devise,
that In reality 1t becomes form OF
love, In view OF the fact that a con-
fleet so carried on can be the more
speedily terminated,
Hence, reasoning after this fash
ion, the more like hell war lis the more
Ike heaven 1t Is. The way, there
fore. for nation to show Its love in
time Of war is TO express 1t In terms
OF hate SO horrible. so unspeakably
wicked as that 1t becomes unendur-
able. In accordance with this theory,
srlghtfulness becomes the war form
OF sweetness, hate the war form OF
love. hell the war form OF heaven,
and the devil the war form of God.
Such Views Impossible to Ice.
Such q view Of war as this. such
n confusion of moral terms and dis
tinctions, such new and unparal-
Ieled alignment OF God and the devil,
Of mercy and meanness, OF holiness
and iniquity; such il swinging OF cor
ners in a wild improvised dance by
partners never together before, waltz
ing to music never heard before; such
an unheard of fashion OF placing the
top at the bottom and the bottom at
the top, OF making up down and down
UP. OF forcing the words of the die
tionary to right -about-face, ordering
those accustomed to go south to 60
north and those accustomed to go east
tn so west, Lee never could have com
pretended. His intellectual machin-
cry was so accustomed TO turn In &C
cordance with the fashion made
known by Moss and followed by the
leaders OF all ages who have moved
ir the direction OF order and truth
and freedom. that 1t wogid have been
r wrench SO complete as TO break all
the mental eogs out of IL TO force II TO
turn In a different direction.
1T would have been absolutely i'm
possible for Les. as the leader Of the
Confederate army, even TO have
thought OF himself as being on the
side OF God while using the fury and
infamy and violence and Are of hell
to prosecute the Southern side OF the
var, He never could have ordered
his soldiers to so forward with God
unless, in hts esteem, they were NOV
ing in such a direction as would meet
the approval of civilized mankind and
the approval of his fellow citizens
North and South. after the war drums
had ceased 10 beat
He knew that war waged after any
fashion was terrible, but he was al
ways seeking to mitigate it's horror
He persistertly maintained as the
standards OF his life the oid-time.
weil-establtshed principles which
have been accepted and approved and
practiced by the leaders or mankind
since the days of Abraham. Lee new
er had the subtietry and Intellectual
power that permitted him to confuse
his definitions of moral terms He
never was original enough, nor was
he ever obsessed sufficiently with the
spirit OF adventure TO think of him
self as directed by The Lord Almighty
to change the lines OF moral longitude
and latitude esta blished from before
the foundations OF the world.
His Merciful Attitude.
Tn his esteem, up was up. down
was down, a yard WAS a yard, a mile
was mile. the devil was the devil
ard God was God under any and all
circumstances. He was too intellec-
tually obtuse TO ever understand how
deed could become so bad as to real
ly become good. how black could be-
come so black as To become white.
how hard thing could become so
hard rs to become soft, how wet
thing could become so wet as to be-
come dry. how a hot thing could be-
ccme so hot as to become cold, and
how the devil could become SO mean
az to become holy enough to occupy
the throne of the Almighty In heaven.
No more creditable order was ever
issued from commanding officer than
the one formulated and signed by
Robert e. Lee att the close OF June.
/ 1853. as he advanced on a war of In
vasiou. In that order. he declared:
No greater d sgrace can hefall the
army, and through It our whole peo-
pie, than the perpetuation of barbar-
GUS outrages upon the innocent and
defenseless Such proceedings not
only disgrace the perpetrators and all
connected with them, but are suever-
sive of the discipline and efficiency OF
the army and destructive OF the ends
Of our movement. 1t must be remem-
bcred that we make war only on
armed men,
( General Lee recoiied, with the en-
tire length and breadth OF his soul,
from the idea OF seeing his followers
kin and burn and outrage noncom-
batants in the territory he invaded.
He was never tempted to approach,
much less to go to the bottom, of the
black abyss of entire wickednsss. from
the depths of which he could have
enjeined IL as "A duty on the part of
hts soldiers to cause the people OF
Pennsylvania to remember that they
had been there, because of the utter
obstruction and desolation they left
4 behind them.
! All Sang Home, Sweet Home.
| IAN that was tangible and objective
4 of our Southern Confederacy has van
!shed like a dream, but the patriotism,
devotion and conservation which took
/ form in the person of its chief gem
eral are forever safe. The people of
/ his country. North and South, have
arrived at a level OF understanding
and good will high enough above that
occupied by our countrymen a little
! mere than half century ago to en-
able them TO appreciate the great and
GOOD men on both sides of the oues-
ton that separated them once into
cuntend'ng armies.
! 'tIp hts PAM srf - rStn..s