The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1921-01-19


men of the first rank. They are Lin
coin, Grant and Lee.
Lincoln, honest, rugged, seif-reli-
Iant with almost preternatural vision
land judgment, shaped the issues
which resulted in the war, and for
four years represented the thought
and purpose of the Union.
Grant, the silent warrior, brave,
resourceful, indomitable and mag
panimous, is the true type Of the sol
der of democracy-a character differ
ing as widely from the soldier of i'm
perialism as night from day
ROBERT EDWARD LEE persona
fled the personal qualities which the
people of the south hold in highest
jesteem, and in a general way, the
Qualities which they desired to ipcor-
lporate in the southern Confederacy.
The inter-dependence of these three
characters is obvious Neither could
have been what he was without the
other two.
1t is eminently fitting that Lees
Birthday should be set apart as a gen
eral holiday day in which the
memory Of the man himself is hon
ored and a tribute paid to the cause
which he represented.
Beau Ideal OF South
Personally Lee was the beau ideal
of the south. OF the highest social
Standing, son of Light Horse. Har
Try" Lee of Revolutionary fame,
irelative of Richard Henry Lee, who
was the friend of Washington and
1.-THE silyer-tongued orator of the revo-
luton, educated, cultured, handsome
land gallant in appearance, brave, de-
voted to his country, generous, gen
tile and lovable, he would under any
conditions have held the highest es-
teen of his state, where his family
name was already household word.
He was educated at West Point
l
fought in Mexico, where he was
iwounded at the storming of Chapulte-
Tree. He was a member of the United
States army when the states seeded,
holding the rank of colonel. Had he
stayed with the federal government,
lit is almost certain that he would
4 fos.
I His decision to stay with the for
tunes of his native state was the
crisis of his life.
Nobody has ever questioned the
honesty or the logic of his decision
Though he took no part in the ante
bellum controversy, he was perfectly
familiar with the issues involved. He
was opposed to the withdrawal of his
state from the Union, not because he
doubted the principle for which Vir-
ginia stood, but because he doubted
the necessity of the act. But he went
| with his state because he believed
it was right.
Cause of War
The war was not fight for slavery.
Slavery was the economic factor
which, in the minds of some histor-
lians determined the issue of war
But the real issue was the right of
the states to control their own do
nestle affairs. That was what they
fought fer in the revolution. When
they won that war, and Great Britain
irelinquished all pretensions of con-
troll, they were free, sovereign and in
dependent states. They never, by any
Iact of their own, surrendered that
sovereignty. On the contrary, they
asserted and maintained it through
Iall the early, formative years of the
lnation. 1t was recognized in the ar
ticles of the old confederation.
Though not set forth in specific terms
in the constitution, it was implied,
and in all the debates relative to rat.
iAcation, and in some of the articles of
fertilization. the position of the south
was plainly declared and the right as
serted to withdraw from the Union, if
at any time the compact failed to OPP
lerate as it was designed
In the minds of the southern peo-
/ pie the time had come when the con-
tract was no longer operative accord
ing to its original plan. The federal
government had usurped powers be-
longing to the state. The only thing