The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-04-27

50 recently done IN joining oLueI
nations in lifting the burdens OF
armament and promoting under
standings which make war less
slikeiy. / know he would have ap-
prove, because we surrendered no
independence, we gave mp none OF
nationality for which we fought,
but we have furthered the assur-
ance OF peace, which was the SUI
preme yearning Of his great, brave
heart
1T is 81 years since Grant gar
landed victory with magnanimity.
1T is 81 years since he laid down
the wearied photographers pen
and made his one and only surren-
der. His fame is secure. The re-
public has not forgotten and Will
not forget.
What of the republic itself? 1t
will not be unseemly to say that
American example and American
conception of Justice and liberty
since then have Influenced the
world little less significantly than
Grants service TO the union shaped
the course OF our land.
Preserved Republic.
"a score OF new republics have
unfurled their flags and democ-
racy has opened new avenues OF
liberty and made justice more Sc
cure. Civilization meanwhile has
made such advances that there has
seemed a divinity pointing the way.
And yet that very civilization. more
advancing than entrenched, was
threatened by the World war. and
in wars aftermath established or
der has been assailed and revolu-
ton has threatened throughout the
world. In our own land the enc
mics within have been more threat
ening than those without. Greed
and anarchy have menaced. But
calm survey gives every reassur-
ance. Twenty centuries of modern
civilization could not have been
builded on foundations which are
false. A century and a half of
gratifying American achievement
dates from the sacrifices of the
founding fathers, and their firm
structure was preserved by the pa
triots whom Grant commanded, and
will be held secure by the patriotic
citizenship of the republic today
and the grateful Americans of the
morrow"
Though he proclaimed the doc
trine OF moral disarmament at APP
pomattox, he believed in a nation
equipped for a righteous cause"
Mr.. Harding declared. But no
aggression was in his breast"
Declaring at the outset that he
had pondered over the attributes
of the character of Grant, the pres
ident said the union leader looms
majestic in the blend of them all
his fame is secure"
Revere Military Genius.
zone must revere his military
genius, even though its development
was one of those min acles of grim
war ITSELF" he continued. mo one
would have picked him in youth or
early manhood, or in his early
career as a regular officer, for the
great commander. Responsibility
and necessity set ablaze the latent
genius. Donelson was a fash OF
daring, Vicksburg his trophy of
courage and unalterable determine
tion, Petersburg the revelation of
his genius. But at AppomattoX he
was Grant the Magnanimous, who
spoke for reunion as he had fought
for union, and turned from grim
warrior to the ambassador of peace.
He could neither hate nor humil-
late, and in the very glow of sur
passing triumph, he could not be
ungracious or incohsiderate.
in that supreme moment of vic
4 tory, with union saved at unutter-
" able cost, he seems to have sur
veyed the many disappointments
the measureless sacrifices and the
understandable sorrows. He felt the
assurance of the nation preserved
and yet the one sweeping utter
ance from his great heart was. Let
us have peace
Lesson in Lee Surrender.
Undoubtedly the task of re con
struction was lightened, because OF
Grants moderation. / cannot
but feel that there is for us a
lesson in the concluding sentences
of the note in which he proposed to
receive the surrender of the army
of northern Virginia. These SEN
fences read:
1.-The armies, artillery, and pub
lie PROPERTY to be parked and
stacked, and turned over to the Of
ficer appointed by me to receive
them. This will not embrace the
side arms of the officers, nor their
private horses or baggage. This
done, each officer and man will he
allowed to return to their homes
not to be disturbed by United States
authority so long as they observe
their paroles and the laws in force
where they may reside
ITO that he added the verbal
agreement with General Lee that
every man of the confederate army
who claimed to own a horse or
mule, should be permitted to take
the animal home. General Lee OBJ
served that these conditions would
have a happy effect upon his army.
/. In making such conditions, IN
thus recognizing the vast diff
culties of consolidating the peace
won through years of suffering and
privation, there spoke the great,
true heart of the man who could
see into the future and realize its
problems.
Had Nations Sympathy.
"Many years later, when his life
was ebbing, and he struggled to
the end of his memoirs, all the
American people knew OF his brave
fight and the inevitable outcome,
and the man of magnanimity found