Evening star., 1952-09-21
Cites Lees Lesson
On Reason and Charity

problem Of discrimination in
employment. the exploitation Of
racial aspirations on the one
hand and racial prejudice on
the other-all for votes-is both
a dangerous thing and a revolt
ing spectacle in our political
life. It will always be better to
reason together than to hurl
recriminationS at one another.
Our best lesson on reason and
charity was read to us by Rob-
ert E. Lee. It was not the least
of his great contributions to the
spirit of America that, when he
laid down his sword, he became
president of a small college in
Lexington-now the splendid
College Of Washington and Lee.
There he remained the rest OF
his life: unifying, not dividing;
loving, not hating.
AS the autumn Of 1865 was
coming on, Gen. Lee, in one of
the noblest Of American utter
ances. said: 1.-THE war being at
an end, the Southern States
having laid down their arms.
and the questions at issue be-
tween them and the Northern
States having been decided, I
believe it to be the duty Of
every one to unite in the resto-
ration of the country and the
re-establishment of peace and
harmony. :" Then he con-
cluded: IT know of no surer
way Of eliciting truth Inan by
burying contention with the
war;"
We have great need Of Lees
spirit in this hour Of peril to
our country. when voices Of
hatred and unreason arise again
in our land. AS free men we
shall always, I hope, differ upon
many things. But I also hope
that we shall never be divided
upon those concepts that are
enshrined in our religious faith
and the charters of our coun-
try'S greatness.
No one could stand here in
Richmond without reverence for
those great Virginians-Wash-
ington, whose sturdy common
sense was the mortar of our
foundations. and Jefferson, that
universal genius who. pro-
claiming the rights of man when
few men had any rights any
where, shook the earth and
made this feepie country the
hope Of the oppressed every
where. And so it is today after
nearly two centuries.
Fortunately for US all, the
Southern political genius still
lives. It famed not long ago
in Woodrow Wilson. IL burns
steadily today among Southern
members of Congress, and
among many of the leaders of
your States.
Good politics make good Gov
eminent. In this campaign ]
shall not try to minimize the
tasks which we confront. That
we shall pass through these
troubled times I am sure, not by
grace alone, but by faith, intelli-
gence and implacable determi-
nation.
In my travels about the coun-
try Of late In quest Of your con-
f1dence I have felt that determi-
nation, that indomitable spirit.
But nowhere more than here
where I suspect it is as strong
today as It was in the spring
Of 1866, when the Army of
Northern Virginia returned to
their homes. They found a
wasteland Of burned houses and
barns, fences fallen and bitches
caved in. weeds and sorrow
brooding over the fields.
That was in April. But by
June a cotton crop was growing.
The next year the crop was
larger. and the next year it was
still larger and so, painfully and
slowly, with no help except their
hands and the benson Of God,
the South started on its long
march from desolation to fruit
fu1ness.
This Is part Of your great
heritage. And If I could speak
for all Americans as I now do
for myself, I would say that it
also is part Of the great heritage
Of America.