/ '^^' %> \^||^*' J'^\ '^^X^/ ^' \.,^^ • .^'% 5» » %j^^ ^4 V «v^ *rf^'80 X" v*n, ci* ♦ o « " • « '*b a!^ • " • ♦ ^ ft" 1 " • * ^^ •ISIS* 4^^ / \ .(•-? *^ >^ .6-' -^ •• '^ ^:^ Ov-- <^. i\ %.^ ' :W: 9 -A :i:^'* ' *^ A~ . • • ^0^ -Ko^ V, THE American Soul AN APPRECIATION OF THE FOUR GREATEST AMERICANS AND THEIR LESSON FOR PRESENT AMERICANS BY Charles Sherwood Farriss Vice-Pres. of .Tno. B. Stetson University "dnml tins, I hoi iikiii nnisl jxiss from old to iieir, From mill to real, from mistake to fact. From irliat once seemed ijaod, to what now proves Jirst.'" — Robert Browning. 1920 THE STRATFORD CO., Publishers Boston, Massachusetts Copyrislit I'JlKt The STRATFORD CO., PublisliiT.- Boston. Mass. S)C(.A604353 NOV I'd 1920 Tlio Alpine Press, Jioston, Mass., U.S.A. A Prefatory Warning Here honest icorejs of f/reot nu ii gone ar( spohi ii, true To life: but all I hat niitjJif he saiel is left the noiiee For larger spaee. No hardness, sonrnf^ss, enri/, hate Is here allou-eel. If these i/on seek, elose tight the hook. Invocation 0, God of Lineolii, God of Lee, — oli, lead us, Lord, Of Wasliiiig-ton, and Roosevelt, rare, — oh, giiartl us Lord ! The work which Thou hast wrought we beg that Thou shalt keep Against an evil day jx-rcliance ourselves nvay bring. Keep off the storms whieh counter currents often raise ; Fast chain our foolisli passion's i)assing gales within, Nor let them, raging, move apart the stones just set. And scatter ruin where now our house so stately stands. Oh, let there be no fool's harsh word on land or sea, AViiich gathers force ofttimes with good men off their guard. And makes them act nu)re foolishly than he who threw The brand which fired their souls with false and l)ase alarms. Oh, let there be no Prejudice, in North or 8outii, A'ile l)ird that casts its feathered darts from off its back. To wound with brazen claws and wings and hideous beak. And feed on liumaii Hesh while foreign Harpies breed. "All America is thrown into one mass. Wlicre are your landmarks — your bouudaries of colonies? They ai'e all Ihrown down. The distinctions between Vir- <>'inians, Peinisylvanians, New Yorkers and New Eng- landers, are no more. I am not a \^irg-inian, but an American."" — John Adiiins' Dutvji, as qnotid hi/ W. Irriiif/, (/iviiig extract from speech of Patrick Henry, in the first American. Congress, Table of Contents PAGE OUR PMRST PRESIDENT .... 5 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 27 ROBERT EDWARD LEE .... 45 THEODORE ROOSEVELT .... 69 National F^rcedoiii — I lulixsolahU' Uiiio)i — Moral and Militani (Ircahuss — Virile Anicricaitisin. CKORCI'. WASH I N(, TON WASHINGTON AS A HKITISH LIKUTP^NANT Copyrighted by Miley & Son, Lexiiigton, Va. "The man who, amid the decadence of modern ages first dared believe that lie could inspire degener- ate nations with courage to rise to the level of republican virtues, lived for all nations and for all centuries." — Tallei/rand, French Minister of Foreign Affairs under Bonaparte. "Hap]>y in the contirnuitlon of our independence and sovereignty, and i)leased with the opportunity afforded the United States of becoming a respectable nation, I resign with satisfaction the appointment I accepted with diffidence; a diffidence in my abilities to accomplish so arduous a task, which, however, was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of our cause, the support of the supreme power of the Union, and the patronage of heaven." — From Washington's address before Congress tendering his resignation as Commanding General. "Should the States reject this excellent Constitu- tion, the probability is that oi^portunity will never be offered to cancel another in peace; the next will be drawn in blood." — G. W. (Traditionalhf related of him when signing the Constitution.) George Washington T"XrE have all had, from our childhood, a p'^'^^^;;l \ \ wonderful report of George Washing- ton ; but it was not ecjual to the reality. The stories told of his boyhood are not believed to- day. Nevertheless, his life reads like a eharniing ronianee. Augustine AVasliington was tlirown from a carriage in London. On arising, he looked for the tirst time into the lovely eyes of Mary Ball, who afterwards became the mother of our first Presitlent. Who can believe in ac- cidents ! The young George was himself of a decidedly romantic turn. From fourteen to twenty-five he was violently in love many times. In fact, Washington was never unsuccessful in anything but courtship. Possibly his lack of success in these things was only the way the fates had of guiding him eventually to the door- step of Martha Dandridge, the young, intelligent antl charming widow of Daniel Parke Custis. At the tinie of his marriage he was twenty-seven years old. He had already gained fame in the Sucoess XT 1 T 1 • ' mi " '" IjOVP Jb rench and Indian wars. The young Colonel retired from tlie Army, went to Mount Vernon, which had fallen into his possession by the death of Lawrence AVasliington, his brother. There he spent his honeymoon. With Lord Fairfax, the friend of his boyhood, and many gentlemen of [5] THE AMERICAN SOUL the day, he hunted foxes and discussed the g'low- iug questions of the day. He served as a member of the House of Burgesses, and also had time to become a diligent and most successful farmer besides. Those were hapj^y days at Mount Ver- non. But clouds were gathering. Events soon took an ominous turn. Clouds Gather ^j^^ stui)idity of the English Ministry and Parliament of that period is ([uite incredible in these later times. The Virginia Assembly had protested in vain against what is known as the Stamp Act. This Act required that the Colonists pay a revenue tax upon "all their commercial paper, legal documents, pamphlets and news- papers," and affix revenue stamps thereto. In furtherance of the Act British soldiers took up their residence at different places at the expense of the Colonists. In this manner Grenville, the British Prime Minister, attempted to defray "the expenses of defending, protecting and securing the colonies." "But," as Mr. Wilson remarks, "he came near losing them instead. (The Act was passed in March ; it was not to go into effect until November; but the Colonists did not keep them waiting until November for their protests.) A storm j\ ^yas the voice of a veritable tempest that of Protest * presently came over the sea to the ear of the startled Minister. " The year before (1764) the Virginia House of Burgesses had protested in advance against such taxation. That protest had been disregarded. What must be done? To [6] GEORGE WASHINGTON .sp(>ak atrainst the Act now that it has passed Parliament, woukl be nothing' short of treason. Was it possible that the men who had left Eng- land for their freedom would submit to a measure that violated their liberties? It was a time for courageous deliberation, for wise indio;nation, for itn])lied dissent of a menacing nature; but not of intemperate disobedience. And why not open opposition? Was there not really a determina- tion to resist the injustice that had been per- petrated against America ? Yes. Then why not oppose in so many words? That was the position Patrick of Patrick Henry, the new member from Han- Boidmss over. That young lawyer and country store- keeper, offered resolutions and made a speech which startled the House of Burgesses and thrilled the world. The imi)etuosity and charm of his eloquence carried the majority with him. But patriots like Peytou Randolph, Edmund Pendleton, Robert Carter Nicliolas, George W\ythe, and others of the older and more con- servative members, were alarmed. They feared that all the fat was being cast into the tire. Some of them even cried Treason ! Treason ! when Patrick Henry reached the climax of his defiant address and recommended that the English King consider well the fate of Caesar and Charles the First. "If that be treason, make the most of it !'' he said. What did Washington do? Let us glance toward his seat in the House during this excite- [7] THE AMP^RICAN SOUL ment at Henry's address. It is well to do so. It has the effect of calming one's nerves. There he sat in silence, feeling deeply, but with the calm of the brave soldier, the vision of the seer and the determination of the patriot. He felt that Henry was right. But no one was ever further from intemperate act or thought than ?*°'"*' , was George Washingtoii. So he was opposed to temperate o o i i than Henry ^jp intemperate part of the Henry resolutions which, had they been adopted, would have brought a British Army at once to the American shores. Possibly Jefferson had Washington in mind when he looked back on those glowing days and said. "Although we often wished to have gone faster, we slackened our pace, that our less ardent colleagues might keej) up with us; and they, on their part, differing nothing from us in principle, quickened their gait somewhat beyond that which their prudence might of itself have advised." But Washington, while not radical or precipitate, was convinced that the Stamp Act could never be enforced, and so wrote to Philip Dandridge, in London. The Stamj) Act was re-, stani). Act pcalcd biit its principle was repeated. It was ill Prinripie lollowcd, HI 1767, With "taxcs ou glass, paper, painters' colors and tea imported in the Colonies with a purpose to pay fixed salaries to the Crown's officers in the Colonies out of the pro- ceeds; and the contested ground was all to go over again." Even Jefferson would not accuse Washington of being slow of step in tlic face [8] GEORGE WASHINGTON of a letter which the latter wrote at this time to that splendid lawyer and statesman, George Mason. "At a time," said Washington, "when our Lordly Masters in Great Britain will be satisfied with nothing less than the deprivation of American freedom, it seems highly necessary that sometliing should be done to avert the stroke, and maintain the liberty wliicli we have derived from our ancestors. That no man should scruple or hesitate for a moment, to use arms in defence of so valuable a blessing, on which all the good and evil of life depends, is clearl}^ my opinion. Yet arms, I would beg leave to add, should be the last re- source." The first Continental Congress met in Phila- Piist delphia in 1774. Peyton Randolph, of Vir- ^'°"*^"'^^^« ginia, was President. Samuel Adams, rough of speech, adroit, and a natural born rebel, controlled tlie Massachusetts delegation. They had suffered most, Avitli British troops quartered upon Boston and the port shut up. The so-called Congress was hardly more than a meeting of Committees' from the several Colonies. Patrick Henry, one of the represent- atives from Virginia, said that unquestionably Colonel George Washington was "the greatest man on the floor." Yet he did not figure as a leader there, although he was reported as taking advanced ground in his sentiments against the gross treatment of Massachusetts' [9] THE AMERICAN SOUL His Earnestness Second Congress Washington elected Commander The New General a Noble Figure Colony. One strikino- utterance was: "I will raise one thousand men, enlist them at my own expense, and march myself at their head for the relief of Boston!" If he said that, he was de- cidedly side by side with Patrick Henry. The second (N)ntinental C^ongress met at Philadelphia on the 10th of May, ITTfx Omi- nous events led up to it. There was a great difference between it and the first Congress — that only protested — this acted. War had actually begun. Ethan Allen was at that in- stant taking possession of Fort Ticonderoga. 16,000 Continentals were in or near Boston. Washington was present, an out and out rebel, in his Continental uniform, ready to assist to the extent of his life and fortune. He was unanimously elected to take command of the new army which was waiting for a leader. He said to Congress, in accepting the commission : "I beg it may be remembered by every gentle- man in this room, that I this day declare with the utmost sincerity I do not think myself efjual to the command I am honored with." Two days later he was on his way to take command. John Adams said of him: "There is something charming to me in the conduct of Washing- ton." Sa.ys Woodrow Wilson: "It was an object lesson in the character of the revolution to see Washington ride through the Colonies to take charge of an insurgent army. That noble figure drew all eyes to it ; that mien as if the [10] GEORGE WASHINGTON man were a priiieo ; that sincere and open eonn- tenance, whieli every man conld see was lighted by a good conscience ; that cordial ease in salute, as of a man who felt himself brother t(i his friends. There was something about Wash- ington that qnickeued the pulses of a crowd at the same time tliat it awed tliem, that drew cheers whicli were a sort of voice of worshij). Childi-eu desired sight of him, and men felt lifted after he had i)asse(l. It was good to have such a man ride all the open way from Phila- delphia to Cambridge, in sight of the people, to assume command of the people's army. It gave character to the thoughts of all who saw him." Was there ever a tiner portraiture, in- side and outside, than that? It carries us pell- mell into those exciting days and places us npon tlie side-lines to lift our hats and, not shout but pray, for the man who must, by his wonderful magnetism, both create and hold together, for eight bitter years, the army which struck the blows of freedom and made secure the future of the world's greatest republic — a man whose doings thereafter were the history of America. Henry Gabot Lodge says of hnn : "The people looked upon him, and were con- fident that this was a man worthy and aide to dare and do all things." Every step of the way as he rode to Boston Avas a part of a great triumphal entry u])()n his duties. Bunker Hill had been fought before he arrived in Boston. [11] THE AMERICAN SOUL "Did the militia fi'lish armies, and faib'd to grasp the supreme power when the o])])()rtunity presented itself. BuL Wasliiugton was a man of faith that he had been directed by Jehovali. ''I consider it my indispensable duty," he said at the end of liis resignation as General, "to close this last sol- emn act of my olficial life hy commending the interests of our dearest country to the protec- tion of Almighty God, and tliose who have the superintendence of them to His holy kee])ing." "It was," says AVoodrow AVilson, "as if spoken on the morrow of the day upon which lie ac- cepted his commission : the same diffidence, the same trust in a power greater and higher than his ow^i." Ill the Washington was twice elected President I'n-sident's c'liair without oppositiou. He served two terms of four years each. He refused to be elected for a third term. AVhen he was elected for the first time he accepted the oifice only after Ham- ilton had plead with him that it was his duty. Governor Johnson, of Maryland had written him that he could explain to any one else excejit him why the country must have him. "To make any one else President," says Mr. Wilson, "it seemed to men everywhere, would be like [Kil As si-cat as I'cilit ii'iaii GEORGE WASHINGTON crowning' a subject while the King was by." Tliose two terms of liis Presidency were tiimnlt- iions years. Tliey included the time of tlie foi-- mation of jiolitical parties; they embraced the years of the French Revolution; it was then that the battU^ of the giants on tlie formation of a National Bank was fought in Congress; it was the time of the whiskey r(>bellion; it was the time when we began the claiming of the empire of the great West. Through it all AVashington was as great and righteous and '"^ <'t'"^'>""i efificient as he was when General. In fact, he reached the high-water-mark of his career wdien he laid his stern hand upon Jefferson's policy to embroil and embrangle us in a Avibl and entangling alliance with France engaged in a revolution which had no resemblance to ours. Hut for the wisdom aii Oa])it()l the peo]ile thronged after him. It was not the new President, but their beloved Wash- ington they desii'ed to see. The scene touched [17] THE AMERICAN SOUL him. "No man ever saw him so moved." As the tears coursed their way down liis cheeks, the hearts of the people were bent in sorrow. He went back to Mount Vernon to tbe country- life he loved. Unfortunately, this time was brief. On the 12th of December, 17i)!), on going- the rounds of liis farms, he caught a violent cold which settled in his throat. By evening of the next day the end had come. "He was calm the day through," says Wilson, "as in time of battle ; knowing what betided, but not fearing it; steady, noble, a warrior tigure to the last; and he died as those who loved him might have The world wishcd to scc him die." When the news sped grieves at his death ovcr the uatiou the people sf)bbe(l with the deepest grief. The tlags and standards of France were hung with crepe and the flags of the English fleet were lowered to half-mast. The report of Talleyrand, the French Foreign Minister, constitutes one of the finest eulogies ever made to mortal man : I quote its closing paragraph: "The man who, amid the decad- ence of modern ages, first dared believe that he could inspire degenerate nations with cour- age to rise to the level of republican virtues, lived for all nations, and for all centuries ; and this nation which first saw in the life and suc- cess of that illustrious man a foreboding of his destiny, and therein recognized a future to be realized and duties to be performed, had every right to class him as a fellow citizen. T there- [18] GEORGE WASHINGTON fore submit to the first consul tlie following decree: "Bonaparte, First Gonsul of the Re- public decrees as follows : Article 1. A statue is to be erected to General Washing-ton. Article 2. This statue is to be placed in one of the squares of Paris, to be chosen by the Min- ister of the Interior, and it shall be his duty to execute the present decree." As we turn away from the tomb of the great we become reflective. The greatness of Wash- ington compels us to this. Even in his youth he was a man of high spirit and just percep- tions, of great moral as well as physical courage. He always acted in accordance with his sense of justice. A case in point was when Governor Dinwiddle raised ten companies with as many independent captains, and ruled that there should be no officer above the rank of Ca])tain. As Washington was already Golonel, the act was considered demeaning by him and he went back to his farm at Mount Vernon. The Governor was surprised, (and Thomas Penn was concerned that Colonel Washington's conduct was so imprudent.) With this sort of sei'f"ivstT!.iiit ])ehavior in mind, how can you account for the fact that he always impressed those who knew him best as having a great restraint and self- command? His intimate friends knew him as a man whom they had never seen in a passion. Yet, we know there were stories of outbursts against cowardice in the army, disobedience [19] THE amp:rican soul and iK'olect on the part of overseers, and theft from trespassers. We have all heard the story of the poacher who was shooting wild-fowl on Wasliino'ton's game preserves. The villain, as Washington approached him to scold him, levelled his gun upon liim. The act aroused the fighting spirit of the man who loved the whistle of bullets. He plunged his horse into the water, snatched the gun from the hands of the rogue and thraslied him. This was the Washington who made it lively for the cowardly GenUema™'' «oldier or cvcu the disobedient general. That other Washington, the silent, wholesome, open- minded, red-blooded product of the polite training of Lord Fairfax, Greenway Court and Mount Vernon — the Washington of that mar- velous self-poise — the Washington who, when others were rending their garments and casting the dust into the air stood calm amid the storm, self-reflective and far-visioned — the Washing- ton who could ])ilot a revolution when tlie storms of passion which swept across his soul pressed down upon that lake of fire in his own breast and compelled its calm — the Washington who could repress his feelings when an incom- petent Congress expected everything of him and his ragged, starving army and yet did nothing for them in the way of sending sup- plies — the Washington who could kneel in the snow at Valley Forge, amid the bloody foot- prints of a shoeless soldiery and confidently [20] GEORGE AVASIIINGTON expect great things of the God of battles — the Washington who conld almost bankrupt his large estate that he might serve his country — - the Washington who could wait for time and events to disprove the accusations of the Conway-Gates Conspiracy against him — the Washington w^ho could, by that great, quiet, presence of his, allay the fiery antagonisms of rival statesmen — the Washington who could steerhig a " Revolution successfully steer a revolution, shape a Consti- tution and lay down his task at the close with gratitude to God and as much revered by his fellow citizens as was Solon by the Athenians — ■ the Washington who far surpassed in his states- manship any of his critics or admirers — the Washington whom Napoleon regarded as one of the greatest generals of History — this was the Washington (let me say it calmly) the serene, unruffled, urbane, quiet spirit whose presence gave him precedence over all, and whose unsullied character, pre-eminent abil- ities, modesty, masterful self-control, and yet withal, Olympian reserve power, were simply overwhelming. We have had no man in American history b" Himserf like unto him — no man comparable to him in all things, though others equalled him — even ex- celled him — in some things. At this late day we view him with a passionless gaze, and weigh his qualities with unfevered mind. Wisq writers of history are in no danger of con- [21] THE AMERICAN SOUL tributiiiji' an error of judgment to our Annals by failure to place him first in time and first in Present gTeatuess of the American Presidents. We vit.ality ... need not wonder that he is the livest man ni America to-day and that the interpretation of his advice against entangling alliances with European governments has been the storm- center of the greatest debate in the session of the Congress just closed and re-convened. [22J ABRAHAM LINCOLN ABRAHAM LINCOLN Copyiiglitcd hy Harris & Ewing, Washington, 1), C, *'He stood a. lieroic fig'ure, in the centre of a. heroic epoch. He is the true story of the American ])eo})le in his time." — Ralph Waldo Emerson. "If I could save the Union without freeino: any shive, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it ; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that." — Abraham Lincoln, in a letter to Horace Greeley in 1862, as quoted by Congressman Jose^ih G. Cannon. "And tlien, from fifty fameless years In fjuiet Illinois was sent A word that still the Atlantic hears, And Lincoln was the Lord of his event." — IJrinkwater's Plai/. Abraham Lincoln Now he is witii liic aiifs, «hiu oiuiudii ;■. ;■■ ^ ' Lincoln in tlie ji'ray < ith the acres, said Stanton ;^.'"'|''="' ^ ' Lincoln dawn of the winter day as the stertorous breathing ceased, and the great lieart was stiHed," said Henry Watterson, the greatest of editors and one of the greatest of statesmen, of Abraham Lincoln, in The (^os- mo]iolitan ten years ago. "His life" continues Mr. Watterson, "had been an e])ic in homespun, his death, like that of Caesar, beggars tlie arts and resources of Melpomene of the mimic scene." Why does the great Southerner give such a a south crncr'.s trd)ute to the leader of the forces against Justice which he fought in tiie Civil AVar? Mr. Wat- terson answers this (|uestion himself. He says: "With respect to Abraham Lincoln, I, as a Southern man and Confederate soldier, here render unto Caesar the things that urc Caesar's, even as I would render unto God the things that are God's." Does not the great editor tell us the truth when he suggests that facts of history are all invalided in the presence of that terrible tragedy? Must we not iiuleed have to go to tiction for a ])aradel of that tragedy of tragedies for the peoj)le of America, especially [27] THE AMERICAN SOUL of that part of America South of the Potomac A fateful and Ohio rivers? Says John Hay, in speaking- of that scene: "Within the narrow compass of that stage-box that night were five human be- ings : the most illustrious of modern heroes crowned with the most stupendous victory of modern times; his beloved wife, proud and happy; two betrothed lovers with all the promise of felicity that youth, social position, and wealth could give them, and a young actor, handsome as Endymion upon Latmus, the idol of his little world. The glitter of fame, happi- ness and ease was u]>on the entire group; l)nt in an instant everything was to be changed with the blinding swiftness of enchantment. Quick death was to come on the central figure of that company. Over all the rest the black- est fates hovered menacingly: fates from which a mother might pray that kindly death might save her children in infancy. One was to wander Avith the stain of murder on his soul, with the curses of a world upon his name, with a price set upon his head, in frightful physical pain, till lie died a dog's death in a burning barn. Tlie stricken wife was to pass the rest of her days in melancholy and madness; of those two young lovers, one was to slay the other, and then end his life a raving maniac." Those are dramatic words of Mr. Lincoln's What the private secretary. What did this assassination Crime meant . , . . ^t ,i n a i • tt in the North mean tor tlie victorious JNorth « A rekindling [ 28 ] ABRAHAM LINCOLN of passion in the breasts of some men wlio liad quenched those fires and longed for a reunion of the brothers ; a confirmation of the hatreds of the shallow whose existence depended upon gorgets of vengeance and morsels of further human suffering ; a redoubling of energies on the part of the great and the wise to keep alive the great spirit of the martyr-President now separated from its human temple. That is Avhat it meant in tiie North. What did the whistle of that criminal bullet mean for the ►South ? Project yourself into that desolate section, in those exciting times. What do we see there? The South sits at her windoAv in the ^^'■"t it meant in the elegant, tattered finery of pre-war days, ^outh maiuially helpless from never having had to do her own labor — her hands yet white and deli- cate because toilless. As she gazes from her window, now unglazed by the shock of war, she is widowed and childless; her lands are un- planted ; her live-stock have been slain or confiscated; her houses and factories are ruined, many of them have been burned; her storehouses have been ransacked by friend and foe alike; her slaves have become voters aiul legislators and thousands have followed in the wake of the invading army. Cropless, labor- less, moneyless, comfortless, wan and weak, tired and tearful, haggard and heroic she reaches out her hand for help. Only one man Oniy One ]]i the Nation, agam under one flag, can give it [29 1 THE AMERICAN SOUL to her. That man had said to her, on a noted occasion, that she ''should come baclv home and behave" lierself. He was a man of great lieart and great comnnin sense. He was a man "of admiralde intellectnal aplomb." He was a man who had the warmth of the Southern sun in his blood. "He sprang from a Virginia pedigree and was born in Kentucky." This was the man to whom the South, in her widowed, heli)less condition, was looking for hel]i. This was the man who said to the ])eo]ile : "1 have no prejudice against the Southern j)eo])le. They are just what we wouhl be in their situation." That was tlie man wlio said to one of his oAvn War- Congresses: "The ]H'0]ile of the South are not more responsil)le for the original introduction of this property than are the people of the North, and, when it is remembered how unhesi- tatingly we all use cotton and sugar and share the profits of dealing in them, it nuiy not l)e quite safe to say that the South has been more responsible than the North for its contiini- ance." As the worn and still bleeding South tottered to her feet and held out her hands toward this her former lover, there was sad appeal in her eyes and hopefulness in her heart. And why? She knew his iioble nature and her intuitions told her that he could never, would never, forget his first love. But alas ! alas ! in [30] ABRAHAM LINCOLN a nioiiKMit of her radiant hope came the news that a madman's bullet had sung the requiem of the great head of the nation. It is true that some diseases are most danger- ous at the moment of convalescence — when one thinks liimself well then is he nearest death. The saying of Solon, the Athenian sage, so potent in tlie life of the rich Croesus, has stood the test of the ages, that is, that no man can be ])r()])erly estimated during his life-time. The world lost heavily in the taking away of Abra- ham Lincoln. The chaplet it has placed on his temples is a noble one. The North thought when lie fell, that the grief was hers and only hers. It was the inspired lute of her own Walt Whitman \\hich sang her moui'uful but sweet lamentation : O Ca|)tain! my Ca])t;iin! our fearful trip is My captain done. The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won, The port is near, the bells T hear, the people all exulting While follow eyes the steady Keel, the vessel grim and daring; 15u1 () heart! heart ! heart! () the bleeding drops of red, Whci'c oil the deck my Captain lies, Fallen, cold and dead. [ 31 ] THE AMERICAN SOUL Captain ! my Captain ! rise up and hear the bells Rise up — for you the tiag is tlung — for you the bugle trills ; For you the bouquets and ribboned wreaths — for you the shores a-crowding, For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning ; Here Captain! dear father! This arm beneath your head ! It is some dream that on the deck, You've fallen cold and dead. My Captain does not answer, his lijis are ]iale and still, My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor Avill, The ship is anchor 'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done. From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won. Exult Shores, and ring bells! But I with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies. Fallen cold and dead. What makes This pocm was pubHshcd in the fiery, excit- (ir'eat"''™ iug and bitter days of 1865, immediately suc- ceeding the murder. Do you not notice its chief glory? Is it in its swinging rythmic metre aiul beauteous expression that real [32] ABRAHAM LINCOLN Americans have cause for congratulation and thankfniness? Yes, but these do not constitute its Jiig'hest excellence. What does? Is it in the fact that it is one of the purest and sweetest poems AVhitman ever wrote? Yes, this criti- cism is also true ; but it contains far more than this for all large-spirited men and women of our great country. What is it, indeed? It is that though sung in those days of burning an- ger and misunderstanding, there is not a single word of rancor in it. It is not a Psalm of a Song of . Ht'tlilelieni David, but song oi Bethlehem — a message of peace and not of war — the voice of wisdom and not tlie product of "the narrow forehead of the fool" — It is written in the spirit of the great Lincoln himself; it is written in the spirit in which Col. Watterson wrote on the Lincoln Centenary celebration : "Only a little while and there will not be a man living who saw service on either side of that great struggle. Its pas- sions long ago faded from manly bosoms. Meanwhile it is required of no one, whichever flag he served under, that he make renuncia- tions dishonoring himself. Each may leave to posterity the casting of the balance between antagonistic schools of thought and opposing camps in action, where in both the essentials of fidelity and courage Avere so amply met. Nor is it the part of wisdom to regret a tale that is told. The issues that evoked the strife of sections are dead issues. The conflict which [33] THE AMERICAN SOUL was thouo'ht to be irreconcilable and was cer- tainly inevitable, ended more than forty years ago. It was fonght to its conclusion by fear- less and uprig'lit men. To some the result was logical ; to others it was disappointing ; to all it was final." What have we to add to these manly words of Henry Watterson ? Just this : that aliens who quarrel should be reconciled, External brothers who quarrel must. The brother who Dangers in . , . . Brothers' sluits liunselt in his room and makes his door Quarrels n i • the dead-hne between himselt and his brother not merely shuts off all love and progress, but exposes his premises to exploitation and attack. Americanization has lately"* been writ large upon our American skies. Its proper interpre- tation and the solution of its problems are bound u]) in one word — a George Washington word, an Abraham Lincoln word — the word union — not only Constitutional union but per- No Wisdom soiial uiiion. There is absolutelv no justifica- in Sectional . , . . . " Prejudice tioii ±or scctioiial prcjudicc. Eventually it must lead, if not to presumption and insult, ])ossiI)ly attack from outsiders, at least to a re- newal of civil strife. When could such a thing take place? Just so soon as the issue at vari- ance becomes large enough. Could we ever have so great a question in America? When New England first sold her slaves to Southern cotton and sugar planters, who then foresaw that the question of African slavery had al- ready been decided against by the fates? But, [34] ABRAHAM LINCOLN as a matter of fact, ti'reat issues are not needed for the uiileashin'ht, as God y'ives ns to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in ; to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne tlie battle, and for his widow and his orphan; to do all which ma.y achieve and cherish a just and last- ing peace among ourselves and Avith all na- tions." What jewel is the most valuable and sparkling by far of the jewels which make up this wonderful passage — a real coronet of American freedom and safety and wisdom? It is this: ''to do all which may achieve and cher- ish a JNst and lasting peace aniotuj ourselves." Let us for a moment again turn our eyes upon the South. She again sits at her window, but no longer with pensive, wan and wasted weeping. She is no longer in tatters and want. She looks out upon a landscape of snow, strangely intermingled with silver and gold. The snow is her cotton — a great depth of it ; the silver and gold are her Indian corn and her wheat — exhaustless veins of them. In the near background may be seen, suspended over her growing cities (black when first ejected from massive stacks, but empur- pled by contact with the golden Southern sun) the haze of smoke indicative of a phenomenal growth of her manufactures and commerce. As the South looks ui)on this scene she smiles [38] ABRAHAM LINCOLN radiantly, and points it out to her former rival, but now warm sympathizer — in fact they are more closely united than ever before. Their cliildren have intermarried; they have stood toji'ether on the same battlefields; the sons of the South have gone to the North ; the sons of the North have come to the South ; homes have become interchanged; the Northern merchant or manufacturer has become the Southern land- owner; the Southern laud-owner has become the Northern merchant or manufacturer; a new generation has been the product of this union — a real American union — disru})ted on the ques- tion of African slavery by war because neither South nor North would listen, at the moment of crisis, to the words of Abraham Lincoln. The two sisters turn and grasp each other by both hands, gaze kindly each into the eyes of the other while the spirit of the martyred President once villitied by both, but now loved by both, looming large in their visualization says, "Love yc each other and all shall be right with the world." [39] ROBERT EDWARD LEE ROBERT E. LEE Copyrighted by Miley & Son, Lexington, Va. "In him all that was |»uii' and lofty in mind and purpose found lodgment . He came nearer the ideal of a soldier and Christian general than any man we can think of, for he was a greater soldier than Have- lock, and equally as devout a Christian." — Extract from editorial in The New York Herald. "I have met with many of the great men of my time, but Lee alone impressed me with the feeling that I was in the })resence of a man who was cast in a grander mould and made of different and finer metal than all other men. — Lord W'olsele/i, British deneraJ. "The Conunand ng (Jeneral earnestly exhorts the troops to al)sta.n with most scrupulous care from unnecessary or wanton injury to private i)roperty; and he enjoins u|)on all officers to arrest and l)ring to summary jnuiishment all who shall in any way offend against the orders on this subject." — General Orders 73, Chambershury, Fa., June 27, 1863. Page 68 Robert lidward Lee IN one of the many rooms of "Stratford," uoix-rt the famous Lee homestead, m Virginia, on January 19th, 1807, the eyes of Robert Edward Lee first opened upon the world to wliieh he was to add the lustre of a great genius and the halo of an almost faultless personal life. Had his great mother, Anne Hill Carter Lee, as she clasped the babe to her bosom on that winter's day, visualized his great and fateful career, her heart would luive trembled Avhile it swelled with a pardonable pride. His mother con- tributed to his greatness not only the blood of Robert the Bruce, which coursed in her veins, but the rarest and finest instruction. His ideals were of the noblest. Three lives envel- oped him and moulded the man from material without dross: Jesus Christ, his mother and George Washington. This constituted him a man without oti'ence, of great personal purity, and of a noble dignity. He was so regarded as a youth, as a Cadet at West Point (from whicli he graduated in 1820 M-itli higli honor), in the Mexican War, where he attained distinction, and throughout the Civil War. No American was so like Washington as was Robert E. Lee. They were both men of great physical conieli- [45] THE AMERICAN SOUL ness and masterful presence. Had they lived in the days of the finest sculptured marbles, perpetuant of ideals of Olympian Zeus, both would have been sought out by Pheidias. They were both men of the greatest military genius, the loftiest honor, the most distin- guished truthfulness, the noblest courage and the most marvellous self-command under any circumstances which might arise. There is no need of going back of June 1, 1862, to estimate the active career of General Lee. LTp to that time he had but little prestige. Great The grcatcst soldier of the war had his hands Military _ '^ _ Talents f[^([ (Inriug thc previous vear and two months, Aot Known c- i . by President Davis. The judgment of the lat- ter, in keeping the peerless fighter in a merely advisory and general service, was unfortunate for the South. The Federal bullet that tem- porarily took Joseph E. Johnston from the field, took away a brave man ; but it performed the greatest service of the war to the Confed- erates, by leaving Mr. Davis in great need of a commander-in-chief. Lee was the logical choice. Indeed, it was almost a Hobson's choice, on the part of Jefferson Davis, who was himself sometimes on the battlefield (in stove- pipe hat.) New Activity Froui the moment Lee had taken his bear- ings, the high-spirited generals under him felt the reins tighten. It was the driving of Apollo instead of Phaethon, and the fierce-mettled [4G] ROBERT E. LEE steeds got back into their course. Tlie officers of tlie line, inclined to criticise the act that placed a tame staff official over "soldiers", soon had the ennui driven from their lives. Ag- gression was the key-note of Lee. Gaines' ^lill and Malvern Hill, the first great successes of the new commander, commensurate with his first opportunity, witnessed a brilliant defeat of a brilliant soldier, George B. McClellan, and relieved Richmond, for three years, of wdiat J-euI'ved"' appeared certain capitulation. The fact that Lee went to the attack in the face of tlie advice of his generals at that time, showed his self- reliance, and the victory over a great army, showed the wnsdom of his plans. His great losses, in those seven days' fighting around Richmond, was not due to any error of his. "However it was," says Thomas Nelson Page, "Lee relieved Richmond, and the war, from being based on a single campaign, was now a matter of years and treasure, and the years and the treasure that it required were mainly due to Lee's transcendant genius. It is prob- able that but for Lee the war would not have lasted tw^o years." The disastrous defeat of Pope at the second battle of Manassas, within six weeks further, established Lee's reputation as a master of strategy and attracted general attention to the wonderful fighting qualities of "Stonewall stonewaii Jackson". E. Benjamin Andrews, a northern rising star [47] THE AMERICAN SOUL critic, says of Jackson tliat he was not only an intensely religious man but also a stern dis- ciplinarian. "In consequence, when the clay of battle came, there was not a man in the corps who (lid not feel sure that if he shirked duty Stonewall Jackson would shoot him and God Almighty would damn him. This heijied to render Jackson's thirty thousand ]ierhaps the most efficient fighting nuichine which had ap- peared upon the battlefield since the Ironsides of Oliver Cromwell." One feels this last statement to be true, and, it being true, General Lee was peculiarly fortunate in having such a Suggests lieutenant. After the second Manassas, "Lee's Proi>osition for boldest and possibly the most masterlv piece of Iiulfpendence _ ■ ' strategy in the whole M^ar, and one of the most daring movements in the history of wars," Lee wrote to President Davis that the Confederate States could propose with propriety, to the United States, the recognition of the South 's independence. It was partly for this purpose he entered Maryland, hoping the people of that State would declare for the South and thus strengthen the chances for peace. But Mary- Fataiity of land remained neutral. Unfortunately for the a handful ^ of cigars causc of the South, also, Lee's plan for the cap- ture of McClellan's army and the eventual cap- ture of Washington was found wrapped around a small bundle of cigars carelessly lost by some Confederate official, on the site of D. II. Hill's encampment at Frederick. Notwithstanding, [48] ROBERT E. LEE he did not recross the Potomac until he had captiired Harper's Perry with 12,500 prisoners, and had, at Antietam, tlie most sang-uinary bat- tle of the war, withstood successfully the s])leiidid fighting troops of McClellan's large army. His challenge for a fight the next day after the battle, not being accepted, he crossed to the Southern side of the Potomac. It was immediately after Antietam that Lee sent Stuart for the second time, entirely around the Army of McClellan — a distance of 126 miles, with 1800 men, — one of the most brilliant cav- alr}^ actions in history. He had no losses. Although the accidental finding of Lee's M''itary Faint' despatch made Lee's invasion of Maryland a ''i that men endowed with reason and knowledge of right should mar His gifts !" Lee now hoped that by crossing the Potomac why Lee he might get provisions and shoes for his army Peinisyiviuiia and, if he could defeat the Federal army (now comnuinded by General Geo. G. Meade, an ac- complished and gallant otficer), the Nortli might be persuaded to grant peace and inde- pendence to the Confederate States. This is evidenced by a long letter written by him to [ 53 ] THE AMERICAN SOUL President Davis at the time. Thus beji'an tlie memorable campaign eulmiiiating in the battle Aviiat of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863). What Water- (icttyslmrg a meant to 1 00 was to Napoleou, Gettvsburg' was to Lee. Him \ R'tor Hug'o declared that Napoleon lost Waterloo because the rains of the previous night made it imjiossible to carry out his orders in reference to his artillery. Many historians say that Longstreet's failure to obey Lee's or- ders at Gettysl)nrg kept Lee's army from a great victory. President E. Benjamin An- drews, a Union soldier, declares that "had Stonewall Jackson l)een still alive and in the place of either" p]well or Longstreet, "the issue of the battle would almost to a certainty have been very different from what it was." Let it be known however, that Lee took ujion himself the wliob^ blame with his usual noble generosity. Hiame u'Von ^ uoticeablc thing about Lee was that he had Hims.-if sense enough to keep silent when he was mis- judged and criticised. Another was that he had heart enough to take all jiossible blame upon himself when it might have been i)Iaced upon weaker nuMi Avho failed him at critical moments. And his (puility of nuxlesty was clear, pure and without cant or false light. His manliness was so great, so vicarious, so militant that he bore, without comjJaint, the sins of others. "So far as has ever Ixmmi made ap()ar(Mit, every ])lan which Lee formed foi- the [54 J ROBEKT K. LEE battle of Gettysliiiro', every order which he gave, was wise and i'i;^ht," says President An drews. The latter eontinues : "In Prnssia's war with Austria in 1866, Von Moltke's plan at the hattle of Sadowa, where he s|)lendidly triunijihed, was in the same respect a close imitation of Lee's at Gettvsburg." Thomas Tudgnient ot tlie Nelson Page, in his Life of Lee, thinks that i''"ture "the judgment of the .future is likely to he, that while on the Northern side the eorjis com- manders made amends for lack of plan and saved the day hy their admirable co-operation, on the Southern side the i^lan of the command- ing general was defeated l)y the failure of the cordis commanders to act ]n"omptly aiul in con- cert." There was stinging criticism of Lee in the South for not winning the battle, as there was of Meade in the North for liis not Aviiuiing it and destroying the army of Lee. Meade was eventually superseded liy Grant. Lee stopped the mouths of his critics by taking the whole blame and offering to resign. Military critics will continue to talk of the (jreat battle ot Gettysburg as long as tlie ]u-niter s art on both sides lasts. Some will say it was a drawn battle, as Lee lay for ten days in the face of Meade's army and then leisurely crossed the l^otomac Avith 4000 i)risoners. Whatever the verdict in this res])ect, all agree that never in the world's his- tory Avas more valorous tighting done on both sides. General Meade showed himself a noble [55,] THE AMERICAN SOUL soldier, and if Lee was defeated at GettysLurg', Meade enjoys a distinction that is his ah)ne. If Lee was defeated it was in the partienlar that he had to recross tlie Potomac witliout tlie snpplies for which he had primarily gone into Pennsylvania. He went back to Virginia al- ready exhausted of men and resources. The blockade tightened. To feed and clothe his men was a greater problem than to win battles, (h-ant's In the meantime Grant's ever-increasing Avalanche avalanche swept (h)wii against those ragged gray lines threatening to overwhelm them, but without success. President Davis said to Lee, who, after Gettysburg, asked for a man of greater ability to be put in his place: "To ask me to substitute for you some one, in my judg- ment, more tit to command or who would ])os- sess more of the confidence of the army, or of the reflecting men of the country, is to demand an impossibility." The days following, up to the close of the war, two years thereafter, sliowed this to be eminently true. The army of Northern Virginia ke]it its confidence in their leader to the bitter end. Had Hannibars troops, somewhat under the same sort of condi- tions, been so attached to their commander. Terrible Roiuc would liavc fallcii. Ill the cold winter of Condition of ,, ,^ , i n i? t •> Lee's Army 1.Sd4 thousauds ot Lcc s troops were Avithout blankets, socks or slioes, and often without food. But the army kept its spirit of cheerful- ness and devotion to its leader. Again and [56] ROBERT E. LEE again the grreat Grant, ^witli liis brave army, plnn^i'ed a<2'ain.st tliat jntifully few and meagTely clothed force; but Avithout exception experienced a thnd instead of a yielding. Again and again President Lincoln insisted that not Richmond, the capital of the Confeder- acy, but Lee's army, its defender, be made the objective of tlie army of the Potomac. But in vain. The tires which surrounded that Brun- hilde (»n the l)anks of the James could not be penetrated; for the central ''feed" of thos(>, fires Avas the heart and talents of Lee. North "i-^nit • ;iiliiiirc(l i and South, the Ameru-ans who love Lee never the somii fail to exalt his ojiponent. General Grant. They do this because of the great qualities of Grant, for Lee's front was the school master that led him to greatness. Had he not pos- sessed great qualities as a commander his large army could not have withstood the ])atehed and mended gray columns of that wonderful, aggressive tactician. This was seen at the Wiklerness, at Spottsylvania and at Cold Har- bor. At the former, Lee justified the criticism of Henderson who said that he was "a pro- found thinker folloAving the highest principles of the military art." There Grant showed the stuff of Avhich he was made. For, as Rodes says, "measured by casualties the advantage was with the Confederates" (Grant losing 17,- 666 men, the Confederates half that number), Grant reported that he Avould fight again. To [57 1 THE AMERICAN SOUL quote Thomas Nelson Pap;o : "He had supreme self-confidence based on rare eonraji'e and rare ability to command and to tirey. But Lee divined his purpose and outstripjx'd him. At Spottsylvania, Lee's line was partially broken, and he determined to re- store it, as it had never been broken before. Heart-sick At that time having had the indescribable mis- over the loss e. i?i*i' j. iii ttti of (General tortuiu' ot h)snig liis great cavalry leader, J. E. '^'"'"■' B. Stuart, he j^laced himself at the head of the charging columns. But his uumi refused to move forward with their idolized commander in such hazard. He retired to his point of observation in the rear and the charge that restored the line was led by General John B. Gordon. The loss of dleneral Stuart cut Lee to the heart, and Avas ahnost as great a loss as the death of Stoiu^wall Jackson. He had been at West Point with Custis Lee, had been much in the Lee household, and General Lee loved him as he did his own son, Custis. Pie had declared on tlie death of Jackson, that he had lost his right hand; he lost his left hand when Stuart was shot from his horse at Spottsylvania. [58] ROBERT E. LEE General Sedjrwiek, the notable T'nion com- Sedgewiek's ^ opinion of mander of the Sixth f'orps, of Grant's army, stuart said of General Stuart: "He was the hest cav- alry of^cer ever foaled in America."" Lee. in announcing Stuart's death to his army said: "To military capacity of a high order and to the nobler virtues of the soldier lie added the brighter graces of a pure life, guided and sus- tained by the Christian's faith and hope." It is noticeable that Lee, in estimating men, places the highest value upon their personal Christian lives. After Spottsylvania came Cold Harbor. The [jf/^fj^^ task of keeping from Richmond, Grant's army, ''^"'^"^ which hy this time nearly trel)led his own, Avas a terrible responsibility for Lee. An added seriousness of the situation was relieved Avhen General Butler, with :!."),()()() new troojis. was. as General Grant himself said, "soon in a bottle which Beauregard had corked, and with a small force could hold the cork in place." Xeverthe- Hatti!''''of less, 12,000 of those troops escaped and Avere ^"''''' Harbor added to Grant's legions Avhen he and Lee faced each other on that terrible field of Cold Harbor — McClellan's former position. Again and again Lee's line proved unassailable. Again and again Grant's inflexible resolution pushed his brave men into that terrible mael- strom of death, until finally they refused to move. It was another Balaclava on a greater scale. "Cold Harbor," said General Grant after the [59] THE AMERICAN SOUL war, "is the only battle I ever foiiglit tliat I would not fight over again nnder the cirenm- stanees." Was there ever a greater fighter than the American soldier? Certainly the courage shown by officers and men of both sides during tliat Virginia campaign, has not been surpassed by any soldiers in any age. The losses of Grant, in thirty days in that campaign were enormous in killed and wounded. Lee, while losing only about one-third as many could less afiford tlie loss than Grant. 1 (|vu)te again from President E. IVMijamin Andrews. "'Gettysburg convinced Lee that he could toy with the Potonuic army no longer, and this was more than (>ver impossible after Grant took com- mand. Tliis struggle [the AVilderness, Spott- sylvania, and Cold Harbor] tested both com- manders' mettle to the utmost. At the end of the hammering campaign, after losing men enough to form an army as large as Lee's, Grant's van was full twice as far from Rich- mond as McClellan's had been tw^o j^ears be- fore." Lee's last But slowly and surely were the intrepid Trpiiclics soldiers of Lee marching toward their last trenches. As another has said, "bravery in cam)) and field and deathless endurance at home could not take the place of bread." Although Petersburg, the key to Richmond, Avithstood a siege of ten months, and the iron- Avilled, indomitable Grant had lost before those [60] ROBERT E. LEE fiery g-Aten 60,000 more men, other agencies T'^eir^terribie eontrilnited irresistibly to tlie close of the war. AVith the fall of Vickshnrg everythin"- to the West of tlie Mississippi was lost. And so with Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and Louisiana. Mississi]ipi. Alabama and Georg-ia havino- been cut off by Sherman's march to the sea, the veins of the Confederacy were opened unto the death. Add to this the fact that Lee's starving few Avere finally ()utnum])ered five to one and yet he kept that line unbroken, until he laid doAvn his arms at Ap]iomattox, April !», 1865. All this was done in the face of an alert, relentless, well- fed, well-clothed and brave army led by one of the world's great commanders whose greatness bespeaks to friend aiul foe the greatness of Lee. "Let us ask critics versed in the history of war" says President Andrews, a lirave Union soldier, "if books' tell of generalship more complete than this!" When the two great commanders met in the Two Great McLean parlor, at Ai^pomattox, Va., April 9, 1865, there were i^olite greetings between the two. Lee wore his sword. Grant apologized for not wearing his, saying it had gone off in the baggage. Terms were soon arranged. There was no tender of sword on the jiart of Lee, nor did Grant recjuire it. By the terms all men Avere paroled and officers Avere alloAved to retain their horses, their baggage and their side-arms. General Lee was courteous, digni- [61] THE AMERICAN SOUL fled and sad; Grant was considerate, majiiian- iraous and calm. When the two men, llie greatest Generals of the two armies, left that parlor, the "war was at an end, so far as they were concerned. Both were g-reat masters of military science. Bnt both were men of peace. It remained for smaller men — men neither great in war nor in peace — to continue the jn-ejudices of the war. President Andrew Johnson, a iSouthern man, took measures to have Lee indicted for treason. All real Ameri- cans, North and South, regret this. But too much must not be nuule of it. A well known fact in human history, that prejudices some- times control large intellects, had its applica- Ornnt tiou ill the case of President Johnson, ({eneral protests Grant protested against such a violation of the terms of his surrender. The matter was drop- ped as wholly untenable in accordance with the Constitution of the United States. It was a mistake of the times, wdien men's blood boiled anew^ at the assassination of President Lincoln, a deed denounced by Lee in the strongest terms. Another mistake of the times was to permit this great and fine spirit to go to his grave without amnesty on the ]')art of the country he always loved and on the history of which he cast a brilliance, in the estimation of the w^orld, which will illumine the pages of all America's future liistorians. [02 1 ROBERT E. LEE For tliere is justice in history. Prejudice which hides truth in one aji'e ceases to exist in succeeding' ag'es, so that whatever it hid is dis- ch)sed to the view. Just as rains and frosts corrode and wash away and break away the hiniinae of earth and ji'ravel and rock until the veins of rich ut it has been the ag'ent of giory not only for the saint but also for the statesman. What do I mean by this? I mean that as sick- ness has often wrenched religious character into shape for its heavenl}^ place, so has the strength acquired in overcoming it by many statesmen been the stepping stone to patriotic preeminence and popularity. With them it has been a third step to heaven (Pelion * * * * ter- siikiiest tius caclo gradus). Theodore Roosevelt, strongest of men, was sickliest of l)al)ies. For years he g'asjied for breath ui)on tlie large, warm heart and in the strong, incubatorial arms of his father. These literally insulated the infant from death, carrying- the tiny tot through many long, lonely nights and over nuiny miles in quest of fresh air. The father who holds his hardy boy to his heart enfolds a precious, but not always a prize, package. But who of us may properly estimate the value to America of that little bundle held in the arms of Theodore Roosevelt the elder? Two Sources Two strcauis coursed broadly through the of Talent ^^^.j^^^ ^^^ Tlicodorc Rooscvclt. Ouc was made [70] THEODOKE ROOSEVELT lip of fifilitiiiathy, thoughtful- ness, gentleness, sim])licity, love of children and love of home ])lace him among the great and in the presence aiul companionship of Jesus dirist? ]t is never safe to use absolute statements about any person or event It is considered a trait of intellectual Aveakness to do this. For instance, there are those Avho say that Theodore Roosevelt Avas the greatest American. There is not yet any necessity nor Avise desire to go into a (juestion of that kind. We may, hoAV- ever, all say that he is one of the greatest of Americans. I say that iH)t as a re])ul)lican, but as a democrat and a Southern-l)orn man. It has never been difficult to see and feel his great- [73] THE AMERICAN SOUL iiess. We do not have to hunt for it through ^""^'•"^ . a mass of sectionalism. He loved the South, America most ' for it was the home of his mother. He loved the North, for it was the home of his father. But he loved America more than he did any part of it. Home is the revealer of the man. Would you know about Theodore Roosevelt's home- life? There you shall tind the golden key which unlocks the dearest secrets of the soul of this man who was such a strenuous fighter for civic righteousness. In his home ''the eternal child's heart in the man cries out." The great man there placed himself absolutely on an Great in the eoualitv witli wife and children. There he Home-life _ was a flood of sunshine and a jolly companion, engaging in romps and rides and games and piHoAv-figlits, longed for before he came and missed when he was gone. These things are richly disclosed in his Letters to His Children. This volume, by Joseph Bucklin Bisho)), I re- gard as one of the richest legacies left to the home life in a hundred generations. Shall I select one of the letters, chosen for its brevity? It is to little Quentin, aiul dated Del Monte, Calif., May 10, 1903: Dearest Quenty-Quee : I loved your letter. I am very homesick for mother and you children; but I have enjoyed this week's travel. I have been among the orange groves, where the trees have oranges growing thick npoii tliem, and there are more THEODORE ROOSEVELT flowers than you have ever seen. I have a gold top wliich I shall ^'ixe you if Mother thinks you can take care of it. Perhaps I shall give you a silver bell instead. Whenever I see a little boy being brought up by his father or mother to look at the procession as we pass by. 1 thiiik of you and Archie and feel very homesick. Sometimes little boys ride in the procession on their ponies, just like Archie on Algoncfuin." Here is a short extract from quite a long letter Extract from to his son Kermit, who was in school. It was K.rmlr ^° written from the White House in June, 1905, and goes into detail about a family picnic at Pine Knot: "As we found that cleaning dishes took up an awful time, Ave only took two meals a day, which was all we wanted. On Saturday evening I fried two chickens for dinner, while Mother boiled the tea [probably meaning boiled the water for the tea], and we had cher- ries and wild strawberries, as well as biscuits and cornbread. To my pleasure Mother great- ly enjoyed the fried chicken and admitted that what you children had said of the way I fried chicken was all true. Tn the evening we sat out a long time on the piazza, and then read in- doors, and then went to bed." These extracts tell the spirit of all the letters. There are many of them. There is no preaching or cross- ness in any of them. So much for what would be called the hccirt- side of this picturesque personality. What [75] THE AMERICAN SOUL may be said about that other side of him — his Tiip iutelh^etual side? Did lie have as o-reat a mind intellectual _ side of as heart? Of course his blind worshipers, of Roosevelt ^ whom he had thousands, think so. But do serious minded, thoughtful men and women of America accord him this judg'ment? So far as I have been able to determine, they do. Of course there are people of violent prejudices who think it would show weakness in them to admit the real greatness of Mr. Roosevelt. But these people are unfortunate in their limita- tions. AVhile they would have with them some of respectable lives and good intellects, none of them might lay claim to broad-mindedness and fairness. But would that be all? By no means. They would tind among their associ- ates many Avho hate tlie former President on account of their own unrighteousness, or un- reasonableness. A fight for From the first da\- on Avliich Mr. Roosevelt Righteousness from the first stepped iiito tlic ])()litical arena he Avas oj^jiosed by the unrighteous element of his own party. This included the bosses, little and big. (He was never favored by ])olitical bosses, except Avhen they were compelled to do so by his jiopular- ity.) Tn the beginning of his career they wliipjied him often; but sometimes he whipped them. They whipped him once too often. That was when Mr. Piatt, the New York Repub- lican boss, nominated him for tlie Vice-Presi- dency in order to spoil his chances of the Presi- [70] TllEODOKE ROOSEVELT deiicy. As it eventually turned out, it was a door to the Presidency, flung open by the death of President McKinley. But did Mr. Roose- velt think the bosses Avholly bad? Not by any means. He liked Mr. Piatt, Mr. Ha una and Mr. Quay, as men. AVhy did he not .join them? He thought the boss-system encouraged graft and immorality. Did he not believe that there should l)e i^olitical leaders and party organi- zation? He did ; but was careful to distinguish between the leader and Avhat was known as the boss. Hear him on this (luestion: "A leader is DistuiKuishinf; ^ lietweeii a necessary; l)ut his oiinonents alwavs call him a i^i^ader und • ' ' " Boss boss. An organization is always necessary but the men in opposition always call it a machine. Nevertheless, there is a real and dee]i distinc- tion between the leader and the boss, between organizations and machines. A political leader Avho fights ojienly for ]n'inciples and who keei^s his position of leadership by stirring the con- sciences and convincing the intellects of his fol- lowers, so that tlu\v have confidence in him aiul will follow him i)ecause tliey can achieve greater results under him tlian under any one else, is doing Avork which is in(lis]iensal)le in a democracy. The boss, on the other hand, is a man who does not gain his ]K)wer by open means, but by secret means and usually by cor- rupt means. A boss of this kind can ]mll wires in conventions, can manipulate mendiers of the Legislature, can control the giving or. withhold- THE AMERICAN SOUL ing of office, and serves as intermediary for bringing together the powers of corrupt politics and corru]it business. The machine is simply another name for the kind of organization which is certain to grow u]> in a party or a section of a party controlled by such bosses as these and their henchmen, whereas, of course, an effective organization of decent men is essen- tial in order to secure decent politics." When the Whcu did oppositiou begin against Mr. Bosses began ^ ' _ '^ '^ to fight him Rooscvclt ? The Opposition began ])y the bosses when, aged 23, as a member of the Legislature, Mr. Roosevelt carried a motion to impeach a corrupt judge. As first he stood alone. What was the result? The bosses suppressed the bill, and decided that he was "no good." Did they succeed in defeating him the next year? No, for that was the year Grover Cleveland swe])t the state, as a civil service reformer by 200,000 majority. So strong Avas Rooesvelt's feeling for reform that he showed his willingness to su])port Governor Cleveland in certain reforms. It was in the Legislature that Mr. Roosevelt was first found "impossible" by the machine. It Avas in the Legislature that a politician, in trying to remove Mr. Roosevelt's ol)jections to a bill, urged him not to "let the Constitution come betAveen friends." There he learned his "first real lesson in politics," to stand alone for a clear principle, but to Avork Avith men as they First Lesson are uutil such au emergency comes." There he [78] TnEODOKE KOOSEVELT told the people of the "bitter cry of the crowded sweat shops of the city tenements" and liad a bill passed for their relief. It was there, as chairman of a Connnittee he investi- gated New York City official life. exi)osed a great deal of graft, and gave the ix'ople of New York the chance to secnre good govern- ment. But has it ever been possible for a really romantic nature to satisfy his soul with the hubbub of politics? Such at least was not the case with Mr. Roosevelt, one of the most ro- mantic of men. Between legislative sessions Answers tii» he answered the call of the wilderness and wii.r' * "' sought the vast, mysterious silences and hard- ships of the golden West. His open nature, kindliness, democratic spirit, and readiness to do his part, won him the love of the plainsmen. The exposure to the snows and the hard, open- air tasks gave him a body of the strength of steel. When the young legislator left the train at the shanty-town of Medora, in North Dakota, the act rendered that spot forever historic. In 1886, he was recalled to the East to be Re.aiied to defeated for nmyor of New York by Abram S. ''''''"' ^'"'^ Hewitt; in 1889, he was appointed on tlie National Civil Service Commission. While in this ]K)sition he made an address to the corre- spondents of the Southern press in which he said: "This is an institution not for Republi- cans and not for Democrats, l)ut for the whole [ 79 ] THE AMERICAN SOUL American people." In 1895-97, he was Presi- dent of the New York Police Commission. At that time the New York police were the most Services as cormpt l)odv of officials in the worlfl. "A man Police Coiiiinissioner conld iiot be a}i]iointed a policeman niitil he had paid from $200 to $.'500 and to l)e i)romoted to a captaincy cost as hijih as $12,000 to $15,000. To get their money l)ack they had to blackmail the lawless elements of tlie popnlation." Did Mr. Roosevelt stand snch corrn]iti()ii ? It goes withont saying that he did not. The boldness and snccess of his reforms astonished the coun- try and dumbfounded the bosses. Not only did he stop the system of paying for promotions, but required, in new aj^pointments, a "good primary common school educational test, after the moral and physical examination was passed. Some of the answers returned were in- dicative of several tilings. "For instance," says Mr. Roosevelt, "one of our questions in a given examination was to name five of the New Englaiul States. One comjH^titor, oliviously of foreign birth, answered: "England, Ireland, Scotland, Whales and Cork." Many of the ap- plicants thought Abraliam Lincoln a general in the civil war ; several that he was President of the Confederate States; three that he had been assassinated by Jet¥erson Davis, "one by Thomas Jefferson, one by Garfield, several by Guiteau, and one by Ballington Booth;" some applicants thonght Chicago to be on the Pacific [ 80 ] THEODORE ROOSEVELT Ocean, while others answered that the head of the United States Government was the New York Fire Department. What was tlie ultimate outcome? Did he what he did as Conimis- succeed in overcominji' the thousand difficul- sioner ties of this oftice? He aholislu'd blackmail; he created efficiency where there had been in- efficiency ; he convinced the men of the force that he believed in a S(iuare deal; he enforced the Sunday Olosinji' law a«>ainst all saloons; he enforced the neglected tenement-house law, and "promptly seized fully one hundred wretched and crowded liives of the helpless poor," diminishing' in oiu' locality the death- rate to less than one-half. A characteristic scene occurred during a procession of the Ger- man element to jn-otest against the Sunday Closing of the saloons. Roosevelt was on the reviewing stand with other city officials. A Franco-German veteran in the jirocession. un- aware of the ('onnuissioner "s ]>roximity, shouted out as he was passing, "AVo ist der Roosevelt? (Where is Roosevelt?)" Imagine his surprise when he saw just above him those large two eye-glasses and gleaming white teeth as he heard the answer, " Hier bin ich. AVas Avillst du, Kamrad?" (Here I am. What do you wish comrade). "Hoch! Hoch ! Roose- velt," shouted the old fellow as he hurried along much chagrined.' ' Morgan. [81] THE AMERICAN SOUL wiiat ^yas t';'^> But what shall we say of the jiolicy of the Big- Stick? Where did the term orio-inate? It came from an expression of his attitude in reference to America defending the Monroe Doctrine. This expression is, "Tliere is an old adage which runs, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.' " It is a remark- able fact that Mr. Roosevelt adopted the tirst rather than the latter part of tlie saying in all his policies. He was in no sense a bully, al- though the tierce, powerful interests opposed ^co^mpHshpj ^^y lii"i tried to make it appear so. As a biographer says: "the weapon in his hand takes the form of a righteous cause, charged with the irresistible force of public ojVmion." His so-called big stick was not in any sense a policy of the "shirt sleeve" variety of brag, and bluster and discourtesy, but the o])]iosite. It enabled him to secure from the Pope the re- call of the Spanish Friars from the Philippines : it enabled him to check the bombardment of the Venezuelan port by British and Gernum war vessels in 1903 ; it enabled him in the same year to deliver the petition of protest to Rus- sia against outrages on the Jews ; it enabled him to end the Russian-Japanese War, June 12, 1905. (Mr. Root said of this last that Mr. Roosevelt held the most important portfolio in the Cabinet — that of "Secretary of Peace." Mr. Root's opinion was justified; for that service to mankind, Mr. Roosevelt received the [82] THEODORE ROOSEVELT Nobel Peace Prize), It enabled him to send our fleet around the world, thus redoubling the respect of the world for the military possibil- ities of America; it enabled him to build the Panama Canal. But from what quarter did the burly and criminal-looking- cartoons come? There is no doubt that they were a part of a systematized propaganda to destroy his influence in his own party. And what was more natural? As President, Mr. Roosevelt took up the fight against industrial monopolies. What was the consequence? He stired up a hornet's nest. Both enemies and friends, democrats and re- publicans, admit his masterful fight. "There have been aristocracies," he says in his Auto- biography, "which have played a great and beneficieut part at stages in the growth of man- kind; but we had come to the stage where for our people what was needed was a real democ- racy; and of all forms of tvrannv the least ^'"' ^^*""'*'^ t/ ? • • Tyranny attractive and the most vulgar is the tyranny of mere wealth, the tyranny of a plutocracy." But was Mr. Roosevelt tlie original mover against monopoly in our industries? Was not the Sherman Anti-Trust Law a United States Law, the purpose of which was "to destroy monopoly and curb industrial combinations"? And further, had not the Government, under President Cleveland, brought suit to prevent the Sugar Trust from obtaining control of [83] THE AMERICAN SOUL three additional companies in Pliiladelpliia? Is it not true that one of the purposes of that suit, known as the Knight case, was to prevent the Sugar Trust from controlling 98% of all our sugar production? Those things are all true. But it is also true that the case had gone against the Government. The Supreme Court had held, with only one dissenting vote, that the Sugar Trust had the right to acquire those three companies by an exchange of its stock What made for thcirs. Such a decision made the Sherman the Sherman Law a dead Auti-Trust law a dead letter. Both the Presi- letter dent and Congress were powerless to interfere. Big trusts rapidly multiplied, free from all harm under the ]irotection of that decision. What was Mr. Roosevelt, the President, to do? Many smaller corporations and industries went to the wall and others were suffering. A clamor came up from the people. In the mean- time, under the name of the Northern Securities Company, a gigantic attempt was made, under this Knight case decision, to put into one hold- ing company the vast Northwestern railway systems. Mr. Roosevelt leaped into the arena almost immediately after he became President. He was at that time even a more picturesque figure than usual. The "big stick" put in some of its heaviest blows. He was caricatured and abused by papers friendly to the "inter- ests" from Maine to California; but he was making history and winning popularity among [84] THEODORE ROOSEVELT the people. He ordered his Attorney-General, Mr. Knox, to institute proceedings for the dis- solution of the Securities (*ompany — the rail- way trust in question. It was done. The Government lost, because of the Knight case decision. The big trusts laughed at his dis- comfiture. But it was dangerous to laugh in ^^l KnYg\"^ front of those drooping, honest eyes of Roose- ^^'^'^ Decision velt. He never faced big game with only one load in his gun. The next time he invaded tlie Supreme Court itself and asked a reversal of the Knight case, "in the interest of the people against monopoly and privilege." I remember that at the time he was regarded as rather irreverent toward that august body; but he had the sympathy of the majority of the just and cool-headed men in America of both politi- cal parties. He won by a vote of 5 to 4. But ^''.J'^^'''^ had he really accomplished his purpose? He had "established the power of the Government to deal with all great corporations." But would this be an efficient enough instrument to break up monopol,y of industries? He did not think so. What did he do? He sought the es- tablishment of a Federal Commission which "should put a stop to abuse of big corporations and small corporations alike." Such a Com- mission "would destroy monopoly, and make the biggest business man in the country con- form squarely to the principles laid down by the American people, while at the same time [85] THE AMERICAN SOUL What Roosevelt regarded as His Greatest Services giving fair pla}^ to the little man and certainty of knowledge as to what was wrong and what was right both to big and little man." He never succeeded in having such a Commission created ; but his efforts led to the establishment of a "Department of Commerce and Labor, and with it the erection of the Bureau of Corporations." Roosevelt left the Presidency in March, 1909, of all preceding Presidents the most popular with the people. For seven and a half years he had stood for civic righteousness. He re- garded as his most important accomplishments the construction of the Panama Canal; his in- tervention for peace between Russia and Japan ; and his sending the fleet around the world. Mr. LaFoUette, a political enemy, said that none of these compared with other achieve- ments of the retiring President. Among these were : the making of reform respectable ; the doctrine of the square deal ; and the conserva- tion of our national resources. I quote from LaFollette's Magazine: "Nothing can be greater or finer than this. It is so great and so fine that when the historian of the future shall speak of Theodore Roosevelt he is likely to say that he did many notable things — but that his greatest work was inspiring and actually be- ginning a world-movement for staying ter-i restrial waste and saving for the human race the things upon which, and upon which alone, [86] THEODORE ROOSEVELT a g'reat aud peaceful and progressive and happy raee-life can be founded." May we say with Mr. Hermann Hagedorn, As a statesman Jr.: As a statesman Ins place is among the greatest America has produced ; but as a man, he stands with the noblest, most valiant and most appealing in history. It is not his deeds but his qualities of character which constitute the splendor of the lieritage he has left us''? Here is the message written by Mr. Roosevelt for the New York Bible Society and placed in Testaments given to our soldiers : ''The teachings of the New Testament are foreshadowed in Micah's verse: 'What more dotli the Lord require of thee than to do jus- tice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.' Do justice; and therefore fight valiantly against the armies of Germany and Turkey, for these nations in this crisis stand for the reign of Moloch and Beelzebub in this earth. Love mercy; treat prisoners well; succor the wounded ; treat every woman as if she were your sister; care for the little children, and be tender with the old and helpless. Walk humbly; you will do so if you study the life and teachings of the Saviour. May the God of justice and mercy have you in His keeping. ' ' What would an honest critic regard as the His most Outstanding most outstanding trait of Theodore Roosevelt? Trait [87] THE AMERICAN SOUL Would he say it was energy? Truly he was a man of tremendous energy; but that was not his strongest characteristic. Was it honesty of purpose, kindliness, love of home, love of nature, love of country, manliness, hatred of evil, love of justice? No. What then was it? As I see it, it was an almost abnormal devel- opment of a great consciousness. So wonder- fully developed was his consciousness that his constant habit was to regard himself and his conduct in a wholly impersonal way. We tind him again and again comparing himself with others whether with a cowboy of the plains, or Andrew Jackson, a President. He always gave us an honest judgment of the result, whether favorable or unfavorable to himself. Shallow people sometimes thought this to be egotism. But that idea is absolutely precluded by the fact that his comparisons were most fre- quently unfavorable to himself. What advan- tage was this highly developed consciousness? It was advantageous in this particular, when- ever he measured up short he immediately de- voted his energies to make himself more fit and thus shorten the distance between himself and the object of his comparison. This trait man- ifested itself from childhood, through youth and middle age. It enabled him to overcome colos- sal difficulties and gain a permanent place among the great. [88] THE AMERICAN SOUL If it were left to my choice to call upon our Most T-,, 1 T-i J.1 X 1 • TT- [■ appreciative Eternal l* atner to send, ni His mercy, irom of best , . .. P -, . \ . . Americanism among the great spirits oi our departed states- men, a bright evangel to go abroad throughout the earth to herald the advantages to man of the freedom of worship, freedom of opportun- ity, and freedom of citizenship, as we have them here in our beloved America, I would not ask that Washington or Jackson or Lincoln be sent, as truly great and as truly American as were those great spirits; but I should humbly plead that He send Theodore Roosevelt, who would have a better acquaintance with modern American conditions and at the same time would share equally the great traits of the im- mortal trio which I have named. [89] 56 / \'W\/ V^'/ \*^"/.. ' ^.»>«*' '^^ 4* ..^^% \y .'^fe'-, "^^ / :^ '/: Vj» » • * ^v -0 0° ,Vy??^^- i'* "'?' *-,► ♦ .