UNDER THE SEARCH-LIGHT

ADDRESS

Delivered March 5, 1914, before the Commandery of the State of Illinois Military Order of the Loyal Legion

of the

UNITED STATES

by

WILBER GORTON BENTLEY LT. COLONEL 9th NEW YORK CAVALRY

To the Commanders of all Grand Army Posts; Presidents of The Woman's (Relief Corps; Commanders and Pres- idents of all Associate bodies; Patriotic Societies and School-Instructors, Greeting:

The National Bukeau for the Advancement of Patriotism earnestly desires that you, and each of you, into whose hands this magnificent Address by Colonel Bentley may fall, arrange for an open meeting at some convenient date, or dates, invite the public to assemble and hear it read, and, by so doing, let its lessons reach the hearts of patriots everywhere.

By authority of the Executive Committee, National

Bureau.

Joseph Rosenbaum, President

Attest : Jasper T. Darling, Secretary.

Chicago, 111., April 9th, 1914.

Extra copies delivered at the following rates :

10 Copies . . . . 25 cents

25 Copies 50 cents

50 Copies .... 90 cents

100 Copies or more at the rate oi 1% cents each.

Address, Nation ai. Bureau for the Advancement of Patriotism,

Postal Telegraph Building, Chicago, Illinois.

Peoria, III., March 24, 1914.

Col. W. G. BENTLEY, Unity Building, Chicago, 111.

My Dear Colonel BenTley: —

About two weeks ago my attention was called to an address entitled "Under the Searchlight," delivered by yourself before the Loyal Legion of Illinois, on the evening of March 5th.

I am informed that it has received the highest approval of your brother officers, and that they propose to publish it for gen- eral distribution among the members of the Loyal Legion at large.

Inasmuch as one of the foremost objects of the Woman's Relief Corps is to teach patriotism, and having carefully read your stirring speech, and being thoroughly con- vinced that there is a great and growing need of such an appeal being printed and promulgated throughout all patriotic bodies, I have corresponded with each of the officers representing the Executive Staff of this De- partment, in order that I might learn of their views upon the proposition that we publish your address for the larger field of distri"

bution — this being upon the belief that you will sanction the movement.

In this connection I am pleased to say that I have received, not only the

unanimous consent, but also the enthusiastic approval of my associates, as

follows:

Sarah H. Darling, Senior Vice-President, Chicago

Kate A. QuiglEY, Junior Vice-President, Belleville

Anna C. Reilein, Treasurer, Aurora

Nellie F. Wilkinson, Secretary, Peoria

MolliE Moody, Chaplain, Joliet

Mary R. Ingraham, Inspector, Quincy

Harriett Griswold Abbott, I. and I. Officer, Rockford

Mary E. Eener, Patriotic Inspector, Galesburg

Leah O. Wirth, Press Correspondent, Kewanee

Anna Patterson, Counselor, Mattoon

HETTiE Moule, Chairman Executive Board, Chicago

Elnora Arps, Executive Board, Palatine

Jean Cameron, Executive Board, Chicago

Anna Weed, Executive Board, Lanark

Frances Wallace, Executive Board, Chicago

Lulu Carlin, Chief-of-Staff, Chicago

Alice McMains, Chairman Relief Committee, Chicago

jj»i.^ji»i!fl_jiiiiimjiiiiru|i'"iLii||i^,iiiCPtl

Being somewhat familiar with the "purposes" of the National Bureau for the Advancement of Patriotism, I have communicated with their Executive Officers, and I am assured of their hearty co-operation; so that I am now en- abled to say to you, we are in a position to reach all patriotic bodies outside of Illinois through the aid of the Bureau ; that is to say, to the extent of our ability to publish the document.

Hoping that this will appeal to you, and that I may receive an early reply, with a copy of your speech for the purposes above set forth, I am pleased to remain

Very sincerely yours, in F. C. and L.,

Edna S. Walker, President Woman's Relief Corps.

Chicago, March 28, 1914. Edna D. Walker, President Woman's Relief Corps, Dept. of Illinois.

My Dear Mrs. Walker:—

I am pleased to acknowledge the receipt of your patriotic letter of the 24th inst.

I have been long convinced that the Relief Corps is inspired by a noble zeal for patriotic work, and I congratulate them on having a president so de- voted to the cause.

In compliance with your request, I am pleased to enclose a copy of the manuscript to which you refer, and I bid you a God-Speed in the great task you have undertaken.

Cordially yours,

W. G. Bentley.

Indianapolis, Ind., April 2, 1914.

To the Executive Committee, National Bureau for the Advancement of Pat- riotism, Chicago, III.:

Gentlemen: —

I have read the manuscript of Colonel W. G. Bentley's Speech, entitled "Under the Searchlight," delivered before the Loyal Legion at Chicago, March 5, 1914.

I understand that it is your desire, assisted by the Woman's Relief Corps, Dept. of Illinois, Edna S. Walker, President, to print it, and forward a liberal supply to each Department of the Grand Army, and to each Department of the Woman's Relief Corps, and that they, in turn, send one or two copies to each Post and Corps in their respective Departments.

I fully approve of this work, and hope that every G. A. R. Post and every Relief Corps, as well as other patriotic societies, may read the address in open meeting.

Ida S. McBride, National President Woman's Relief Corps.

UNDER THE SEARCH-LIGHT.

Mr. Commander and Companions of the Loyal Legion :

" With firmness for the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in."

I recall no words in all recorded history better adapted than these by Abraham Lincoln as a message from which I am permit- ted to speak to-night.

When invited to address this Commandery, I was told to select my own subject.

I do not forget the very valuable papers presented here, de- scribing the plans, vividly picturing the battle fields, and eulogizing the men, from the commanding officer to the private soldiers who made up that grand Union Army of the Sixties — they who so well preserved this great Nation as a priceless heritage ; not alone for this generation, but for all the great generations to come.

And let us not forget that, within these papers will the future historian search for material with which to complete his work.

And therefore, for the purposes of this address, I deem it highly proper to assert, that the clash of arms in that great strug- gle was only the culmination of a long preparatory school, covering a period of more than thirty years. That school was what became to be known as the "Secret Cabal" which had persistently plotted and intrigued, and which at last culminated on fields of blood.

And when the great war closed, when the curtain rang down on the stage of untold tragedies, it was hoped by you, my compan- ions, and by all who had so grieviously suffered, that no more at- tempts would be made to glorify rebellion, or to legalize secession under the flag, that Lincoln said, "Must float forever unvexed in the sky."

Have our hopes and the great world's hopes proved true ? Within two years after Appomattox there sprung into life a Junior Cabal, the purposes of which have been, and are now, to keep alive the prejudices of the same people that were so basely de- ceived before. The moving spirit of this Cabal was Jefferson Davis, who repeatedly said: "They may reconstruct the men of the South, but the women never! Our people will yet win back by diplomacy all we have lost by the sword."

To you, my companions, who so grandly proved your loyalty and patriotism when you stood between the Nation and its foes, offering service, and life if need be, and to these noble young men — the sons of Loyal sires — I am sure I need make no apology for throwing the Searchlight on the ways that are dark and the ef- forts that are not only base, but deliberately intended to undo the work which you so nobly performed.

This Republic was born out of the heart and brain of the best men of their day — The Pilgrims — The Cavaliers — The Hugue- nots— The Jacobins and Dutch.

It was the first experiment in self-government. For nearly a half century our Nation had grown in strength, and in the respect of the entire civilized world. Then there sprang up the peril of secession.

Andrew Jackson, firm and fearless, met the issue and crushed it; but it was not destroyed.

Then began that secret alliance, composed of senators and members of congress and a few influential men from the Southern States.

They took for themselves no distinctive name, but their organi- zation was known as the ' 'Calhoun League." They kept up their "Secret Cabal" until 1861 ; Jefferson Davis being its last President.

If they made any statement of their plans and purposes, I have never seen it; but it is now known that they had one specific object in view, from which they never varied ; to-wit : that the State was supreme; that the United States was not a National government; but only a confederacy, and that any law passed by the Congress of the United States, if not satisfactory to a State, imposed upon the state no obligation to obey ; thus leaving the state at liberty to with- draw from the Union at will.

It was a proposition so preposterous that it seemed as though a blind man could have seen how impossible it would be to build a stable government on such a foundation.

But, as the facts were, they did not want a stable government, and they were determined to break it up unless they could be su- preme in the management of its vital affairs.

They did not pause at any step necessary to foster prejudice among the Southern people.

Falsehoods served their purpose and they did not hesitate to use them.

A prominent writer of the South — Edward A. Pollard — an ar- dent secessionist, who has written the life of Jefferson Davis, with "A Secret History of the Confederacy," presents much valuable in- formation revealing the purposes of this unholy alliance. From its many pages I quote briefly as follows:

"For many years the thought of disunion had gathered in the South, and it was at last executed by a small number of politicians ; for there is nothing more singular in the history of the war, than the narrow and exclusive control in the South, which managed its initiation, compelled the people to it, and brought upon the country the rage of sectional arms" * * * * "How these few persons were able to do so much can only be understood from the peculiar constitution of society in the South." * * * "The aristocracy of the South is properly described as an aristocracy of politicians, who govern the masses and repose their superiority mainly on the emi- nence of public office. Such an aristocracy is naturally narrow, restless and badly ambitious. It had ruled the South for many years. In that part of the Union there was not only a marked and close monopoly of public office, but even some trace of hereditary descent

6

in it; and the greater politicians of the South were as distinct and imperious a class as men in any single occupation have ever formed."

Again Mr. Pollard writes, "It was this class in the South that had long indulged the thought of disunion, and that for years had paved the way to its consummation. Many of them saw in it new careers. The more ardent sought in it opportunities of ambition ; and not a few old and spent politicians hoped to gratify in it a mean and slothful greed of office."

"The war took such men neither by surprise nor by force. They had plotted and desired it ; they saw in it new fortunes and emolu- ments for themselves ; and they seized with alacrity the occasion to realize the hope of years."

In corroboration of what Mr. Pollard writes, listen to the state- ments of members of the Convention that passed the ordinance of secession in South Carolina.

One of the members said : "It is no spasmodic effort that has suddenly come upon us ; it has been gradually culminating for a long series of years."

Another said: "Most of us have had this matter under con- sideration for the last twenty years."

Mr. Keett said: "We are performing a great act which in- volves not only the stirring present, but embraces the whole great future for ages to come." He further said: "I have been en- gaged in this movement ever since I entered political life ; we have carried the body of this union to its last resting place, and now we will drop the flag over its grave."

Mr. Rhett said more plainly : "The secession of South Caro- lina is not the event of a day. It has been a matter which has been gathering head for thirty years."

The Act of secession in South Carolina was passed December 20th, 1860.

"The season of delay and indecision was passed. A revolu- tionary body sat in the shadow of the Capitol at Washington, and in a few weeks this strange authority had sent over the country the order which led to the seizure of all the forts in the South except two. The council summoned, at once assumed the powers of a revolutionary junta. It was composed of the senators from seven Southern states: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. It met in one of the rooms of the Capitol, on the night of the fifth of January, 1861. The representation was full, two senators from each of the states named being present.

An executive body was acting for the alliance, and it was cer- tainly a small and extraordinary one to determine for the country the concern of peace or war, and to assume the destinies of the South." Such are the historic words of Mr. Pollard, who further says: "In the present instance the scenes of a great war were properly open in the small room in Washington City, where fourteen men pledged themselves to overthrow the existing government. They assumed the direction of every affair

of the South, and from the beginning it was evident that the people were to have no calm and deliberate voice in the matter." The same author further said, "Whether the war was right or wrong was logically involved in the question whether it was determined by the many or the few ; but, certainly, history has had few instances of such daring and strident usurpation as that commenced by fourteen men plotting revolution in a committee room at Washing- ton, and consummated by an irresponsible convention proclaiming war, electing a leader, and organizing a government, without let or hindrance." "In truth what the thoughtful historian must most deeply meditate of the causes and origin of the late war is the ex- tent to which the popular element of the South was excluded from its inception."

"It was in constant subjection from the moment a conspiracy of Southern senators at Washington held at arm's length the States and dictated their course."

"Indeed there were cases where it was ignored to the extent of States passing ordinances of secession even after the legislatures called into convention and forbade the effect of such ordinances until ratified by the vote of the masses."

"They (the legislatures) had no direct representation in the convention at Montgomery."

Such are the deliberate declarations of Mr. Pollard.

It must be kept in mind that this Alliance did not fight in the open ; but, under cover, was sending out false statements of every kind that were calculated to prejudice and inflame the Southern mind.

Slightly veiled, they worked under titles like "Calhoun League," "Southern Rights Club," "Knights of the Golden Circle" and other names.

The culmination came when, February 8th, 1861, at Montgom- ery, Alabama, the "Revolutionary Junta" set up a provisional govern- ment and called it "The Confederate States of America."

I am not presuming that this history is not familiar to you, but, for reasons that will appear later, I have quoted only from South- ern writers to prove beyond cavil that they admit their responsi- bility for the war, now so freely denied by another "Southern Alli- ance"— the "Junior Cabal."

I cannot leave this branch of our subject, however, without showing how false and ungrounded their complaints were by refer- ring to another Southern statesman, who, at the Milledgeville, Geor- gia, convention, opposed secession. He was a member, and a cred- ited delegate, and the peer of any other delegate. I refer to the Honorable Alexander H. Stephens, and, from his speech in that con- vention, I quote:

"Pause, I entreat you, and consider for a moment what reason you can give that will even satisfy yourselves in calmer moments — what reason you can give to your fellow-sufferers in the calamity that it will bring upon us ? What reasons you can give to the nations

8

of the earth to justify it? They will be the calm and deliberate judges in the case. To what cause, or one overt act can you name, or point, on which to rest the plea of justification? What right has the North assailed? What interests of the South have been invaded? What justice has been denied? What claim founded on justice and right has been withheld? Can either of you, today, name one government act of wrong, deliberately and purposely done by the government at Washington, of which the South has a right to complain? I challenge the answer!

"On the other hand, let me show the facts of which I wish you to judge, and I will only state facts that are clear and undeniable and which now stand, as records authentic in the history of our country. Believe me, gentlemen, I am not here the advocate of the North; but I am here, the friend, the firm friend and lover of the South and her institutions, and for this reason I speak thus plainly and faithfully for your, mine, and every other man's interest, the words of truth and soberness.

"When we of the South demanded the slave trade, or the im- portation of Africans for the cultivation of our lands, did they not yield the right for twenty years? When we asked a three- fifths representation in Congress for our slaves, was it not granted ? When we asked and demanded the return of any fugitive from jus- tice, or the recovery of those persons owing labor or allegiance, was it not incorporated in the Constitution, and again ratified and strengthened in the fugitive slave law of 1850? * * * Again, gentlemen, look at another fact: When we have asked that more territory should be added, that we might spread the institution of slavery, have they not yielded to our demands in giving us Louis- iana, Florida and Texas, out of which four states have been carved and ample territory for four more to be added in due time, if you, by this unwise and impolitic act do not destroy this hope?" And then he said, "You will by this act lose all, and have your last slave wrenched from you by stern military rule, or the vindictive decree of emancipation which may reasonably be expected to? follow."

"But again, gentlemen, what have we to gain by this proposed change of our relation to the general government?

"We have always had the control of it, and can yet, if we remain in it, and are as united as we have been. We have had a majority of the Presidents chosen from the South, as well as the control and management of most of those chosen from the North. We have had sixty years of Southern presidents to their twenty-four, and thus controlling the Executive Department. So of the Judges of the Supreme Court, we have had eighteen from the South, and but eleven from the North ; although nearly four- fifths of the judicial business has arisen in the free States, yet a majority of the court has always been from the South. This we have required so as to guard against any interpretation of the Con- stitution unfavorable to us. In like manner we have been equally

watchful to guard our interests in the legislative branch of the government. In choosing the presidents pro-tem of the Senate, we have had twenty-four to their eleven; speakers of the House we have had twenty-three and they twelve. While the majority of the representatives, from their greater population, have always been from the North, yet we have so generally secured the speaker, be- cause he, to a great extent, shapes and controls the legislation of the country. Nor have we had less control in every other department of the general government. Attorney-generals we have had four- teen, while the North has had but five. Foreign ministers we have had eighty-six, and they but fifty-four. While three-fourths of the business which demands diplomatic agents abroad is clearly from the free states, from their greater commercial interests, yet we have had the principal embassies, so as to secure the world market for our cotton, tobacco and sugar, on the best possible terms. We have had a vast majority of the higher offices of both the army and navy, while a larger proportion of the soldiers were drawn from the North. Equally so of clerks, auditors, and comptrollers filling the executive offices. The records show for the last fifty years that, of the three thousand thus employed, we have had more than two- thirds, while we have but one-third of the white population of the Republic." #

"Leaving out of view, for the present, the countless millions of dollars you must expend in a war with the North ; with tens of thousands of your sons and brothers slain in battle, and offered up as sacrifices upon the altar of your ambition — and for what, we ask again? Is it for the overthrow of the American government, established by our common ancestors, cemented and built up by their sweat and blood and founded on the broad principles of right, justice and humanity? And, as such, I must declare here, as I have often done before, and which has been repeated by the greatest and wisest of statesmen and patriots in this and other lands, that it is the best and freest government — the most equal in its right — the most just in its decisions — the most lenient in its measures, and the most inspiring in its principles to elevate the race of men that the sun of Heaven ever shone upon.

"Now, for you to attempt to overthrow such a government as this, under which we have lived for more than three-quarters of a century — in which we have gained our wealth, our standing as a nation, our domestic safety, while the elements of peril were around us, with peace and tranquility accompanied with unbounded prosperity and rights unassailed — is the height of madness, folly and wickedness to which I can neither lend my sanction nor my vote."

As we read the speech of that far-sighted statesman, it seems as if he was like the prophets of old, uplifted, inspired ; for he clearly prophesied the truth of what did come to pass, even to the decree of emancipation, which he said, "may reasonably be expected to follow."

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When, at Appomattox, General Lee surrendered and the Con- federate soldier stood pledged to loyalty to the redeemed Nation over the grave of the dead and buried Confederacy, there was a voice of prayer that was heard from all over the land — both North and South — in grateful acknowledgment to Almighty God, that war had ceased, and that peace had come again to all the people in this, our beloved Republic.

When General Grant said, "Let us have peace," we responded, "Amen ! So let it be."

After all that had been suffered on both sides we felt as if it was a sacred compact, that by-gones should be by-gones, and that misrepresentation and bickerings would cease.

In my heart I have kept the faith, and, comrades, so have you, and so has the loyal-hearted North.

I emphatically disclaim any bitterness toward the honest, peace- loving man or woman, North or South, East or West.

Men of courage know how keenly men suffer when defeated, and can understand that the brave Southern soldier must have passed through much mental pain in the defeat of that "Cause" for which he had so bravely fought and sacrificed, and, for that rea- son we have not only refrained from utterances that would humil- iate ; but, on the contrary, we have offered him the genuine hand of complete reconciliation.

If it had been left to the men who fought — North and South — I verily believe there would be real fraternity everywhere today.

In referring to the malicious "Syndicate" that fostered dis- union, and finally succeeded in plunging the South into an unholy war, my purpose has been to show that the Southern people, as a whole, were not consulted, nor were they given any opportunity to express their wishes at all.

The conventions that passed ordinances of secession were called, controlled and dominated by a few scheming and vicious men, who secured resolutions declaring that the masses should not be consulted, nor should the ordinances passed be subject to ratifi- cation.

What an anomaly, to attempt the formation of a government based on "State Rights," while ignoring the rights of the people of the States.

If a "burned child dreads the fire," it would seem as if the people, so basely deceived, would shun another "Syndicate" set up for the same purpose.

Now, as to this "Second Syndicate," from a source that I consider entirely reliable, I am informed that, soon after the war was over, a few Southern men met and discussed the question as to how the South might regain its lost prestige and regain their place of power.

This matter they discussed for some time, talked with certain leaders, exchanged letters, and finally entered upon the campaign of education to show the "justice of their 'Cause' and the 'injustice of the action by the National Government/ "

11

They began by subverting facts so as to make it appear that the false was true, starting with the basic declaration that "The cause for which the South fought was eternally right."

Proceeding to poison the stream, they commenced at the foun- tain head by falsifying the school books and filling the minds of the youth with thoughts that may, for all their lives, prejudice them to such an extent as to prevent them from receiving and benefiting by the truth.

For instance, they inserted in their school books the indelicate and absolutely untruthful statement that Abraham Lincoln was of "illegitimate birth" ; and making statements about his personal char- acter that would fill the readers' minds with disgust.

Having gotten well started with the children, and having pur- sued the insidious work for twenty-five years, their next move was to get into the field of broader literature.

Some time, not far from 1880, a million dollars was put into this new syndicate and, subsequently, between two and three mil- lions were added to the enterprise, with which they secured con- trolling interest in magazines, several of them published in the North.

Cautiously they are promoting articles showing that the "Cause for which the Confederates fought was right" and that the "North was wrong." You will observe that these magazines are cautiously and constantly putting forth articles favorable to the Confederacy and showing the "great gallantry of the men who served their 'Cause.' "

The "issue" is not disunion now, but they have framed a new issue and their contention is, that, in forming a confederacy to destroy the National Union, "they were right" and that the "de- struction of the Confederacy was a crime." To this end they are employing the best talent and the most versatile writers in America.

Tricky, pettifogging, half-truth writers, and fiction writers with the most vivid imagination, picture wild scenes, and outrages by union soldiers, who are always described as "drunken" soldiers.

And while this work has been going on steadily, and with in- creasing boldness for over a quarter of a century, the great North has been letting the case go by default; neither by tongue or pen rebuking, or contradicting, these untruthful statements, leaving the field open for them to mould public sentiment and educate the gen- erations, until they have well nigh succeeded in solidifying the prejudices of the entire South, so much so that the common people have come to believe that they were really right, and that Lincoln and his associates, who preserved the Nation, were the real doers of wrong, and they, the "innocent victims of brute force."

Meantime Northern statesmen, even presidents, have visited them, and assured them, that all was forgiven, praising them for their "patriotism," etc., to all of which they have responded with scorn, by reasserting, "We ask no forgiveness, for we have done no wrong, we are waiting for you to make humble apologies to us,

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for the outrages you committed upon us and against our consti- tutional rights."

Dear companions, do you think I have overdrawn the pic- ture? Wait until we quote from their own public speakers, maga- zines, and other publications.

I have called your attention to a "Syndicate" which was formed to enable the "South to regain her lost prestige." They first had, as I have already stated, a book prepared for their schools. In 1867 it appeared under this title: "A Youth's History of the Great Civil War in the United States, from 1861 to 1865, by B. C. Horton."

This book, of about four hundred pages, and with forty-five editions now published, was entered as a text book in the schools of the South.

It was filled with falsehoods of the vilest and most vicious character, touching the causes of the war, and the conduct of the officers and men comprising the Union army. If you have never read this book, it would be impossible to give you any adequate idea of its real character without quoting at greater length than I have time or space to do in this address. But I cannot refrain from giving you a sample of the malice that must have possessed the mind of the writer when he wrote the false words on page 104.

In making mention of President Lincoln, he said : "His mes- sages and proclamations were shocking specimens of bad sense and bad grammar. But I think that Mr. Lincoln must, after all, have possessed a good deal of what is called mother wit. Without that it seems impossible to account for his having risen from his ex- tremely low origin to the posts he several times filled." "He had the misfortune not to have known who his father was; and his mother, alas, was a person to reflect no honor upon her child." "Launched into this world an outcast and started on the road of being without parental care, and without the advantages of even a common school education, he certainly was entitled to great credit for gaining even the limited mental culture he possessed."'

Just a little faint praise to emphasize his low origin.

What do you think of the man who could write such a false- hood without provocation, without a scintilla of evidence to support it; and of the syndicate that would adopt it, and put it into the hands of the children and youth ? And yet, indelicate and false as it was, it has reached the forty-fifth edition and poisoned the minds of 20,000,000 or more Americans, South and North. For shame on those who could commit such an outrage ! *

•Note. — Much has been written about the "low origin" of President Abraham Lincoln, in which his enemies delight, and now and then some "fool friend" agrees, either through ignorance or on the theory that the lower the level from which he started, the greater credit due him for the eminence he reached in public life.

The fact is that Lincoln was not of low origin, but came from a dis- tinguished family, many of whom, as statesmen and scholars, have graced the pages of American History.

He was descended in the sixth generation from Samuel Lincoln, who emigrated from Norwich in England to Massachusetts about 1638, living first at Salem and afterward at Hingham.

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Companions of the Loyal Legion, brave and patriotic soldiers, and you, their sons, will you condone such an insult to the great- hearted, loving, patriotic president, Abraham Lincoln?

The motive that prompted it was as cowardly as it was mali- cious. Of how many men, born an hundred years ago, do you sup- pose at this late day documentary proof could be furnished giving the date of marriage of their father and mother, and it might trouble some of you, who were born in the Middle West before official rec- ords were preserved.

It seems almost providential that Lincoln was born where rec- ords were kept. I have seen the facsimile of the records of Wash- ington County, Kentucky, of the marriage bond, and return, and the certificate of Jesse Head, the minister who married Thomas Lin- coln and Nancy Hanks, June 12, 1806. Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809.

But the falsehood has secured a long start in an unopposed, unchallenged race. Can the truth be pushed forward fast enough to overtake and crush it down?

The motive of such teaching is obvious. It was to degrade and belittle the man who stood at the head of the Nation and who did preserve it, — the noble-hearted man who brought law and order out of chaos and who blotted out the illegal, illegitimate Confed- eracy.

To degrade him in the minds of twenty millions of people was to lay the foundation for asserting, as they are doing now, that they were conquered by brute force. The falsehood was published with malice aforethought, as an aid to the new "Issue" that they are fostering now, and foisting into a new and dangerous life. It is no answer for them to say, "We did not know," for the records referred to, were open to them if they were searching for the truth ; but they do not want the truth.

I do not refer to the Southern people as a whole ; but, as they were deceived and led blindfolded into rebellion, so now, they are

Samuel Lincoln's grandson removed to Berks County, Pa., his great- grandson to Virginia, and his great-great-grandson, Abraham Lincoln, followed Daniel Boone to Kentucky, and while clearing a farm in the forest was killed by Indians in 1784. Abraham's son Thomas grew up, and in 1806 married Nancy Hanks, of the same pioneer stock, and from that union was born the great Lincoln, named after his grandfather, and in 1860 elected President of the United States.

Another writer says: "Lincoln's mother, whose maiden name was Nancy Hanks, possessed a fair education and much refinement. She loved books, and preferred study by herself. She was deeply religious, and possessed a sweet and amiable disposition. These traits of character Abra- ham Lincoln inherited from his mother, and her careful training inspired his early childhood, and gave direction to the unimpeachable character and religious tendency so richly developed in the later years. She died before he was ten years old. She had already impressed his young mind with the value of learning, and throughout his life he always spoke of her as his "angel mother."

Mr. Lincoln lived a clean and temperate life. There was no stain on the family life of Lincoln. They were moral and religious. Their heroic struggle with poverty was the same, no more or less, than that of all the other pioneers in Kentucky of that generation, and from whom many other distinguished men have descended.

14

being led by this "Junior Cabal" to believe they were right, thus keeping alive the bitter prejudices that hinder a full, fraternal feel- ing between the old sectional lines that were blotted out in priceless blood.

And now, having gotten their case before the public, listen to a few samples of their noted public speakers :

A wealthy and noted publisher, a Southern man, on July 21, 1910, on the battle field of Bull Run, in an address to the survivors of the 8th Virginia Regiment, opens his address in these words: "Soldiers of the 8th Virginia Regiment, the war is not over, not yet may you unbuckle your armor; take up your arms that you laid down at Appomattox. Then on to the front; for the hardest fighting is yet to be done."

Treasonable from start to finish, he is still clamoring for "State Rights." He says, "Is it thinkable that Virginia — a nation two hundred years old — with her traditions jealously guarded by her, ever willingly laid down her life to enter the American hell."

And he voices his protest in these words: "They have vio- lated the terms of surrender by which you were induced to lay down your arms ; for, one by one, the rights of the defeated nations (meaning the States) have been taken from them."

He says they did not expect that "They were to pay billions as indemnity under an infamous pension law," — and so on from bad to worse through his whole address, closing with these words : "Here, on the battle-ground that is hallowed by the ashes of your fallen comrades, I ask you to take up the arms that you laid down at Appomattox; that you fight without ceasing until Southerners again enjoy the rights so long denied them."

If this was the voice of one man only it would not matter so much. It might be taken as the fanciful freak of an unbalanced mind, but we find it approved by the Southern press and Southern writers generally, and recommended as a proper text book for their schools.

This "Syndicate" has been pursuing this course for over forty years. At first their literature to the general public was cautious, often suggestive and insinuating ; but, finding no oppostion or cor- rection from any source, it became more aggressive and defiant, until now they take the positive stand, and publicly proclaim that the acts of secession by the several States were justified and that these States so withdrawing from the national government were within their rights. In effect this is precisely what was claimed before the war. Their cry then was for disunion. Now the claim is that because the government would not let them rule, the Northerners, who preserved the nation, were responsible for the war and all the sacrifice of blood and treasure.

Listen to the distinguished senator who, two years ago, in the City of Washington, to an applauding audience, said: "I have well defined opinions as to the right of secession, and, at the risk

15

of being thought treasonable, I do not hesitate to say that the truth of history was with the South, and that the North has yet to vindicate her course in the days of 1861."

Again a popular pulpit orator lately gave voice to a statement in a public address, as follows : "I hold that the responsibility for the civil war, with all the blood and treasure that it cost, and all the desolation and ruin that it wrought, justly rests on Abraham Lincoln and his advisers."

Again, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, when guests of honor in the Confederate Memorial Hall at the Capitol of this Nation, addressed by a distinguished Southerner, listened with ap- plause to these words : "We do not propose to answer impertinent questions. We fought because we knew we were right, and we will fight again when we get ready, and that is all there is to it."

Such utterances are ringing into the ears of the people, from the political and pulpit orators all over the South and they are influencing millions of young minds. Within the last thirty days I have seen a letter from a gentleman — a native of Virginia — who is at this time writing a book of the war history. This letter was addressed to a gentleman of this city, and it is evident the writer had seen the letters from which I have quoted. Listen : I read from this letter, "I agree fully with the leading pulpit orators and distinguished statesmen who place upon Lincoln and his advisers the responsibility of the war, and I verily believe the time will come when history will teach the same, and an apology will be made to the South for all the wrongs done her."

These are samples of thousands that might be quoted, and they are up-to-date.

The writer, above referred to, says: "The time will come when history will teach the same." Well, it may be possible, if no voice but theirs is heard. Are we waiting for some cloud-burst — some volcanic shock ? Are we sleeping as we were before the war ? When the Southern conspirators threatened, the loyal North would not believe, and their lethargy, in no small degree, encouraged the acts of secession; for it was a favorite argument that the North- erner would not fight, which, with the disloyal sentiment that they believed would join them, they never doubted. They believed that success was absolutely certain.

Had the North responded to the war of words then there might never have been the martyred blood outpouring.

Shall we repeat that history and let these treasonable utterances go unrebuked?

A notoriously lazy man died ; on his tombstone was found this epitaph: "Sleeping, as usual." Will posterity, in writing our epi- taph, be compelled to say: "Sleeping, as usual?"

Companions, I believe that I voice the wish of every one pres- ent, when I say that it is our supreme wish that the people of our beloved country should no more be divided — North and South — but should be united in the bonds of a fraternal union, proud of

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our ancestry, proud of our achievements, proud of our influence among the nations of the world, and loyal to the Stars and Stripes — the flag — the only flag — of this great Union of indivisible com- monwealths.

In the face of these facts shall we keep silence, and allow such perversion of truth to go unrebuked?

Do you realize that there is not a single magazine — except one — in the Northern States devoted to the cause of patriotism, while in the South they have a united press, a finely equipped magazine well sustained, and they boast that it reaches twenty million people, and its columns from month to month are laden with articles devoted to the "Lost Cause," boldly advocating the "right of seces- sion" and persistently insisting that there can be no reconciliation, until this right is conceded by the North with apology and amends made to the South for what they have suffered.

This magazine, in the number of October last, the responsible editor said: "Southerners are more and more convinced that they were absolutely right in resenting oppression. They grow stronger in that way, and they get farther and farther from justifying Mr. Lincoln for violating his oath of office for war's expediency."

In another number of the same magazine, after referring to the Gettysburg Anniversary of July last, the writer says : "If this means that Confederate participation in that celebration was an acknowl- edgment that the South was foolish, and therefore wrong in with- drawing from the Union in which her dearest rights were violated, then I am sure that not a corporal's guard of Confederates would have attended. And I trust that I do not mistake the spirit of our dear old Southland when I say that she would scornfully repudiate any Southern soldier, or citizen, who would make such a con-

cession."

Another writer in the same magazine said : "Gettysburg gath- ering was all right, but reunion never, yours in the faith."

We need not dwell longer upon these public utterances, for some of their actions speak louder than their words.

In every public gathering in the South, if flags are used, it is the Stars and Bars which represents the dead Confederacy, and the flag that represents loyalty to the Nation, under whose government they live, is seldom seen, and their flags are not confined to the South. From a correspondent in Washington, who is in a position to know, I have the following — his exact words : "I do know that there are guards sitting at the doors of this Capitol building with Confederate badges pinned to their breasts." "I do know that there are rooms in the office building of the House of Representa- tives that are decorated with the rebel flags exclusively."

A strange spectacle in the Capitol of our Nation.

And now comes a new scheme. They have commenced a cam- paign to have the Stars and Stripes and the Stars and Bars com- bined in a new National flag.

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They would open the blue field and insert therein the Confed- erate battle-flag. This is approved and urged by the magazine — the official organ of the "Southern Alliance." The writer says: "The Southerners are emotional people. They love the flag; they will follow the flag they love as far as any people on earth." He seems to think that if they could get the Confederate battle-flag patched onto the National banner, it would lead them to assimilate with other citizens and adopt the new flag, for he adds: "It may be well to remember in this connection that the South is still solid ; that half a century has not broken its wall of solidity; that the Southern people are not being assimilated, as it was fondly hoped they would be."

Be not deceived, this propaganda is pushing their work North and South by getting their literature into many papers in the North, sowing the seeds while we are sleeping, "as usual."

You may recall the article published in the innocent Record- Herald, September 19, 1912. I say innocent, because I do not be- lieve that paper had any idea of the real object sought by its author. And yet it was endorsed, so far as appearances showed, by putting it on the editorial page.

In mentioning the Confederate flag, the article recites the "State Rights" platform and it sets up this claim for the flag : "You do not understand what the flag represents to us," and adds: "The flag stood for the rights of the South to determine its social institutions." Again, the article asserts : "We were right in contending against the settlement of these problems by the North. The flag stands for opposition to that awful blow at our prosperity and happiness, and it stands likewise for loyalty to the belief that our people were right as to the justice and necessity of their action." And this same article continues as follows: "The day is coming when you will realize that the Stars and Bars is a twin brother to the Stars and Stripes and you will love it as such."

Do you doubt for one moment what the purpose was in such teachings, and how delighted they are when they can be exploited in Northern papers with a large circulation ?

This Syndicate has thus caught many of our loyal papers napping.

Almost three years ago a series of articles (prepared by the same Syndicate) appeared on the principal battles of the war. They were published in one of the large daily papers in this city.

I suppose you read them. They may have nauseated you, with their fulsome praise of the Confederate army's rank and file, and the skill of every officer who wore a Confederate uniform, but they did not deceive you, for you had prior knowledge from experience. The effect, however, they had on those who did not know, we shall never understand.

If they were taken to be the truth, posterity will believe that there was no bravery or military genius among the Northern troops, and that General Lee was a veritable god of war.

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Of course, the writers did what they were hired to do, and the misrepresentations they made were smoothly and cunningly stated.

Of course, it was a little illogical that, with all the military prowess on their side, they should have failed. But they attempted to prepare for a fall by asserting that they were overpowered by numbers and crushed by brute force — a statement as misleading as it is possible to contemplate — a statement so viciously false that it should never be allowed to go down into history unchallenged.

Its direct purpose was to parade the superior valor and prowess of the men who wore the grey.

Allow me to quote a single paragraph from General Grant's book, written by his own hand, where he states as his conclusion : "There were no large engagements where the national number com- pensated for the advantage of position and entrenchment occupied by the enemy."

Colonel Thomas L. Livermore, in 1900, published a very care- fully prepared book gathered from official and all other available sources, showing the strength of both armies. He gives the num- bers regularly enrolled, who took up arms and served in the Con- federate army at 1,234,000 and on a basis of three years' service at 1,082,119.

The names on the rolls of the Union army were 2,898,304. Of these there were 1,580,000 whose term of service was from two weeks to fourteen months ; reduced to three years' basis the number in the Union army was 1,556,678. This seems to be near the truth so far as the relative strength was concerned, to-wit: Union, 1,556,678; Confederate, 1,082,119.

As a matter of military skill the invading army should be at least twice as strong as that defending (Napoleon said three to one), because it is much more expensive to recruit and maintain. Also, having the advantage of fighting on their own ground, and the power to choose their own position, how idle the boast, for them to assume such superior skill, when, by all the rules of war, they should have been able to have defeated the Union forces? That they did not do so, argues for the superior skill of the Northern army. But I am digressing.

I want, for a moment, to call your attention to their claim that they had altogether only 600,000 men, as they are claiming, and in- scribing upon their monuments.

The basis of calculation usually employed is, that in the usual population, one in five is admissible as a soldier.

On this basis, during the war, it would have given the North a fighting force of 4,300,000, and for the South 2,650,000. One man in five is a very low estimate of fighting men on their own soil, therefore, in this case, where they conscripted boys and men from fourteen to sixty, "Robbing the cradle and the grave," if the South could raise only 600,000 out of a population that should have yielded 2,650,000, what becomes of their much vaunted boasting, that "the great masses rose up in support of their 'Cause?' "

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In the light of these figures and these facts (and they are facts which no one possessing reason will attempt to dispute), there is an irreconcilable discrepancy between the admitted numbers, and those actually fighting in the Confederate ranks.

As I have previously stated, my only object in presenting these figures, and these facts, is to maintain the truth.

Truth must be maintained, if the cause for which we fought is to endure in the loyal hearts of the great ages yet to come.

The controversy is not of our choosing.

The self-conceited assertions of superior ability, as statesmen and soldiers, claimed by these Southern writers, might pass un- noticed if the allegations would die with the authors; but their determination to force these statements, and such as I have quoted, into the history of this country, leaves no choice.

To let them go unchallenged is to let the case go by default.

Shall we sit in court and allow them to prove their case through our silence — allow them to prove their case by the process of Nil- die et?

The honorable ex-senator, Henry W. Blair of Washington, in an open letter (which I wish every loyal American could read) pro- ceeds to say : "But a re-opening and discussion of the whole mat- ter is being forced upon those who fought for the Stars and Stripes ; unless, indeed, they are willing, tamely, to concede that they were engaged in an aggressive and unholy war."

Quoting further from the distinguished senator, he makes this important statement: "It is my understanding, based upon con- versations with Southern public men, and other information, that the 'Southern Historical Society' and like agencies are, and have been for many years, carefully collecting, to be used as the sources of history to be hereafter written (probably after the last survivor of the great war shall have passed beyond the power of defense), manuscripts and statements of the Southern, or Confederate, side of the Civil War, and the causes and events which led up to it."

In view of these facts, what is the plain duty of all living wit- nesses today? What is the duty of the comrades of the old army? What is your duty, my companions?

Don't be put to sleep by the song we hear from some quarters, "Let them alone." "Don't stir up feeling by talking about these things."

This was the Ante-Bellum sentiment in the North, even until our arsenals were depleted and our treasuries robbed and much of the military resources transferred to the South to aid the rebels in their attempt to destroy this Union.

Shall we allow history to repeat itself in the same way? Shall we sit supinely by and allow falsehood and misrepresentation to be injected into new histories that will be read by millions as the years roll on?

Is it not fair to presume that, when we, who were factors in those dark years, are gone, these efforts will become more fruitful

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in disrespect for those who fought to maintain the cause of the Union and the honor of the flag?

It is a fact beyond dispute that a small conniving syndicate,—- never exceeding a thousand men — so controlled Southern senti- ment, that they secured ordinances of secession from eleven States, and brought about the formation of the Confederacy ; and this, without ever submitting the matter to the people, the vast majority of whom deplored war ?

That the war, which followed, was a great mistake — a cruel tragedy — where human blood flowed in torrents, bringing desolation to hundreds of thousands of homes, both North and South, the great world should forever know.

SOMEBODY WAS RESPONSIBLE.

Most, if not all, the men who brought it about, have passed to the Tribunal where judgments are never prejudiced, and never reversed.

At Appomattox, the brave men who had, for four years, fought for the Confederacy, surrendered, and swore allegiance to the United States. They laid down the Stars and Bars — the flag of a dead Confederacy. They took their place under the Stars and Stripes.

Both sides were tired of strife which had left almost every household in mourning.

It would have seemed as if no conspirator could have found a hearing for a thousand years to come. And yet I have shown you, that before the smoke of battle fields had faded away, "A Junior Cabal" was formed, following, as its prototype, the one that had so successfully misled the innocent, honest people of the South into a suicidal war.

And now, under the masterful guidance of this "Cabal," they march under the flag that represents neither the United States nor the State where they live, only the remnant of a deposed "Con- federacy."

Calhoun declared that slavery, not liberty, must control. We can understand why he and his confreres should proclaim the right of secession, for it was the basis of their hopes to get out of the Union, that they might indulge in their dream of a great Slave Empire, in which they fostered the hope of embracing, with the Southern States, Mexico, and the West India Islands, and some of Central America — a dream of ambition, not of morals or right, the consummation of which the civilized world would never have allowed.

But what is it now?

Is it a matter of personal pride that prompts them?

Do they think that, by continually proclaiming "We Were Eter- nally Right," they can convince the world ?

If they were right, then we, as honorable men, should concede it, and make the apology they demand.

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Are you ready to do that, and so stultify and rebuke the virtue of Abraham Lincoln's deeds?

If not, then we ought to assert ourselves, and insist that the truth shall be taught to the children of this redeemed Union — the Union under the Stars and Stripes.

Do you realize what it means to have one section of this coun- try asserting that secession was right, and that they will never be reconciled and loyal until that right be conceded ?

If it was right then it is doubly right now; for right is eternal.

If they were right, we were wrong.

// they were right, then this Nation ought to have been de- stroyed.

If secession was, at that time, right, then we are not rightfully a Nation today.

Was Washington a patriot? He declared that, "The unity of government was absolutely necessary to the welfare of all the peo- ple" ; and he emphatically said : "In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who would labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of our duties as men and citizens."

Was he right when he said that? If so, secession was wrong.

Thomas Jefferson, who foresaw what would be the demand of the slave oligarchy said, "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever."

Was Jefferson right? If so, secession was wrong.

Was Webster right? Was Henry Clay right?

Was Patrick Henry right when he said, "Slavery is as repug- nant to humanity as it is inconsistent with the Bible and destruc- tive to liberty."

If all were right, then a war to perpetuate slavery was wrong.

Was Jackson right when he said : "Be not deceived by names. Disunion by armed force is treason?"

If he was right, and if he called things by their correct name, then passion and rebellion were wrong.

When Alexander H. Stevens, who was the wisest of the South- ern Senators (and from whose speech I have quoted to show that the rebellion was causeless), made that masterly appeal he said: "Can either of you today name one governmental act of wrong de- liberately and purposely done by the government at Washington of which the South has the right to complain?" And he added: "I challenge an answer." "And now to attempt to overthrow such a government is the height of madness, folly and wickedness, to which I can neither lend my sanction nor my vote."

His appeal fell on deaf ears but the truths of all he said about their suffering through the years of war were sorrowfully and com- pletely fulfilled.

Stevens was right, and, in rejecting his counsel the leaders of secession were everlastingly wrong.

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Was it not right that this nation should endure?

The great big world answers : "Yes !"

Then why longer this aggressive, destructive agitation?

Are we to understand that a younger generation is to repudiate the parole their fathers signed ?

No such magnanimity was ever extended to a conquered foe, as Grant gave at Appomattox.

Regardless of rank he paroled them — one and all.

A complete and unconditional surrender, including their weap- ons of war and their flags, secured that parole.

In spirit and in fact, Grant commanded, and Lee consented, that the Confederate flag should be furled and pass from the sight of men forever. It was upon that condition that their paroles were secured.

Is it right now, after all these years of peace, that they should, with cloaked threats, demand that their emblem have a place within the folds of our Nation's flag as Washington made it, and as Lincoln preserved it?

Is it right for these people to keep alive the old "Issues" that were settled almost half a century ago?

Is it right that the old embers should be fanned, and fanned, thus keeping them alive until the last of the real witnesses, and the real actors, have all passed away?

How long, let us inquire, must this Nation be confronted by the somnambulism of a defeated and discredited dream?

Have we confronting us a "Banquo's ghost that will not down ?"

Attention, you men of the Loyal Legion — you who were hon- ored and commissioned to lead the great army of the mighty days !

Loyal now, as then, the voice of the Nation is calling for you. Hold up the Banner of Truth ! Remember that "Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty."

Many eloquent, patriotic words have been, are yet being spoken by the survivors of the Great War, that deeply interest us, but are lost to the coming generations, because no record of them is made.

Many of the papers that are prepared for small gatheringsr laden with valuable data, inspired by the patriotic fire of a loyal soul, are quietly laid aside, held, perhaps, as a sacred remembrance in his family, but lost to the world for want of publicity.

Ought not we, ought not all the survivors of that gigantic struggle, help to preserve the National integrity before passing to the great beyond ? Ought not some effective agency be established for preserving these speeches and papers, that they may be pub- lished and broadly distributed throughout the land? Not only for our children should we do this, but for the millions from foreign shores, who ought to know, and to whom we ought to teach the truths of the history, so that, knowing what this — their adopted home — has cost, their souls may be inspired by a loyalty that will

23

become as a shield of patriotic fire around this brave, benign Republic.

We must, by our example, so speak that we may inspire our sons, the "Sons of Veterans," "Daughters of Veterans," veterans of other wars, members of the "Woman's Relief Corps," "Ladies of the Grand Army," veterans of later wars, and all other loyal and patri- otic people everywhere, appealing to them for aid, that the great heritage, so dearly bought, shall not be lost or weakened, or frit- tered away.

Companions and friends, in the spirit of him, whose fearless heart throbbed to the last moment of his life, "With malice toward none," let us continue, as long as our lips are able to speak, teach- ing these truths, upholding the virtue of patriotic devotion and patriotic love, standing by the wisdom and loyalty of Abraham Lincoln's deeds.

Let us do this so that the false shall not rise up, to again de- ceive, delude and mislead the people, but that Truth — Eternal Truth ■ — shall prevail, "While God is marching on."

The Libbt Company, Printers Chicago

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