The Butler Weekly Times Newspaper, December 18, 1889, Page 8

; H ' Jefferson Davis, Eloquent Address of Judge David .\. DeArmond, in Memory of the De- parted Chieftain. Delivered at the Memorial Services of Jefferson Davis, Held 1a this City Last Week. | Mr. PResiDENT,LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: | Facing this gent audience—in this really splen- did presence—I feel that I would be wanting in appreciation of the pro- prieties of the occasion should I fail to express my gratitude to the com- mittee of Confederate veteraus for the compliment they paid me in in viting me to speak for them and to you. Knowing them and knowing those for whom they act, I know full well that I shall disap- point their hopes and grieve their patient spirits if I utter a word which shall wound any one’s feelings. Being thus conscious that I am speaking for old warriors, transform- ed into men of peace, in whose souls abides no malice, but who are bowed down with sorrow over the death of their departed chieftain—I trust that in whatI say I shall awaken no feeling save of kindness and sympa- thy and fellowship. Over yonder door by which we entered, I, in this spirit, allow my fancy to place the words of the im- mortal Lincoln: With charity for all and malice toward none.” And remembering, too, that we are in a church, and that standing by this consecrated desk I speak to you, I, in fancy also, see Mlazing in letters of living light above this pul- pit the happy exclamation of the| Psalmist: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” I shall try to speak in the spirit of | these lofty sentiments, the drawn from the great heart of chari- ty ina noble man, the other from | the deep weil of wisdom in the book | of books. This hour, as I conceive, is ded-| cated to calm retrospection, to mem- | large and intelli | one ories of the past, some sweet, some | bitter, but all softened and mellow-| ed by time until they are sadness! and sweetness tenderly commingied. | This is not -a time for unstinted | praise or unmeasured blame. Ex. | travagant laudation is out of place, so is censure, but sweet charity and | gentleness of thought and of speech should prevail. A little more than eighty-one and a half years ago, in the territory of Ky., was born Jefferson Davis,whose body now lies in state in the Crescent | city by the gulf, with loving hands about to bear it away to the tomb. He came of good, true, revolutionary | stock. His father was a soldier in our war for independence, and the son fought as fights a heroin the war with Mexico. His capacity and gallantry were conspicuously dis- played apon the bloody field of Buena Vista, and but for him and his noble Mississippi Rifles our flag} would there have been trailed in de feat, and the Mexican banner instead of ours would have waved in tri- umph. At the very crisis of that awful conflict, when our little band seemed doomed, when victory flashed in the dark eyes of the Mexican Lancers as tHey came on with a dash and courage worthy of the best days of Spanish chivalry, Jefferson Davis and his Mississip pians cast themselves into the bloody breach, sustained without flinching the fearful charge of many times their own number, hurled the foe back, torn and routed, and plucked victory from the very jaws of defeat. The red stripes on the flag wereof a deeper red as Davis shed his blood in its defence, and the stars gleamed brighter for his valor. The soldierly qualities of Col. Da- vis and his almost invaluable service in battle, to say nothing of his hon- orable scars, suggested him asa fit subject for promotion, and President | Polk tendered him a Brigadier-gen-| eralship. Davis had a finished mail. | itary education, having graduated at | West Point; had shown signal abili-} ty in the field, under the hottest fire; | he was ofthe age when the flames of ambition burn high and the future is radiant with promise; and here) came to him, unsought. from the highest officer in the land, the presi- }fought and | Proud of his dent of his choice, the commission i ofa general, for which colonels, right, and colonels left, hoped and sighed and schemed. Jefferson Davis declined the proffered promotion, | because, according to his creed, the president had no rightful power to bestow it. He regarded himself as a soldier of his adopted state, Miss., and thought such promotion could jnot rightfully come to him from the Federal government. Some at this day may wouder at that estimate of jthe rights and powers of state and nation, but the incident speaks vol- uimes for the sincerity of Jefferson Davis then, and throughout all the years of his eventful life. Secretary of war, senator, states- man of commanding prominence and broad experience,the rush of thought and of events carried Jefferson Davis into the presidency of the Confeder- ate States of America) The Confed- eracy is gone, and nearly twenty-five years after it died in the shock of arms, the old president drops to sleep peacefully as atired infant, at the close of along day of sunshine and shadow, ‘of calm and storm. “After life's fitful fever he rests well.” There is not time, without too greatly extending these remarks, to go into particulars concerning this striking figure in our history. Nor is this a fit oecasion for argument or dogmatic statement as to the right and the wrong of the questions over which brothers went to war slaughtered one another. The ques- tions were argued years and years | ago with cannon and inusketry, the points were made with sabre strokes and thrusts of bayonets. Thou- | sands, aye, hundreds of thousands, upon each side, sealed in blood their faith in the righteousness of their cause; and the bones of the dead lie aloug the Potumae, the Tennessee, and all over the beautiful, sunny south. How childish to question the sin- cerity and devotion of those who fell! How unjust to doubt the sincerity and integrity of purpose of the eld, dead president of the dead confederacy! thing in the } Every- ristory and life of Jet- ferson Davis is proof that he follow- |, ed the path of duty as he saw it. Who can do more? Jefferson Davis w . proud map. incest proud, with the just pride ofa high-born Ken tuckian, of his native state; proud of | the state of his adoption; proud of his talents; proud of his unyielding steadfastness; proud in scorn of the traducer. He great of soul, too mighty in the sweep of intellect, to be tainted with vanity—the vice of weak minds—or was too to entertain malice. He was ambi- tious, but conscience always held the reins. With his own conscience he never held parley. thought, prayed to see the right, and then went forward in the path of duty, as his vision found it, with the steadiness of fate. He was at once the gentlest and sternest of men. No more true and loving hus- band or kind and indulgent father ever graced the sacred precints of home. He was the exemplar of every private virtue. And whatever may be the judgment as to the wisdom or errors of his public life, it is well to remember that one is clear of moral wrong when he follows the lead of a firm, quickened conscjence. In public life he was free from taint of corruption and from every offense of the time-server. The sun is not steadier in. its course than Davis was in his. Few men have been vilified as was the official head of the Confederacy. In the hour of excitement and af- fliction, the north saw in him no good thing, and poured upon his de- voted head its vials of wrath. He was the personification of all which to the northern mind was evil and threatening. And even in his beloy- ed south, he was assailed for the shortcomings, failures and defeats for which others really were respon- sible. He was between two fires, and about and around him were strewn the ruins of the Lost Cause. Everywhere were desolate hearth- stones and the wailing of widows ,and orphans, and maimed men and shattered hopes and blighted for- tunes. His position was a singular one and will be unique in history. | united people they are mingled, | He was left the sole monument of the departed hopes and glory of andj his lofty | He read, | the confederacy. He lived almost | \literally “amid the wreck of worlds | jand the crush of matter.” 1 Through it all and out of it all, with honor unstained and conscience | bright he passed on to that “undiscov- | | ered country from whose bourne no traveler returns.” In some sense, the} reputation of all who battled under the stars and bars was in his keep- ing for a quarter of a century. Would he, as advanced and} death approached, abate aught of} ithe lofty spirit which characterized him when the battle was raging? Would the world detect through his rusting armor a speck upon his cou- science? His steadfastness was proof | against the assaults of time, and he| years died as he lived,tirm in the conscious- jness that he did what he believed to be right the government for wnich he fought, and against which also he marshaled armies. The state he sought to found perished in the fight, and he died a citizen without Surely he sustained right royally the He never asked pardon of a country. difficult position into which fortune cast him. But while Jefferson Davis died without having sought or receiv- ed a certificate of citizenship from the government of these United States, he is not lost to his- tory asan American. In the eye of the historian his will be figure. The critic and philosopher | of the future will pierce through the blue coats and the gray coats and beneath each wiil find true American the loug ages to come. }purp se and the private virtues of Jefierson Davis, I come without pre- ion but naturally, I think, to med dwe feder: inde & moment upon the con- s . Years ago he was 1 terrible in battle. of iuabers against him were not of his his north not the natural resources south land with those of He fougi 1e fight tot bitter end, and when be ed, he ¢ fern foe. | was def | cepted the decision in | good faith » to ta ina perity but they soon fail away in large jnumbers. The friendship of suffer- | jing and defeat is wore lasting, death {only can break its ties. Another of | these cords, knit by suffering andj defeat, death has snapped. The Con- | federate veteran felt deeply and lov- ed intensely. His warm nature, and owship with hard fates thus moy- ed him. And from the tempest of war came into his soul the longing for peace. The flag he had followed was furled forevermore—his was a lost cause. The old flag was again over him, his father’s flag, his coun- | \try’s flag. and very softly yet in his| heart there nestled the old memories. Quietly and sturdily he bent to the task of making the waste places more fruitful, intent upon winning for him and his the future which in this land awaits them who faint not. dropped his Confederate musket and his Confederate uniform and stepped back into his place as a citi- zen of this glorious union. You may know him for years and yet never learn from him that he fought in the bloodiest battles ever waged be- tween brothers. Not that he is asha- med of the past,but because he lives in the present and for the future. In every element of good citizen- fel vo mean j heroes whose praises will be sung in airladen withthe mingled scents of jall blossoms that are fragrant. | Pom speaking of the integrity of | 5° The odds} A | The true and the brave are all of taken into the account, he compared | kin, and the true and the brave of i ‘not suffer the =| MAD FROM FRIGHT. nnd turned with undimin- | —poor, beaten, warin friends | In a moment he had} the pride of our decsendants and of | the true, the brave, the free every- where while time lasts. No, we could not write the story of this country without dwelling in praise and pride upon the Lees and Jacksons as well | asthe Grants, Shermans and Han-| eecks.- And he would make a poor} historian of Missouri who would be | lacking in praise of the noble quali- | ties of Price and Marmaduke and | our own neighbor Shelby, and the; gallant sons of Missouri who mareh- ed and starved and fought under them. This state and the Union need the | old Confederate soldiers aud those | in whose veins flow their blood.| Gray as well as blue is one of heav- ens own colors. For if blue is high in the vault above, when at night ss Longfellow says: Into the infinite meadows of Heaven Blossom the lovely stars, The forget-me-nots of the angels.— itis the gray which appears at the dawn and gives promise of the hap- py day of sunshine. Peace, charity and forgiveness, I verily believe fill the southern heart to-day, while thousands upon thou- sands all over the beauteous south- jland are assembled to do honor to the memory of Jefferson Davis. And I think too that the day is not mar- bitterness in the north. From her richness of sweets the sad, loving south has culled her choicest flowersand with them strewn the bier of her honored dead. The great moving throng of mourners breathe red by And rs of the tea southern women, falling hke a ter than all are lc benediction from on high. Into the open grave of the dead Chieftain of the Lost Cause let all the bitter feelings aud bitter words of the war and about the war drop and be buried forever. the civil war and of this country will 2 of our ve united American family to be disturbed. Johnstown, Pa., the Scene of Yet Another Bad Mishap. en Persons Crushed to Death and Many More tnjured. Jchustown, Pa., Dee. 10.— During a performance of “Unele Tom’s Cab in” at the opera house here to night the glory earned by the other,must be | a cry of fire was raised, resulting in a terrible rush for lifedown the nar- row stairs. It was found necessary to turn a stream of water on the crowd from a fire engins standing near before the dead aud wounded could be tak- en out. People rushed from the outside up the narrow stairs and were crush- ed by the crowd forcing its way to the street. THE THEATER A DEATH TRAP. There were 500 or 600 men, women and children in the hall, and to gain the street it was necessary to pass down a narrow upwalled stairway and up through a very narrow door. The people from the streets rushed into the door from the outside and many were crushed before the jam eould be forced out. There are about thirty others in- jured, but their names cannot be ob- tained. The alarm of fire which caused the panic was sounded at 10:30 for a blaze in Dr. Wakefield’s stable in Kernville. The “Uncle ship he is with the best. Are en- terprises on foot for the benefit of town, county, state or country? The man who wore the gray is domg his full part. Does sweet charity appeal to the true-hearted? The heart that of yore beat fast under the grey coat with quickened stroke responds. And now can anyone ask whether these men, so true and useful now, were true and sincere in times that tried mens’s souls? All are Americans and all pray that the union of the states and the liberties of the people may be pre- served so long as water shall run or grass shall grow. | robbed of any of the glory which be- | longs to us. As the blue and gray min- | gled in battle, each fighting for what ihe believed to be right, so now in the peaceful advancement of a great with no colors or lines to divide them, and the glory reaped by the one and We must not be} Tom’s Cabin” was playing in Park’s opera house and the whole audience of 600 people jumped to their feet and made a dash for the stairway and a fearful jam and crushing was the result. EACH ONE FOR HIMSELF ALONE. The screams were terrible and it was shocking to see small children knocked down by big men and tram- pled upon. This theater hasalways been noted as a death trap and was condemned twelve years ago, but the other the- ater was washed away in the flood and this one has been in use. The manager tried to quiet the crowd but it was of no use. One man jumped from the third story window | and was seriously injured and many j more would have jumped but for a i few cooler heads. Mexico isa land of the confusion of tongues. There are forty-eight languages spoken there. McFARLAND BROS, ———AT BU'TLER—\ KEEP THE LARGEST STOCK AT THE BEST PRICES IN HARNESS and SADDLREY SPOONER PATENT COLLAR CANNOT CHOKE A HORSE, Adjusts itself to any Horse’s neck, has two rows of stitching, will hold hames in place better than any other collar. Soleagent fortne Rockford and Aurors watches. in Gold, Silver and Fliled Cages, verycnesp | CO) JEWELRY STORE, | 50 Ts headquarters tor fue Jewelry Watches, Clocks, Solid Silver and Plated Ware, &. as 9 Spectacles of all kinds and tor all ages; also fine Opera Glasses. You are cordially invited to visit his establishmeat and examine his splendid display of beautitul goods and the low prices, KINDS OF ENGRAVING NEATLY EXECUTED# ALL T. LL: PETTYSsS. A. O WELTGA PETTYS & WELTON DEALERS IN vO} Staple:Fancy Grocerie QUEENSWARE AND GLASSWAR ‘CICARS AND TOBACCO, cr Always pay the highest market price for Countn},; Produces East Side Square. Butler, MO C. B. LEWIS, Prop’r. 0 TE BRICK LIVERY STABLE AMPLE SUPPLY OF Buggies, Carriages, Phaetons, Drummer Wagons, &c. in in EY st ri BgReeegs er aeorvsa This is one of the best equipped Stables in this section of the state. FIRST-CLASS RIGS FURNISHED At any hour, day or night on the most reasonable terms. | armers desiring to put up their horses when in the city will find this barn the most convenient in town. 8a NOTE.—The Constables office can also be found at | the office of the barn. Call and see me. Cc. B. LEWIS.