ADDRESSES OF MAJOR LACEY 257 



with each recurring year. In 1861 — thirty-eight years 

 ago — the bond of sympathy between the soldier from 

 Maine and one from Iowa was long drawn out; but as 

 time goes by, the soldiers of distant commands thrown 

 together today feel the same comradeship that they for- 

 merly attached only to those with whom they immediate- 

 ly served. 



The ranks of the Grand Army are growing shorter but 

 more compact than ever. Civil wars have been in all 

 times proverbial for their bitterness. We rejoice today 

 for the utter elimination of all these feelings from the 

 hearts of the old soldiers, North and South. 



An army is the strongest of all arguments ; from the re- 

 sults of its decisions there is no appeal. The most pleas- 

 ing thing in connection with our present reconciliation 

 is the satisfaction shown by the defeated side who now 

 have no further desire for any appeal. 



The year 1898 will be ever memorable in our history. 

 I was one of those who believed that a genuine reconcilia- 

 tion between all sections of this country had taken place 

 and had steadily, though gradually, deepened into a uni- 

 versal feeling of national patriotism. 



The year before our war with Spain began an oppor- 

 tunity occurred to me to speak from the same platform 

 with a Confederate soldier at Lexington, Virginia, where 

 the bodies of Lee and Stonewall Jackson lie buried. I 

 took as lofty grounds of national patriotism and union 

 as my use of language was capable of expressing. I 

 looked into the faces of the old Confederate soldiers pres- 

 ent and of the younger generation who had grown up 

 since the war. The Confederate speaker told his audi- 

 ence that Lee was a great man. I was pleased at the ex- 

 pression of my hearers and at their responsive mani- 

 festations when I told them there was only one standard 

 by which to measure a man, and that was by another 



