The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-08-27
TnE CAMn1lIDGE REUNION.

CINCINNATI, August 26.-As special to tn,
Gazette says: About 5000 strangers werr
present to-day at the Soldiers Reunion a
Cambridge and greater crowds are expect
ed tomorrow and next day. The reunion
exercises opened this morning by rev
ellie at 0 and a salute OF 1O4 guns. Tht
greater part OF the day was spent in re
ceiving delegations and escortlng them Il
quarters.
Gen. Garfield, who was to make the
opening address at 4. 4.o'clock, failed to ar
rive until s o'clock and was then enter
tanned. The whole city was brilliantly 4
General Garfield delivered the opening
address in the Court House Park, which
was hung with Chinese lanterns and was
closely filled with people. The audience
numbered Eve or six thousand, General
Garfield said the ex.soldiers OF the North
were neither. ashamed Of their part in the
late war, nor afraid to engage in discus.
sion ot either the war or It's causes. Beasts
dght without caring for the cause OF the
fight. II there were no ideas In It the war
would have been mere war OF beasts, and
It was o war oi men because there were
ideas In 1t. Sufficient time had elapsed
since the war to look INTO the causes calm:
ly and with fairness. 1t might be that the
war was necessary for the development Of
public opinion. The roots extended back
through two centuries OF time and he was
inclined to think the war had to come and
would have come, no matter what cirCum.
stances might temporarily have interfered
with its coming.
But two ideas really produced the war
The first OF these was the institution Of
slavery. Those who fought on the side Of
that institution were not responsible for
the cause; they were born to it. Wei
the North were educated against 1t, and
under other circumstances might have
been Its friends, for human nature il
about the same. The institution grew
strong 1t became necessary to destroy the
Union or to destroy slavery. The second
cause was almost as old as the other. The
war OF the Revolution was a war against
the general government. The trouble OF
the people OF the colonies after was to
hnd a substitute for George III. The
general government being a despot.
ism suggested the necessity OF re-.
ducing its power. There were others in
the colonies who had no fear OF tlespot.
ism, because the new government was to
be one OF our choice, and by officers dele.
gated with any such power as we chose To
give them. Therefore it must be the friend
OF liberty. In the very formation OF the
government these two hostile ideas spranp
up. one OF a weak general government,
with authority centered in the several
States; the other st strong central gov.
ernment, that would insure the liberty Of
all, and command respect abroad. One
was the doctrine OF State sovereignty, the
other OF National supremacy. They grew
up and developed beside each other until
they could no longer live together They
went out to war together, four giants, two
and two, slavery and State soyereipnty nm
the one side, and on the other universal
liberty and the supremacy OF the Ma.
tlonal Government. The two giants on
the other side could not exist separately
slavery could, not exist without State soy.
ereignty, and liberty could not exist with.
out National supremacy. The question
was settled without rancor or hate on our
part; it resulted in Conquering slavery and
the doctrine OF State supremacy, The
moment that was acknowledged war end.
ed on our part, enmity ceased to exist:
We simply insist on.the results, and offer
our hands, hearts, and our most cordial
friendship to every man OF any race who
admits the result. 1twas a great privilege
to have been permitted to serve under
such Government for such cause,
Don't you know Of men who came back
with better stuff in them than thew Ind
before? There were boys and men who
never knew themselves what was in them
till they were tried. They came bsck
with higher seal OF character set on
them, and came back bettermen for hay.
ing been there. The Fourth of July and
the old flag mean more, too, since the flar
came back tattered and black with smoke
and after Il had been borne byperhaps
twenty different hands. It comes back 10
us a sacred thing, and for that reason as
sembIages such2as the present bear ma
back to the holiest and most sacred recol.
leCtions. He vividly remembered that
on the second day of the battle of
ChiCkamauga, when Thomas little divi.
sion behind breastwork OF logs, had re-.
peatedly repulsed an attacking party of
10000 OF the enemy; that when 6 eneral
Thomas took the hand Of the gallant Ohio
Captain and thanked him for the work he
had done with his company, he saw a tear
drop on the Captains hand and he heard
the soliloquy as he worked at It, Geo. ii,
Thomas had hold Of that hand m knock
down any mean man who ever touches
It," Applause.l The Captain felt that
that hand has been consecrated in like
manner Every soldier who ever
carried the alag d. or "a ,musket
in Its defense had consecrated his hand
forever to honor and Justice. If there
were any mean men in the wal, they would
have been meaner without going. They
weremade better, and soldiers will Assem-.
BILE here in'love at these reunions al long
as there istwo left to shake hands.
The speech was received with hearty
applause. At its conclusion the General
left for the depot, where a special engine
was ready to take him to Chippewa Lake,
Medina county, where he speaks to.mor.
row, - iV 'ASSt7fT