The Evening critic., 1881-09-29
THE FRIENDLY GRASP.
Warm Welcome and HOspltable En-
tertalnmeut of Ex-COnfcdcrRtcs I'm
the Cumberland Valley, Pm.

oncnunuOhn NAlley VlSlteu tarllSlc, "a,
yesterday, at the invitation of Colwell Post,
Of the Grand Army of the Republic, and
were warmly welcomed and Hospitality en-
tertained. Many of the cxcursionists were
ex. Confederate soldiers, and wore white
badges, with the legend, "Ex-C." To this
their entertainers pinned blue badge, with
the legend, WELCOMED by Colwcll Post
q. A. r." and appended TO the
blue badge was dinner ticket.
The special excursion train, consisting of
seven cars, left Luray, Page County, Va, ut
early dawn and arrived at Hagerstown
about 8 n. m, where il was met by COM
mittee from Carlisle who passed through
the cars and distributed the blue badges.
The train arrived here about IL n. m, and
the visitors were received by Colwell Post
and two Grand Army Posts from Harris
burg, local military company, four cornet
bands, and the Indian school. A procession
was formed the Grand Army Posts with
| their bands, taking the lead next came the
excursionists, headed by the Stonewall
| Brigade Band of Staunton then followed
long line of carriages containing invited
guests of more or less distinction and the
ladies who came with the excursion, about
| fifty in number. The Indian boys and girls
brought up the rear
This novel and picturesque procession
town and then entered the fair grounds,
where half hour was devoted to speech
making and two hours to dinner. Gov.
Hoyt, Of Pennsylvania, made n brief
speech, welcoming tho Virginians to the
hospitality of Pennsylvania. Tho formal
address of welcome was made by Mr. John
Hayes, of the Carlisle bar, who fittingly re-
ferred to the great historic event whose CEN
tennial is about to be celebrated on Vir-
ginia soil as one of the ties that binds
Virginia and Pennsylvania in patriotic
bonds. Forgetting past differences and rccog-
| nizing in each other worthy sons Of grand
old sircs, here to-day, under the stars and
stripes, in q land united and blessed with
all that can make its people happy, the men
in gray and the men in blue meet to clasp
each other by the hand. Stepping to the
music of the Union they join, as their
| fathers before them, for the preservation of
| their country. Every enemy must flee in
terror before them or sullenly surrender, as
| the British did ut Yorktown q hundred
years ago.
DIR. George w. Rust, of Luray, responded
| for the Virginians, and his speech was
greatly appaudcd. He said that pain and
pleasure were strongly comminglcd in the
| thoughts which came crOwding through his
| mind. The pain has sad memory, the
pleasure happy realization of the present
| Between the two was the sharp contrast of
peace and war. Twenty years ago there
was crossing of swords, u clashing of gilt
tering steel to-day there Is Clasping of
hands and a cordial invitation to forget the
wounds of the war and to sit down to a
banquet of peace. Only true soldiers can
display such magnanimity as this. 1t is for
the men who met on the battlefield to
counsel federation, forgiveness, and forget.
fulness of tho past, with its dark, sad his
tory. Sectional wounds can only be healed
by manly concessions on both sides, and
these soldiers who wore the gray arc ready
to make. While these Virginians are firm
and unyielding in their devotion to princi-
pie as the rock-ribbcd hills that hem in
their own valley, they are ready to defend
common Union and common flag.
Gen. James A. Beaver, who lost his right
leg at Weldon Station, made brief speech.
He said that the great problem that now
confronts the statesmen of the country is
the fising of the adverse clements into a
common patriotism, and the forming of
T. IT 1 ~