The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1889-02-08
AN INCIDENT OF WAR.
LEO W WHEAT'S BRILLIANT MISI-
CAL TREAT AT THE CA ArITAI.
The Ways and Means Committee vii!
Report Compromise Tariff Bill a.
Soon Possible.

Especial Cor. Of STATE CHHONICLE.l
WASHINGTON, p. C. Feb. 3, 1889
Is your city has recent IL had a re union
OF the Con! ederate Vel Grams, 1t may be in
tefestlng TO relate an incident of the clos
lag scenes of the war. as told of John 5.
Wise by II versatile story teller Of this city
not long ago The last communication
that ever passed between Gen. Lee and
Jefferson Davis, before the surrender at
AppomatoX, was carried by John Wise,
between the troops III the field near Farm
Vile ana the government In Richmond.
AT that time Wise was a boy, not quite
nineteen Years Old and one can imagine
how very cailow he must have been III ap-
pearance at that age, when now, at the
age Of fOrtytwo, he looks like q boy still
When Wise started out with his message
from Davis it WAS with little hope of ever
reaching Lee. The country was swarming
with the triumphant troops of the North
ern army. and through these hostile and
Jubilant forces the boy messenger had to
pick bis way. At one time he swan his
horse acloSS a stream with half dozen
Union cavalrymen shooting at him. at
other times barely escaped capture in the
woods or at the farm houses as he stopped
for food and oftentimes he lay ''hid OUT
IN the woods with his horses nose muffled
IN an old coat to keep him from snorting
or whinnying- Much of his journey was
performed on foot, as he had twice to give
up his horse and borrow or steal another
in his place. But the thing that most i'm
pressed itself upon his memory was his
first sight of Federal cavalry on the march
AS he Was feeling his way cautiously upon
the road running along the bank Of the
AppomattoX river one bright morning he
heard the sound of music ahead of him.
He hurriedly withdrew up rise beside
the road into thick scrub oak and pine
undergrOwth, where he made himself Sc
cure from observation. Then as the music
came nearer, and the sound Of the march
became louder, he crept to the edge Of the
rise, hugged the ground closely behind a
log, and, peeping over, watched the pass
ing OF a detachment Of Sheridan's cavalry
and artillery. He had never seen the
Northern cavalry. He had ouly knOwl-
edge of he worn out and decimated cav
airy OF the Confederates; a cavalry made
up OF halfstarved men and horses and
mules; a cavalry IN which the men were
picturesq que III the variety Of their tatters
and rags, dirt and mixed equipments-in
all sorry and forlorn looking soldiery.
The Federal troops were passing in quick
trot in their pursuit Of the flying columns
OF Lees army. The men IN their tidy uni
forms sat on their horses firmly They
laughed and jested and sang Their car
bines and sabres ratified merry accom-
paniment to the rumble of the cannon
wheels and the thunder of the horses feet
The bugle calls rang out meTriy and the
accOutIements and the steel and brass
guns flashed III the morning sunshine
Like visions in dream the splendid
squadrons of Sheridan's cavalry swept
past the bulging eyes of the ragged young
rebel peeping over the rotten log. AS the
| time went by and grew into the hours,
with never break in the hurrying column
with the never ceasing thunder OF the
horses hoofs, the rumble of the cannon
wheels, the rattle of carbineS and sabres,
the song and call from the cavalrymen,
and the cannOneers smoking their pipes
upon Timber and caissOn, Wise covered his
face with his hands, as the picture of his
own people came to mind and said, my
God. what have we been fghting?'
Many of your readers will remember
Leo Wheat, formerly of Chapel Hill. He
has been in this city during the past week.
Yesterday evening by special request ne
spent the evening at the White House
| when he played for Mrs. Gle veland and
number of her musical friends. Once he
made his living by his music. He is un
| dOubtedly one of the most brilliant per
formers on the organ and piano in this
country. His marvellous art won for him
a rich wife and he has dropped out of
| sight for the past few years But he plays
as well as ever, and has been astonishing
| Washington during the past several days.
| One of the most notable musicals of the
season took place at Mrs. John q. Car
| isles Thursday morning. The three par
| lors of the Speakers wife were decorated
| with pr fusion Of rich and fragrant
| flowers, and tiicd with her music loving
friends including many OF the prettlest
young girls in the city. The centre of at
traction was Leo Wheat For nearly two
| hours he kept his audience enchanted with
his marvellous skill and amused at his cd
| dities. He played nearly every style of
music, from Beethoven soratas and Chopin
nocturnes to the widest negro minstrelsy
| Among other selections he gave his own
exquisite little cradle song which Adelina
Patti always uses i'll parlor concerts wher-
ever she sings two songs
It is the purpose of the Ways and Mea Is
Committee to report back to the House a
compromise tariff bH as soon as possible.
| If they should undertake to consider in
committee the Senate bill carefully by
| p ,ragraph the session would be done be
fore they could complete this work. The
| Democrats do not propose to follow such
q course as this, but intend to report a
bill as soon as they are satisfied as to the
correctness of their figures. The plan tC
be followed Is to accept as much of the
Senate bill as possible. This will be the
Senate free list entire, the internal reve
nue. features, except the "alcohol used il
the arts clause, which they do not con
slider sufficiently guarded, and SO much OF
the tariff matter proper, besides the free
list, as they can agree to without an abso
lutte surrender of principle. Wherever
there is a reduction, OF what they consider
a not unfair al just nent Of any feature o
the tariff III the Senate bill, they propose
to accept it. Then they propose to add t.
this as many of the features of the Mill
| bill as they can without destroying tn
idea of compromise. That is, they vii
eliminate such features OF the Mills bill a
are most antagonized when their absenc
will rot involve the sacrifice of princi
pie Thus they propose g composite bill
made out OF the two bills and the interna
= revenue proposition. Exactly what wi
5 go in and what will be taken out of tn
! bill has not yet been decided, of course
i and it cannot as yet be estimated wha
1 amount of reduction such compromis
{ bill would affect. The important fact
S that they propose to report q compIomis
!; and to make the repolt oaIiy enough (
t allow time for action. 1t is declared ths
+ there will be 30 delay that can be avoide
v and that the report will be in the Hous