The Waco evening news. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 1891-1894, 1894-04-06
Hons. John II. Reagan and
F. R. Lubbock,
Addressed the Old Soldiers Last Night..'COn'
stitutiOnaI Rights Of the States.

was crowded to its utmost capacity
last night, when the United Confed.
crate veterans assembled.
1t was announced that Judge
John Ii. Reagan would address the
veterans, but before he arrived
Lieut.. j. d. Shaw, Of Pat. Cleburne
camp, made some announcements of
meetings of veterans of different
brigades.
Mr.. j. B. Scarborough, calling
the meeting to order, SAID:
"The Confederate flag was the
emblem of the existence of nation.
1t went down and was furled and
we respect it now. We love to look
over the history Of our country from
then till now, and into the future.
We have with US tonight the only
living man who was in the first
Confederate cabinet. He stood by
Davis and his coterie of heroes who
stood by that flag until they crossed
over the river. Judge Reagan has
since the war been justly denomin-
ated the great commoner of
the people. 1t gives me
pleasure to introduce him to you to
night"
Hon. John. II. Reagan was
greeted with loud applause. He
read his address from typewriter
manuscript. 1t was largely devoted
10 the causes which led to the civil
war, and the constitutional right the
South had which warranted it in
Withdrawing from the Union. The
war was inevitable and he believed,
like Horace Greeley, that while it
might have occurred sooner. or have
been postponed, come, at some time,
it must. 1t would have been as i'm.
possible to effect settlement by a
compromise as it would have been
for the colonies to effect a compro.
mise with King George the Third.
Each side in the late civil war did
we'll to perpetuate the memories OF
the participants.
In his paper, Judge Reagan, with
historical accuracy, related numer-
GUS instances of the test being made
from constitutional standpoint OF
the rights and powers of a state in
regard to the federal union, the de
feat of all of Hamilton's schemes
for Capitalization, and the constant
successes of the plans of Jefferson
for the reserved rights of the states,
guaranteed to them under the con
stitution and sustained by the peo
pie of the states.
He told of how slavery was foist,
ed upon the colonies by Great Brit
ain, and the first attempt to abolish
it was made in South Carolina, af.
terward the first state to assert her
sovereignty in the year 1861.
These.reunions, he said, should be
held with increased fervor each
year. The followers of Lee, Sid
ney Johnston, Joseph L. John
ston, Hood, Longstreet, Bragg,
Polk, John Gregg, A. r,
and d. I'll. Hill, Beauregard,
Pat Cleburne, Forrest, Stuart, Cor
don, Fitzhugh Lee and other great
captains in the Confederacy would
soon pass away, and our children
should not be taught that their
fathers were traitors or rebels.
Judge Reagan was followed by
Gov. Lubbock, who was greeted by
shouts, yells and tremendous ap.
plause. He said:
'Some how or other, in some
place, there is always somebody
who is telling that am the oldest
man in Texas. Nsughter). l was
not at the battle of San Jacinto, but
l am an old Texan and came here
shortly afterwards. | consider it
grand honor for any man to address
this audience of true and tried Con.
federate soldiers. 1t isn't nice to
speak of ones self, but | enlisted
IN the war at an early day, and while
l was governor left the chair and
went into the army. With that
man pointing to Judge Reagan) |
was kept in solitary confinement
TOR eight months after the war.
~ believe these.reunions do great
good, and it tells man what he was
in the war for, besides teaching our
children to understand that we were