The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-12-19

Bf0ce1ul uttefnHeeg OF the CoutederAteS,
who years ago opposed him on the
battlefield. The marvellous aeene oe
an audience In the old Confederate cap-
4tol cheering the stars and stripes until
they grew h0aFBe, Of Confederate Vst-
Grams struggling to grasp the hand Of a
northern Republican presldeft, OF Gen.
Wheeler leading the people Of his
stats IN cheers Tor William Mckinley IN
the place where Jefferson Davis once
urged the south 70 fght for separation.
are all redeemed from the suspicion OF
fulBomenesG or the faint praise o. pO.
lltlolans bH the blunt tfuthfulness Of
the men who led In these new and tTe-
tiendousiy ferVent declarations OF 10y
atty. Governor Johnston, OF Alabama,
said at Montgomery:
I'VE OF the south have nothing 70 re-
gret, except our dead" but he at once
went on to say that he rejoIced n the
United States, with q strong accent on
"Unitedp and that lf any man now said
us Alabama loyal to the union" he
asked an ahspr8 question, because
Alabama's loyalty had been proven by
Wheeler and HobBon and that there
were hundreds OF other WheelerS and
Hobsons In Alabama ready to give eqpal
proof of Alabaua'B glad fealtR to the
union
Such utteraaces as these have mark
ed the trip with more frequency than II
has been possible to report. on the
part OF the former Confederates who
have made addresses Of welcome to
President Mckinley there has been no
eleventh hour OF confession, Of sin. In
substance they have all saia that they
fought for what they then thought was
right. that they neither blame them-
selves nor their dead fathers or sons
for eallsting In the cause Of the confed-
erncy, but that they accept to-day the
changed conditions with a gladness and
sincerity they never felt until the war
with Spain knit the nation in a cofn-
mon cause and until Republican Pres
ident urged the people OF the north mad
south to honor the Confederate dead,
The Remarkable Trip,
IN the latter reason lies the main In
centiye to the intense and almost un-
expected enthusiasm with which the
presidential party has been greeted
since Mr.. McKinleV's first speech In ATT
lanta. Scarcely speaker or a paper In
Alabama or Georgla has madA refer
ence to the President without plAntlop-
ALlS glA ENGAI OGGs4SlIA1 d4Aa lAA94kg w AAl1
Confederate dead. A distinguished
southerner said to this correspondent:
There have been many reunions OF
north and south on paper and IN
speeches. These were well meant, but
they signihed little, because neither side
had given in to the other on the princl-
pies that they fought over This sug-
gestion Of the Presidents to care for
our dead Is the first practicable evl-
dence given to the south that the north
really means what 1t says, and It has
touched our hearts more than we can
say. Coming as It does upon the heels
OF the war with Spain, which gave to
the south the chance 20 provo her 10y
atty, this utterance Of the Presidents
enables US to say not only that we arc
true to the Union, hut for the flrSt time
that we love II,
This utterance represents a host Of
public and private speeches that have
been made since the arrival of the
presidential party IN the south. It Is the
consensus Of various opinions expressed
to this correspondent by state officers
and citizens OF Georgtn and Alabama,
nearly all Of whom are opposed to the
President In politics, but who have well
coined him right gladly in his capacity
OF chief executive and who have given
vent to wild enthusiasm over his utter
ancesinregard to the Confederate dead,
In this waywhat was planned to 6eacel-
ebratlon OF the peace with Spain, has
become almost entirely a genuine prac-
teal ratification of the peace between
north and Bouth, epoch-makine In its
Significance, thrilling in its details and
pathetic in the countless memories that
II aWakenS,