The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-06-12
BILL ARP AND THE VETERAN
A Great Gathering of Brave men
at Memphis-T Old Soldiers
Were Happy.
Atlanta Constitution.

Atlanta Constitution.
Forty years have passeI since these
soldier boys tirsL shouIdcred arms ami
hurried TO the front. No such array
OF patriots we're ever seen. for there
was not tory among them nor Il
foreign hirellng, and even the Nor h .
ern-born citizens OF the South \olun-
tccrcd with one accord and cast their
lives and property in the common peril
of their adopted State. TO that class
we owe all tn" mo;'" honor for IL was .,
great heart struggle 10 sever the bonds
that bound them to their kindred and
the place of their birth. Folty Years
have not ctfaced nor dlmmed the me,
m6ry OF those four long years from the
minds of the veterans who gathered at
the Memphis r, union. AS lime rolls
on they seem the more eager to con-
gregate and commune together; and
happily, there are none now TO modest
or make th'm afraid
Happily the soldiers of tho blue and
the gray are becoming every year
the more consiIeiate of The fc, linys
and principles Of each other. The
soldiers, | say-thosc who fought
against us-for the bravest are the
tcndcrest. 1t is the politicians who
saw the battle from afar, who still re-
fuse to give us back our flh9s and are
still worrying over the rebel briyadirr3
whom we have sent to Congress. But
time is a yond doctor, and soft wolds
take away wrath.
That was Il grand cOnvOcation that
paraded the streets Of Memphis.
Hearts beat rapidly and eyes were
moist with tears
while memory fingered DER the sad re
view
or joys that faded like the morning
dew"
That was beautiful prayer sent up
To heaven by our beloved grand chap
lain, Rev. j. William Jones, and faith
full bulwark of Confederate history. ]
know that the blue and the gray caspcd
bands and hearts rs he invoked a
blessing upon Mr.. and Mrs. Mckinley
and asked for her restoration to health.
tell you, my brethren, there Is moth
ing email or selfish or m an i'm the
hearts of our great leaders. In war
and in peace they have been and are
gentlemen. There was not Nero or
a Duke Of Alva among them nor IA
heartlcss destroyer of the innocent nor
n violator of the laws of kindness 10
women and children. Our soldiers
fought a good fight, on patriotic prin-
ciples, and it rejoices US that they have
kept the faith and are as true now to
the nation as they were then to the
principles for which they fought.
Those principles are not dead; an we
believe that if this republican govern
ment is preserved from the domination
of imperialism, with which it is threat.
encd, il will be The conservative spirit
of the South that will do it. The spiri,
Of constitutional liberty is yet alive
with us and will be transmitted to ouj
children.
Ii is high time that the NorlherI
preachers and teachers and editors wcr,
learning a salutary lesson from thcs,
annual reunions of the old ConfCd
crates. IF had been Federal solde
and lived up there, it seems to me tha
would say, My brethren, thos
rebels must have been trcmendousl
| III 10 ho lCJ UP vi uDuIC
ment in their faith. Forty years ha
not humblcd them one iota. We ha
better make friends with such pcopl
and divide honors and pensions, toe
They have carried an awful load fo
all these years. They have To pay
| good part of the pensions to our sn
: diers and all of the pen'ipns ln ihc
} own and big tax 10 educate I, cir u,
, groes; and they had to endure the RI,
! nges and stealages of the carpei-baggc
for years, but they never complail
e They fight back and defend their homo
9 but, like tho sons of Alnomok, tn,
I never complain. Surely they are
great people. They suffer, and .
j. strong, and when soldiers were want,
y for Cuba and the Philippinessthey can
l. at the first call. Brethren, lei's st,
n all this anti-Southern sentiment al
10 ] make our preachers and editors stoD