The leader., 1901-06-05
THE MEMPHIS REUNION.

war III memory Is more PHEASANT
than war in notion" says President
Mckinley, and he is good authority.
When we looked upon the solid mass
of humanity that gathered at Mem
phis at the grand reunion of the Con
federate veterans, we said "jewhilikee
-ju-whap, are they going to re-organize
the Southern Confederacy?" For
jamming, ramming, cramming, push
ing, showing and scuffling for space
we have never seen anything to equal
it. Our only objection to the concern
was, there we're just simply too many
folks. The authorities undertook to
confine the people to the sidewalks by
stretching wires along from post to
post on the main streets, but those
wires we're no more than spider webs,
as far as combining the people on the
side walks was concerned. In some
cities during the war, the soldier was
kindly asked to keep off the sidewalks,
and Memphis, with wire, undertook to
make him keep on the sidewalks, and
she utterly failed, hence we concluded
that these old Confederates are bit
hard to manage when thousands of
them come together. To go into the
great Confederate Hall, and look up
on the thousands gathered there, one
would suppose there was no one out
side, but to go outside he would sup
pose there was nobody inside. Go up
town and you would see the jams at
every crossing where the street cars,
wagons, buggies and every other NOV
ing thing have come to standstill,
while the over-worked policemen waive
their clubs and with husky voices
shout, "Clear the way! Clear the way"
while great drops of perspiration are
dripping from their faces; beholding
all this, one would suppose that every
thing had adjourned and was going to
dinner,
With great skill did Memphis han
die this mass of humanity, and if any
one was killed or even injured we new
er heard of it. "How many people do
you think were in Memphis?" has been
asked by many. God in Heaven knows,
and we believe that He alone does
know. 1t would make us tired to un-
dertake to say how many we believe
were there. Memphis being the cen
ter of Southern population, it is safe
to say that there will never be another
such gathering on Southern soil this
side the blowing of Gabriel's trumpet.
After calm reflection we wonder why
all this gathering of Southern people?
What means this eager, anxious throng,
That moves in busy haste along?
Not one in ten of that great ocean
of humanity was in existence during
the dark and bloody days, when the
war clouds hung like a pail over our
beloved Southland. Again we ask,
what does it all mean? At glance,
one can see that Southern sentiment is
following these old gray haired, battle
scared veterans to their graves, and
that it will live on in the hearts of the
generations to come. One can look
into the faces of these young men
and maidens, who are the sons and
daughters of veterans, and realize
that their hearts throb with the
same sentiment that pervaded the
heart of the young lady, who, during
the war, sang to her lover:
And now, young man, a word to you,
If you would win the fair.
Go to the field where honor calls,
And win your lady there
Remember that my brightest smiles
| Are for the true and brave.
And that my tears fall for the one
Who fills a soldiers grave"
She had rather see him dead than
play the coward.
THE SPIRIT OF THE MEETING.
Never did you see finer spirit man
ifested among old comrades than that
which seemed to pervade the hearts of
these old heroes of the sixties through
out the entire meeting. At times one
couldn't help feeling like he was at
an old fashioned Methodist camp
meeting. Especially was this true
when they sang the tune, "Old time
Religion" to the words:
| 1--WE shall meet Lee and jackson,
That's good enough for me-
lCho.-"We are old-time ConfederateS.
That's good enough for me-
During the singing of this song there
was general hand shaking and burst
ing up of ones feelings in general.
We thought at first that we would
just be a man and sing the song