The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-18
Camp LOmax Holds Spe-
 cial Meeting. ADDRESS BY MIR. TORRANCE He is Commander -in-Chief of G. A. R. Says the Sun Will Never Shine on Braver Army Than That
 Which Surrendered at Appomatox in .,. '' 1865.
 

The Blue and the Grey met in fraternity last night Camp Lomax, United Con- fcderate Veterans, met and welcomed General Eli Torrance. Commander-in- Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. and half dozen of his comrades. It was the first time that the Comman- dcr-in- Chief of the Grand Army of the
 Republic had been the guest of Confed- crate Camp. and it was perhaps the hrst time that a body of Union soldiers in blue had been entertained by Confed- crate camp. The wearers of the Blue and the wearers of the Grey spoke of the re- united country and the glory of the United States.
 A patriotic address, an eloquent ad- dress. was delivered by General Torrance. His words were earnest, and convincing and they brought forth repeated bursts of applause from ex-Confederate and ex- Federal General Torrance was intro- duced to the camp by Capt. c. A. Lanier, who, with Judge Tarver and Capt. w .B. Jones, had gone to the Exchange Hotel to escort General Torrance and his com rades to the camp meeting.
 Captain Lanier said that in the great four years war in which they had taken a part, there was frequently Hull in the firing, an intermission in the fighting. In these intermissions the men on each side met, shook hands and fraterniZed. These intermissions had ended only too soon. The speaker was glad that the last in- termission had been prolonged for years, and he was glad that it was an intermis- sion for all eternity.
 It made it possible to have as their guest a distinguished citizen of the
 United States and Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. Gen. Torrance Speaks. General Torrance came forward from the prominent place that he had occupied
 with number of his comrades. He was dressed quietly in civilian clothes, but his comrades, with one or two exceptions,
 wore uniforms of blue. He was received with a burst of applause. He had his audience with him from the start and the rebel yell was brought out frequently by the words of the eloquent Union soldier.
 This Is the first time,' said General Torrance, that I have ever been within Confederate lines If we had known that you would have treated us as nicely as you have treated me, you could have captured the whole Upion army.
 <, "I feel a peculiar pleasure in being with you at your e3mp fire, The old camp fire was not one of comfort nor one of safety. Our faces were turned from home, but our hearts turned ever to the home and the loved ones We had left. War is the most cruel thing on the face of the earth. The man who would rather fight than eat resigned early in the war and he will never enlist in another.
 'I believe that the men on both sides were actuated by lofty purpose. They were moved by a sense of duty. Experi- ence is the hardest of teachers. Between us there arose some prejudces and some real differences, which could not be set tied except by recourse to the court of war, the greatest. the most terrible of all courts; to that court we finally re-