Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-31
BLUE AND GRAY UNITE
viii Fraternize at Atlanta, Ga,
February rs.
THE PLANS ARE UNDER WAY
President Roosevelt to Be Invited as
Guest of Honor.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES OF G. A. r.
Col. T. Il. Jones at Head of Com
mittee of Arrangements-Me-
mortal to Gen. Wheeler.

In addition to the proposed monument to
be erected at Arlington in memory of Gen
Joseph Wheeler, as told exclusively in The
Star yesterday, advance arrangements were
made yesterday and today for the holding
of great memorial meeting of the blue
and the gray in honor of the noted con-
federate cavalry leader at Atlanta, Ga, be-
ginning February %. The initiative in this
movement was taken by Col. T. II. Jones
of Atlanta, ana the other members OF
Camp A, Wheeler's Confederate Cavalry,
who came here to take part in the obse-
quies of their old leader.
Col Jones was enthusiastic regarding
the project when seen by Star reporter
today just before he embarked on a tran
for Atlanta He said President Roosevelt
will be invited to Be present as the hon
ored guest. His presence, he said, will be
an inspiration to the fighting men who
wore the blue and the gray in the days of
fire and smoke in the COS to become more
firmly united in the fraternal bonds of
American brotherhood, forgetting the sears
of the past and looking forward hopefully
to the greater grandeur OF this great repub-
lie.
And I fully believe President Roosevelt
will attend our grand reunion" added Col
Jones, who wore the full regulation gray
uniform of confederate colonel of cav
airy. when we called on him at the
White House yesterday one of our boys
said: Mr. President. we came here TO pay
the last honors to our old commander Gen
Wheeler. "
Presidents Commander, Also.
." He was my commander. too replied
the President, remembering his gallant
service as colonel of the Rough Riders IN
Wheelers cavalry in the war with Spain.
II noticed suspicious moisture in the
of ba
tinued Col. Jones land l believe there was
also a suspicion of dampness in the eyes of
our President. Yes, l believe when Col
Roosevelt receives our cordial invitation to
be the guest of the combined Old boys in
blue and gray in historic Atlanta he WILL if
possible, accept it.
The President paid the old confederate
troopers a most graceful compliment yester-
day at our reception when he detailed Capt
Lee, a son of another great confederate cav
airy leader, Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, to present
our comrades to him.
Col Jones also had an interview yester-
day with Corporal James Tanner, comman-
der-in-chief of the G.. A. r., who promised
to lend every assistance to Wheeler's Cav
airy and the other eX-confederates in hold
ing the proposed Wheeler memorial. Cor
poral Tanner promised to be a guest of
the men In gray and the city of Atlanta
and Dixie in general on that occasion He
said the time is now ripe for the brotherly
commingling OF the soldiers of the north
ana those OIL the SOuin IN American COM
radery and he hoped there would be large
representa- ton of members of the GA r.
at the memorial meeting which will also
besa reunion of the blue and the gray. He
deplored the attempts of inscriptions poll
ticians to keep open the sores of the civil
war.
Heart in Right Place
Referring to his talk with Corporal Tan
ner yesterday Col. Jones said he found
him to be grand man with "his heart
in the right place" and he added that the
southern people viii accord him a royal
welcome on the occasion of his visit to
Atlanta next month.
The matter of sending a delegation from
Washington to the Atlanta Wheeler memo
rial meeting and reunion of the blue and
the gray to represent the Department of
the Potomac will be presented to Comman-
der A. =. TaSker and his successor in office
accompanied with an invitation from those
in charge of the coming event.
Col T. II. Jones of Atlanta, who is taking
Il leading part in the matter, said the par
Elephants will represent the United Confed-
crate Veterans, the Grand Army of the Re
public, the United Spanish War Veterans
Sons of Union and Confederate Veterans
Daughters of the Confederacy, regular
troops of the United States army. state
troops, the Masonic fraternity and other
associations.
Features Of the Occasion
A feature Of the occasion will be the
meeting of the three great commanders-in-
chief-President Roosevelt, Commander-in-
chief of the army; Corporal James Tanner
commander-in-chief of the c. A R., an
Gen. Stephen D. Lee, commander-in-chief of
the United Confederate Veterans
Before their departure for Georgia today
the members of Company a, Wheelers
Confederate Cavalry, named Colonel Jones
OF Atlanta as chairman of the committee of
arrangements and master of ceremonies OF
the proposed Wheeler memorial meeting At
this meeting the Wheeler monument to be
erected at Arlington viii be brought to
fruition, it is said
At meeting of representatives of the
city at their club house, 719 9th street
northwest, last night the matter of sending
a delegation to Atlanta was brought up At
the request of Miss Lucy Wheeler
daughter of the late Gen. Joseph Wheeler
the thanks of the family were conveyed by
Capt. j. Walter Mitchell to the organiza-
ton for detailing guard of its uniformed
members for duty over the remains OF her
distinguished father.
Next to the family itself" said Miss
Wheeler, I'VE decided that the guard should
be composed of fathers comrades of the
Spanish-American war"
General IoSeph WheeIar