Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-18
V|CTOR|ES|N THE WEST
Veterans of Civil War CeIe-
brate Anniversary.
VIEWS OF JUSTICE HARLAN
Meeting Under Auspices Of Woman's
Relief Corps.
NAMES OF THE SPEAKERS
Reference to Trip Of Warships to
the Pacife-Members Of
Committees.
NAMES OF THE SPEAKERS

the Pacifie-Members Of
Committees.
Veterans of abe Armies Of the Cumber-
land. Ohio and Tennessee last evening
celebrated the forty-second anniversary of
THE Growing Victories in the West,
the battles of Franklin and Nashville,
with banquet at the Masonic Temple.
under the auspices of the Department of
the Potomac. Womans Relief Corps.
The exercises were opened with prayer
by Rev. H. NJ. Couden. chaplain of the
House of Representatives.. Gen. T. ].
Henderson presided.
Justice Harlan of the Supreme Court Of
the United States made the principal ad-
dress. His subject was Justice Jusr
tice Harlan, who was a soldier remarked
that the men who served in the great war
are going down the valley enc by one
and it is entirely. fitting that those who
are yet remaining should gather together
and shake hands whenever 1t is possible
Was Vile SANDER.
you read in the papers, Justice Har-
Ian added, mot great while ago that
Gen. Thomas. under whom I served,
had debated in his mind before the war
whether he would serve the Union or
whether he should serve the Confederacy
That story has been told before. Many
years ago it was used when there was
some talk of running Gen. Thomas for
the presidency. Many years ago I talked
with Gen. Thomas about the matter, and
wish to say here. publicly. that he
there denied that he had ever contem-
plated such thing. He said that it was
a vile SANDER
The justice, continuing. said that now,
owing to the heroic work of the boys OF
'61,' the American people and the Ameri-
can nation are almost at the top. "Al.
our troubles are gone: we are now united
and happy, and We are not afraid Of all
the nations on the earth. We want no
conflict with any people on the earth. but
| II one comes we are able to meet 1t.
| Now we have one of the greatest navies
| Of the world. 1t may not be the greatest
in point Of numbers, but man to man and
| ship to ship there is no nation on the
| earth that can stand against it.
No Menace to Any Nation.
ut is just starting on a trip around the
American continent which has startled
the world. AS far as I can see there is in
that trip no menace to any nation; no
| people may regard it as an unfriendly
action But I thank God that the time
has not come and never will come when
| this nation must needs ask any nation
| on the earth where we shall send our
ships
There was no northern army" the
speaker asserted 1T was the army of
the Union" in which he fought and in
| which hundreds of thousands of other
southern men fought. They fought not
against their own section of the ,oun-
trv but to preserve the Union ~
Position in History.
Representative Hull, chairman of the
House committee on military affairs. who
was member of an Iowa regiment. spoke
Of the great place the American soldier
has occupied in the history of the ma
ton. He said that the present Congress
should enact a measure providing pen
sion of $50 per month for veterans who
have reached the age of seventy years.
Speaking of the voyage of the Ameri-
can fleet to the Pacific coast Mr. Hull
said that the trip means no harm II any
other nation on earth. He added. however,
that the United States will not back
down" for any nation.
Maj. ]. W. Wham told OF THE Battle
Of Franklin" He described the s..uation
Of the army In front Of Atlanta Stretch
ing like great Gordon in the shape of a
horseshoe around the Queen city of the
SOUTH of the swinging of the Army of
the Cumberland into Atlanta and swing
ing the right flank, which turned Hood S
left, and thus severed the last link of
communication between him and the
south. He also described the battle Of
Jonesboro. of the army occupying Chat
tahoochee and Kenesaw. He referred to
the battle of Altoona and the withdrawal
of the Confederate army from that place
leaving Thomas to contest the supremacy
with Hood.
THE 23d Corps. numbering about 5000
men. and the 4th Corps. numbering about
10000, were left with which to do this, -
1t was explained. But for the kind of
man who was left to command and the
kind of men who were left to be COM
manded. this would have been the mill
tary blunder of all the ages and the march
stock Of all history. The 23d Corps was
originally 1900 strong, but it had been
reduced by casualties of war to only
$780,
Most Splendid Service.
The speaker told of Gordon Granger.
commander of the 4th Corps. taking his
| command without orders to Chickamauga.
| where nearly half of the men were killed
in the battle.
THE 4th Corps rendered to the great re-
| public the most splendid service that any
corps ever rendered to any government
! on earth. not excepting the Pretorian
| Guards. Caesars 10th Legion. the Jani-
| zaries. nor the Old Guard OF Napoleon, it
| was added. "It undoubtedly saved the
day by going without orders to Chicka-
manga. 1t pierced the Confederate center
at Missionary Ridge, captured Monteom-
cry HILL and, according to Sheridan's Me-
mors. which think were unjust, 1t whip-
ped Hoods whole army at Franklin
The speaker told of the ODD Corps pre-
venting Hood from capturing Columbia
the capture Of Spring Hill and Of the
arrival of the corps at Franklin, where
Entertainments were at once thrown I'D
and preparations made for the battle
In describing the fight he said: "On they
came $4,000 strong. with the skill Of Ma
poleon and the bravery of the American
volunteer. the artillery firing through in
tervals of the infantry. 1t was a sight
which pales the cheek of the Oldest and
bravest veteran. for we had only 10000
to the enemy's $4,000
Born on Border Line.
Gen. John c. Black spoke of 1.-The Grand
Army of the Republic He said that
one-half or more than one-half of the
men of the Army Of the Cumberland were
born on the border line between the
north and the south. or in rebellious
states. He said that in former years tall
men went first to the front and died by
the tens of thousands. and only in recent
years." he said. men under five feet eight
inches could enlist Patriotism is not
a matter of inches" he said. He lauded
the Grand Army of the Republic as the
gray old men with their legend, fraternity,
-.k, o,,l