Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1911-05-17
FORMAL OPENING
 0| THf REUNION Dr.. Junius Jordan, of Pine Bluff, One of the Speak
 CTS On Yesterday
DISAPPROVES
Of the Reason Given For the Defeat of the Confederacy-Mes-
 sage From Taft.

, Little Rock, Ark, May 16.--Undel what Commander-in-Chief George w Gordon, of Memphis, unreservedl! declared to be the most ideal condi tions yet planned for Reunion O. the men in gray, the twenty-first an nual Reunion of the United Confed crate Veterans was formally opened at the auditorium today with an at tendance of 5000 people, packed in to the great hall to witness the i'm pressive ceremonies and listen to the addresses of welcome, with the hearty response and kindly thanks o1 those representing the Veterans.
 Among the speakers were Governor Donaghey, Dr. H. $. Hartzog, Da Junius Jordan, of Pine Bluff; Mayor Taylor, and Colonel George L. Bas- ham.
 On the rostI rum there were gath cred the leaders of the gallant 1em- nant of the once powerful Corfed- crate armies. General James F. Smith, commander of the Arkansas Division, was in charge of the pro- gram and continued so until he fin ally introduced General Gordon, fol- lowing whose address the gavel was turned oyer to the venerable con- mander-in-chief of the United Veter- ans. General Gordon most empha- t;cally expressed his disapproval of the idea, as advocated by some, that the South lost the Cause be- cause it was the will of a supe: naiu'- al agent.
 q subscribe to no such d doctrine, : he said with vigor. "The South wes defeated for lack of physical re- sources"
 The address by General Gordon was followed by the reading of lengthy telegram from President Taft, in which he sent his "heartiest greet ings and expressed the hope that the Reunion would be a great and suc- cessful affair."
 Estimate Visitors 75,OOO.
 Little Rock, May 16.-The third day of the Confederate Reunion sees tn. tremendous crowds unabated. A hundred circus crowds rolled into one will give faint conception of the crowds that have thronged this city since early Monday morning. From Florida. to Seattle the visitors have come by the trainload, and railroad men and others agree that 75,000 is rather a conservative estimate of the number of visitors, lor more than the combined population of Little Rock and Argenta.
 The attendance has far exceeded the widest expectations of the com mittees in charge. There have been 12,0OO veterans registered at Camp Shaver, where tents had been pro- vided for only 1000, and school huilds ings, churches and other buildings not already occupied have been turn ed over to them for free entertain men, for the veterans. The city is pledged to the entertainment of every veteran free of cost, and no efforts will be spared to fulfill the obliga- tion.
 The convention features of the Re union are attended by only small per cent of the crowd, not being an attractive feature as a rule. There are several different organizations meeting during the week, but the meetings are largely perfurctory as the people come to see and be seen The street cars, which run continu- ously the whole twenty-faur hours mora than twice the normal number are crowded U the limit all the time and even then cannot take care of the crowd. Tha bis p:cnic is remark ao.y free from accidents or casual
 AN INVITATION TO YOU
 You are invited to inspect our New
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