The evening leader. (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) 191?-19??, 1917-04-17
MINGLING OF THE BLUE AND
GRAY AT WASHINGTON
CONTINUED from page II

Continued from page IL
most Immediately in the shadow of the
big white dome of the United States
capitol, which overlool1s the site from
the southeast. The committee will
make this camp-de-luxe, with dining
tents, rest tents, hospital tents and in
formation booths. Arrangements will
be made with caterers to furnish Dix
les fighting men with splendid meals,
and the grounds will be brilliantly il
Illuminated with electric lights. Over
looking the camp from the northwest
will be the heroic statue of Christie
pher Columbus, discoverer of Ameri-
ca, with the massive white stone Onion
station as background.
1t is planned to have the navy de-
partment order several submarines
and torpedo boat destroyers or other
craft to be stationed in the Potomac
river at Washington for the inspec-
ton of visitors. Trolley lines, auto
mobiles and steam railroads will carry
veterans and friends to the many civil
war battlefields in the vicinity of the
capitol and the trip to Mount Vernon,
where are located the home and the
tomb of George Washington, may be
made by electric line or steamboat.
AS the coming reunion of former
Confederates will be the first held out
side the geographical limits of the late
Confederacy, and as the railroads will
give visitors patriotic rate-one cent
per mile-it is expected the attendance
from all sections of the country will
be large. The fact that Uncle Sam
is at war with foreign foe will prove
to be an added attraction.
A visit to Washington under such
circumstances will be both interesting
and instructive. "The old gray jacket
of the Confederate soldier has been de-
scribed in song and story. In the
marching columns at the reunion may
be seen the real jackets and other
paraphernalia of the camp, ,bivouac
and firing line of the sanguinary six
ties.
Chairman Harper explains that all
Washington is anxiously awaiting the
opportunity to extend unwonted hospi-
tally to the veterans, the sons and
daughters of veterans, and the other
visitors. This spirit of welcome to
the warriors of the South has been
aptly expressed in a letter written to
Chairman H. F. Cary of the finance
committee, by James Tanner, past
commander-in-ch of the Grand
Army of the Republic, Familiarity
known as Corporal Tanner" who lost
one of his legs while battling against
the men in gray. The letter says:
"In response to your letter, l en-
close a little check, more to express
my good will for the success of the
Confederate reunion than for any 9th
er purpose.
with considerable knowledge there
of, for | am venturing to speak for a
considerable portion of the Grand
Army of the Republic, I would say
that we shall cordially welcome all the
old 'Johnnies' who can come to Wash
ington. We shall be more glad to see
them marching along Pennsylvania
avenue in the near future than we
would have been to have seen them,
armed and equipped, make the same
march during the sixties.
"I personally, know that for quite
a number of years past many of the
men who wore the gray have come to
realize, considering the power and
prosperity of this nation, that it was
well for every section of the country
that our internal strife ended as it did
at Appamattox. have always con-
sidered that one of the things the vet
Grams of the blue have right to be
mighty proud of is the fact that the
survivors among our old time foes,
their children, and their grandchildren,
are co-equal heirs with us of the blue
in all glory and prosperity of the re-
iuvenated and cemented union"