The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1917-06-08
INTERESTING LETTER FROM THE
EDITOR IN WASHINGTON

Lit is, as il were, two souls With
but single thought, two hearts that
beat as one"
As General Bennett H. Young, Sun
day, at his Arlington speech in adj
dressing the president, said:
IF you try the draft between 81
and 80, and then between 30 and 40.
and you still need more, then | want
you to try the boys between 70 and
| 80, and you will find that they are all
with you to a man
That is the spirit that is dominat-
ing this reunion, and it is felt every
where.
| In the windows of the bookshops
are displayed pictures of three great
Americans. Woodrow Wilson occu-
pies the center, and on the right and
left are the faces of Washington and
Lincoln.
1t may fittingly be said that they
are the south's contribution to the re-
public.
There was a gathering of fifteen
thousand at the Arlington cemetery
Sunday. Hon. Frank Clark of our
| congressional district was the prin-
cipal speaker.
ut is a strange coincidence" he
said, that the two mightiest figures
of our mightiest military drama. Lin
coin and Davis, should both have been
the souths contribution. And he
added:
THE south today need give no
guarantee of her loyalty to Old Glory
No foreign war has ever been fought
in which the blood of the south was
not freely spilled on every battlefield,
and the time will never come when
the descendants of thos ewho wore the
gray in the sixties will fail to answer
the call to defend the flag of this re-
public
That is the sentiment. Today the
two flags are blended together and
lost in the folds of each other.
Quivering with emotion, turning to
the president. he said: when you
call for the sons of Dixie, sir, they'll
GOMEZ"
Mr.. Clark, along with a great many
others, predicts that if the present
war lasts for any considerable length
of time, that this will be the last re-
union of the U. c. VS., nor will there
be any more meetings of the G. A.
! Rs, but there will be a general re-
union and a mingling of all, and the
nation will be one in spirit, purpose
and patriotism and there will be one
| great gathering to immortalize the
one flag and all it stands for
Due at s p. M. Sunday night, our
special did not reach here until 1 a.
M. Monday. and it was fully o'clock
before we found rest on our downy
couches
The city is alive with the grizzly
gray heroes. but their feeble footsteps
and treble voices are offset by the
comedy graces and beautiful and ami
mated features of the matrons, maids
and sponsors of the several divisions
of the several southern states.
Never in its history did the nation
capital house more beauty and chiv-
airy.
In welcoming the thin gray line"
the nation welcomes the remnant of
the army of the Confederacy. 1t is a
gala occasion. Not a heart but beats
proudly in the presence of those aged
men who represented the youth and
chivalry and valor of their beloved
section of the country half century
ago. : The presence OF the boys
in gray becomes especially significant
at this time, although no related con-
ditiOns could possibly be needed to
add to the warmth and whole-hearted
ness of their welcome"
Speaking of the great gathering,
Col. Henry WattersOn says:
THE one typical Puritan soldier of
the war of sections served not the
Union, but the Confederacy-Sto
wall Jackson. 1t was truly war of
| sections-the north against the south.
and vice versa-and except for the
| removal of Abraham Lincoln from
the scene the popular coming togeth-
er when it was ended had been speed
Ter. for the men who on both sides
had actually fought its battles were
ready at once to fraternize They
may the Courier-Journal not say we?
had quite enough of it. The gener-
Gus treatment of Lee by Grant had
set the pace as an example. All of
us wanted to wipe off the slate and in
good faith to accept the invitation of