Show I TRIBUTE TO THE MEN OP THE SOUTH fleeting of exConfederates at Nashville Tenn BRYAN WELCOMES ALL THE VISITORS STRUGGLES OF THE PAST HE VIEWED BY JUDGE REAGAN No One in the South Wishes to Sea Slavery Restored But Impartial History Will Show That the Men Who Wore the Gray Were Actuated Ac-tuated by as Great a Spirit of Patriotism as Those Who Donned the Blue Nashville Tenn June 22 Many special trains arrived today with ex confederate soldiers and friends who came for the purpose of attending the reunion of the celebration ofXhe noted confederate veterans The exconfederates spent the mornIng morn-Ing in attending the reunion at the tabernacle and meeting old comrades Prominent among those seated on the platform were General Stephen D Lee of Mississippi Judge John H Reagan of Texas the only surviving member of the Jefferson Davis cabinet Colonel A S Colyar and Thomas Mere of Nashville and Hon J D Adklns the surviving members of the confederate congress General Simon B Jluckner of Kentucky General E P Slices of Mississippi General Morman of New Orleans General W B Bate Dr William Jones chaplain of the United Confederate Veterans General Clement Evans of Georgia and General Joseph Wheeler of Alabama General John B Gordon was given an enthusiastic reception re-ception An address of welcome was delivered by Bishop Fitzgerald who represented Mayor McCarthy J B Bryan chairman of the executive execu-tive committee welcomed the visitors In a short speech Judge Reagan then delivered an address ad-dress in which he said The facts of history vindicate us against the charge of being either rebels or traitors and show that we were not the authors of a causeless war brought about by ambitious Itad ers but that our brave men fought and suffered and died and our holy men of God prayed and our noble won en suffered patiently and patriotically all the privations and horrors of a great war cruelly forced upon us for the purpose of upholding the constitution constitu-tion and laws of the United States as preserving the rights of the several states to regulate their own domestic policies and of protecting the people against spoliation and robbery by a dominant majority some of whose members because the holy Bible sane tinned slavery declared that they wanted an antislavery Bible and an antislavery God and who because the constitution of the United States recognized and protected rilavery de I fiureu llllll it was it league UJLII jicn I and a covenant with death I Whatever may have been said in i the past in defense of the institution I of slavery and whatever may now bethought i be-thought of the means by which it was I abolished in this country the spirit of the present age is against it and it has passed away and I suppose no one wishes its restoration if that were practicable prac-ticable Certainly I would not restore j It if I had the power I think it better i for the black race that they are free I and I am sure it is better for the I white race that there are no slaves i Now that we are again citizens ofT of-T the United States living under the same government our late adversaries ought not to desire to degrade us in the eyes of posterity and if they would be wise and just they should not rish j to place our people in history in the I position of being unworthy of the i rights liberty and character of he I I citizens of our great and common country And while I have accepted I and do accept in good faith the legitimate i legiti-mate results of the war and while 11 I am and will be as true to my allegiance alleg-iance as any other citizen can bs I shall insist on my right to tell the truths which show that in that great I struggle we were guided and controlled j by a sense of duty and by a spirit of patriotism which caused us to stake life liberty and property ti a contest with a greatly superior power rather than basely surrender without a struggle strug-gle Today the people of the south are i as earnest in their altaehnv to ou j common government as those of any crher part of the tn in and would I i make as great sacrifices if need be in i defense of oiw g vernm nt as could be I made by any other part of the Anti can people Enjoying peace and liberty lib-erty today we can refer vh ride to the courage and herolrm of our soldiers j in the iate l war and to the gallantry and skill of our officers And when Inrfa ial history coircs i to be written we do rat doubt hat it will be seen that thy wore never excelled ex-celled in the qualic < of patient endurance en-durance and manly couraje by any I other people |