Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-07-04
The President at the University ofyirgipia

President Cleveland's visit to the Univer
sity of Virginia Wednesday, June 9th, viii
long be remembered as one of the mos
pleasant events in its history.
The Society of the Alumni met, will
Judge A. E. Richmonds, first vice-p resi
dent, in the chair.
Captain W. Gordon McCabe's addres.
was historical review of the state of edu.
cation in the colonies, which afforded him
excellent opportunities for the portrayal OF
certain peculiar characters, such as the
parson and the tutor, functionary whose
relation to the employers family was that
of favored mental. 1t was heard with
deep interest and applause.
The alumni address was followed by a
lunch, which was spread in the library, tc
which about three hundred guests sat down,
after grace by Bishop Gallaher, of Louis.
lana. The President, Governor Lee and
Secretary Villas sat at the same table. The
President of the United States was the first
toast, to which President Cleveland re-
sponded as follows: 81 first have to thank
you for electing me a member of your So
ciety. l hope your calling for me so soon
after have become one of you il not in
tended as foretaste of what you intend to
do with me. Your orator said to day that
friend of his enjoyed himself talking. l
am not that sort of man. A noted Vir-
ginian-not Thomas Jefferson-said to me
yesterday that the best thing to do inapred-
icament such as I find myself in was to ex-
cuse yourself and sit down. The latter part
of the advice is easy to take, but the first
part is not. 1t is something like playing
the fiddle-It looks easy but it isn't.
81 have no excuse; cannot plead ill
health nor a previous engagement. Still
I am ashamed that have nothing to say.
I bethought myself that your institution is
the work of man who, in his younger
days, established a government which he
afterwards managed, and in the maturity
of his powers laid the foundation of this
great seat of learning. 1t was his purpose
at the beginning to place the politics among
the students which he thought should be
pursued here. I suppose that the politics
that he referred to were very different from
the politics that we are accustomed to to-
day. I wonder how much attention is paid
to politics here by students and alumni
We hear great deal about the students in
politics. AS to whether it is good or
bad thing depends much on the student.
I should say that if he were a student of
politics it would be very good thing.
Every small boy in the country expects to
be President. An experience of little
more than three years does not make me
feel very kindly towards office-seekers.
Still the ambition is laudable one. 1
should hope that every student would want
to be President, and desiring to encourage
the aspiration I ought not to say much on
the subject. don't want to dampen their
ardor by telling too much about it. While
IF no ofGo IL
are the perplexitics of the highest place in
the United States, and the confidence re-
posed in its occupant is that of the
greatest people on earth.'
Secretary Bayard, responding to a toast,
said that as he could catch the wording of
The sentiment it was that this country was
an asylum for the oppressed of other lands.
When he saw in the chair of the Chief
Magistrate the face of man who is friend
" to all sections he felt sure that Americans
could expect to get justice everywhere. 1t
had not always been so, but, thank God, it
was so now. Now that we are all safe at
home and have President of the United
States and the States united, we should be
willing to turn our assistance to others.
But that assistance can be offered only ON
certain conditions. We cannot make the
weak strong or the fool wise, but we ought
to be able to offer them equality of oppor
tunity-secure an equal chance in the strug-
gle for justice and equal rights. There is
no law SO sovereign and general as the law
of taxation. tits no greaterin an autocracy
than it is hero. We confer it freely, but it
should never be exercised except for pub
licend, otherwise we part with our own FREQ
dom as a wretched mockery. If We per-
NIT this it is useless to talk about this coun-
try being an asylum for the oppressed of
other lands.
Secretary Villas, Senator Voorhees,, and
Governor Lee responded to toasts.
The last said, abiding to his election to
honorary membership in the Society of the
Alumni: 81 won't make long speech till
l am little more used to it. / have not
been informed whether l am expected to
pay any dues, but know it is fashionable
now to keep the money in the hands of the
people. We welcome to our hearts to-day
man who has brought the American
Government back to the good old days
when Virginia furnished Presidents. We
are not excited over Presidents. We are
used to 'em up here. The woods usedto be
full of 'em. We welcome o-day good,
strong, honest, and conscientious man, who
makes us feel that this section is indeed
again part and parcel Of the Union"
RETURN TO WASHINGTON.
After the lunch the party visited Mon
ticello and the grave of jefferson, and re.
turning to Charlottesville left for Washing.
ton at P. M.