Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-05-09
THE CLOSING SCENES.
The Centennial Celebration Closed With a
Grand Civic Parade - Thousands OF

Grand Civic Parade - Thousands OF
Adopted Citizens in Line.
NEW YORK. May 2-The crowd at Union
Square yesterday was. if any thing,
greater than that Of the day before. In
spector Steers and his 800 policemen had
all they could do to keep the immense
throng in order. The stands every win
dow facing the square, the roofs OF the
surrounding buildings and the sidewalks
were packed with humanity. The streets
on the Fourth avenue side of the square
from Fourteenth to Seventeenth streets
were free to women and children. Long
before ii was time for the parade to start
they were crowded. Many of the people
came as early as three or four o'clock in
order to secure seats. At nine O'Clock it
was impossible to get from one part of
the square to another and when once one
got into the crowd there he had to stay.
President Harrison in his barouche,
drawn by five horses and headed by a
squad of mounted police, accompanied by
Vice-President Morton, Colonel Cruger
and Lieutenant Judson, .. s. A, drove up
to the Madison square reviewing stand at
1880. Ex-Presidents Hayes aud Cleve-
land. Secretaries Proctor, Tracy, Window
and Rusk, General Sherman and Russell
B. Harrison had previously arrived.
Others on the stand were General Bur-
leigh, of Maine, and staff, Brigadier-Gen-
eral II. NJ Sprague Brigadier General
Joon Harper, Fred Douglas, who received
a cheer as he entered the stand, and SEN
ator Gibson, Of Maryland.
The first tableau, The Declaration of
Independence" was intended to represent
the reading of the Declaration of Inde-
! hx, ahp IN, ha 70
house yard, Philadelphia, July g. 17T6
of 100 members of the Society of Veterans
of the Regular Army and Navy.
The next float represented "Washington
and his Generals mounted" Washington,
as Commander-i in Chief, occupies the CEN
ter of the line. with Major- Generals Ward {
Putnam, Phillip. Schuyler and Charles
Lee on either side. Closely following are
/ the nine Brigadier- Generals, the number
appointed by the Continental Congress at
Philadelphia IN 1915; also Marquis De
Lafayette, Baron Steuben, Inspector
| General Count Rochambeau and others.
| This tableau is guarded as special escort
| by Wier battalion, school No. 10, Brook
| lyn, Major F. H. Nichols commanding.
| Following this tabieau came the float
representing "Washington Crossing the
! Delaware" with its guard of several hum
bred cadets in uniform.
Then came 8 500 school children escort
| ing tableau of washington at Valley
| Forge, Winter OF 177T and IT'S" Itrepre-
sents the winter quarters at Valley Forge
and the meeting of General Washington
with Baron Steuben and the wounded
soldiers.
The Exempt Firemen's Association to
! the number of 20l came next and after
them the Tammany Hall braves under the
chieftainship of General John Cochrane.
Several temperance societies and lodges
of Knights of Pythias preceded the float,
'"Ihe Resignation of the Commission"
and the Yonkers cadet corps escorted
THE First Inauguration" Between the
Washington continentals and l. 900 Sons Of
Veterans was the elaborate tableauX The
State of Virginia, (" representing a ship OF
the sixteenth century, with adventures
in EliZabethan costumes, crowding the
poop deck deserving the land. Then fol-
lowed a series ot tabeaux representing
various States as fellows:
New York-A boat load of Dutch sailors
and voyagers.
Massachusetts-The anchoring of the
Mayfower.i
-Christianizing the savages-
Maryland-Lord Baltimore and George
Calvert
Pennsylvania-Penn' treaty.
Georgia The last pre-revolutionary
colonial settlement.
After these came a most interesting
feature-the Caledonian club of New York
and the Seventy ninth Highland regiment
veterans. The Scotsmen in their kits and
kirtles attracted great deal of attention,
and their pipes stirred up considerable
enthusiasm all down the avenue.
The Swiss centennial committee with
the Swiss tabeaux were escorted by the
centennial sharpshooters and then came
the firemen's division. Chief among these
'laddies" We're the 900 members of the
New York volunteers association and ten
veteran associations. There were about
4, 600 men in this division.
The 400 Brooklyn police came along just
after the firemen.
Then came the Manhattan ship joiners
and the floats exhibiting their handicraft
the operative plasterers' society at work
at their trade, the cloak and suit industry
hard at it with the scissors and needle
the marble cutters scattering chips broad
cast 600 Brooklyn plumbers, 800 Brooklyn
carpenters and 5000 members of the union
of carpenters and joiners of America.
Next came the Italian division, the ex-
tent of which was very surprising to many
of the spectators. The Italian military
association turned out thirteen companies
of thirty-six men each and the civic So
cieties as many more, while their two
floats were as we'll received as any in the
entire parade.
The Germans had determined to Law
themselves out on this parade, and they
did it. First came the German American
sharpshooters to the number of over 3 000
then came the singing societies. The feat
ure of this part Of the parade, however,
was the great number of tableaux and
floats which it presented, nearly all the
important historical events and progress
of the last century in the arts and sciences
finding each its place.
Next came the .'Hibernians " They num- |
bered 10, 600. Some were uniformed. Irish |
and American flags alternated all over the |
division and the elaborate float ''The |
World Moves On" added another feature |
to that part of the column.
After the colored delegation had passed, |
General Martin T. Mcmahon appeared at |
the head of the regular Irish section o: the |
parade. This included nearly all the Irish |
American societies of New York. the Papal |
Veterans, 5000 members of the Society of !
the Holy Name, 5000 more of the Ancient |
Order of Hibernians. 600 of the provin- |
cial council. temperance societies, and |
about dozen Catholic benevolent socie- |
ties.
The pittSburpb Strite