Fergus County argus., 1889-11-28
WASHINGTON LETTER.
lFrom our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON. Nov. II, 1889.

WASHINGTON. Nov II, 1889.
With the rain falling ia u steady relent
less flood aud the wind sobbing througl
the naked branches Of { hc irees in the pres
ence of one of the most imposing assem-
blages oi ecclesiastical and civic lignita rie,
ever gathered in this country, the Catholi,
| University of America was dedicated on
Wednesday. The ambitious programm,
of outdoor exercises had to he abandoned
but the interior ceremonies lasted all day
| The crush was tremendous
| At 1880 o'clock Cardinals Gibbons and
| Taschereau and "A large retinue of priests
arrived by special train and shortly after.
ward began the exercises. Cardinal Glib
bons, in his robes of scarlet, leading "A lonp
procession Of distinguished prelates. first
blessed the building. sprinkling holy water
ON the walls, and was followed by "A sreat I
choir chanting the "Miserere." The eere-
monies seemed interminable.
AT the conclusion OF the dedicatory serv.
ices the dignitaries of the church an. in.
vited guests. to the number Of three hun
dred, repaired to the athletic hall beneath,
the chapel. The two cardinals sat side by
side. To their right sat Rev. Mgr Satelli,
swar'hy, slow. digniiied the papal envoy.
To their left smiled the familiar faces of
Secretaries Blaine Window. Noble. Tracy.
Rusk and Proctor, aud Attorney General
Miller. Postmaster General Wauamaker's
absence seemed conspicuous. The first
t.ast was His Holiness. Pope Leo XII. -
Mgr. Satelli responded in Latin. which .,S
course only the clergy understood well
enough to appreciate.
\ Wild burst sf applause greeted Mr.
blaine when he arose to- respond To the
toast of "our Country aud the President. -
The speech WAS very carefully prepareJ
and the speaker took care To avoid any
strong eulosy of the Roman Cat tholic church
II was an endorsement in "a general way Of
morality and education and religious lib
erty. Very clever Mr.. Blaine.
While Cardinal Taschereau Was speaking
in French of Sister Universities pre.i
dent Harrison entered the hall and was
greeted with immense cheers. lie was fol
lowed 10y Vice President Morton and Mrs
Morton. The president bore the expression
that is generally attributed to "a feline in n
strange parret. The audience insist ed upop
speech, and in IA few short. haltinu sen.
tences Mr.. Harrison thanked them fer their
warm reception. II was "a characteristic
speech, spoken only in a sense of aeep duty.
aud fell on the enthusiasm of the crowd
like n wet sponge. 4 child might have
known that tempest tossed seas of old prei-
udice surged between the speaker and his
hearers.
After an immense deal of painting and
plastering aud remo,leling and furnishing
the old Seward mansion is again occupied
aud once more by "a secretary of state. Mr..
blaine and his family moved in last week
The decidedly old ashIon.d exterior has
only been changed by enlarsins he " windows.
Inside changes nee, ssary for extensive en-
tertaining have been effecte,i. The furni.
ture is magnificent. The house is full of
CHESTS. From its windows, when it was a
club house. Barton :. Key often signaIled
Mrs. Gen. Sickles, aud almost in front of il
Sickles waited for Key to emerge and shot
him Ia death. In the very room now occu
pied 10y the secretary of state came the as
sassin Payne To kill Seward, who Law in in
10 Il and who came So near meeting his
death that fateful April night nearly three
decades ago.
The International American asseciatiou
excursion party steamed into Pennsylvania |
station Wednesday evening after an alb |
'ense of ferty-two days. The same train
and locomotive accomplished the entire |
ourney OF over 6.oOO miles, ending the
most extensive trip ever accomplished by /
/, solid train.
During his visit here this week Congress
nan Mckinley refused to be interviewed as
% his chances Of obtaining the spea kership.
His friends claim that he is the second
h"ice oi over one hundred and fifty men,