Middletown transcript., 1891-02-12
~ T1T7l77 M
REoEpTloN 10 J.. r. DUNNING.
THE wELL-KNowN JOURNALIST RE-
CEIvEs A RoUsING WELCOME ON
HIS RETURN HOME.

~N~-esy > tsAAA OAA 1A0AANASSJ ~'-o
rendered reception by Major John
Jones Post No. 90, G.. A. r., on which
occasion he told his old friends of
MiddIetown of the wonderful ex-
periences Of his trip to Samoa. Mr..
Dunning is a native of this town
where his father still resides; he left
here several years since to study law
under the guidance Of Hon. N. B.
Smithers at Dover. After being ad-
mitted to the bar he concluded to go
west, and go west he did, even to the
golden gates. Mr.. Dunning had done
considerable newspaper work in this
State before, and it was only natural
that he should continue in that line
of work at SanFrancisco. When the
trouble over the Samoan islands
arose, the Associated Press sent him
to the islands to report the proceed
ings there. Mr.. Dunning made him.
self familiar with the situation as
soon as possible after his arrival, and
when the great storm came which
destroyed nearly all the shipping in
the harbor he made the now famous
report to the Associated Press. The
causes which led to his stay at Samoa
and the things which came under his
notice while there were described by
Mr.. Dunning in a public address at
the Opera House here. on Monday
evening. Though the rain was pour
ing and the roads were in bad con-
dition great many people came out
to hear the address.
Mr.. II. A. Nowland presided and
Hon. N. B. Smithers Of Dover intro
duced the speaker in q way which
was highly complimentary. Mr..
Smithers alluded to the time when
Mr.. Dunning came to his office as a
law student and to the many good
traits Of his character, to the boy
who had gone out into the world un-
known and who had returned a man
known and famous throughout the
world. Mr.. Smithers' introduction
was felicitous and elected much ap-
plause. The appearance of the
Samoan correspondent was the cause
of demonstration which rendered it
impossible for him to proceed for
some time; he must indeed have
seen that his old friends were glad TO
welcome him home. The descrip-
tions of the island and its people, of.
the harbor and town of Apia were
yery good, but it was evident that
his hearers were waiting for his des-
cription Of that awful storm which
destroyed the lives of SO many sailors
and the ships of three nations. When
that point in the narrative was reach
ed the attention was close and no
word was lost. It is impossible to do
Justice to Mr.. Dunning on this point
as the description which he wrote at
the time is familiar to almost every
one, and his oral description OF it
from the platform was equally as
vivid. When Mr.. Dunning had fin
ished his address he was congratulate
ed by many of his old friends and
schoolmates upon his success, and
declared that he had no idea that
he had done anything unusual until
he arrived in America, when he
found everyone wild over his dispatch
from Samoa. The people Of Middle
town feel proud of their " boy'' as
they insist upon calling Mr.. Dunning,
and well they may.
After Mr.. Dunning's address and
more music by the orchestra those
present were invited to partake Of
the Posts hospitality in the way of
baked beans, coffee and the other
eatibles which go to make up army
life. All those who wished took
seats at the tables which were situat-
ed in the rear of the room and were
literally supplied by the members of
the post who acted the part of wai-
ters.
Toasts were next in order. The
toast "Our Guest-a Blue Hens
Chicken " was responded to by J. P.
Dunning. He said:
81 trust that / shall not be expected
to make much Of speech at this
time. feel that my labors for this
evening are concluded, and that it is
my turn to do the listening. 1t was
within the confines Of the Diamond
State that / first saw the light Of day.
It was in this community that spent
my childhood and my boyhood, and
now after long absence I return to
my old home to find that my friends
have not forgotten me. I want no
better recommendation than that for
any purpose.
My ancestors for more than a hun
dred years back have lived and died
In the State Of Delaware and am a
Blue Hens Chicken of the deepest
dye. California, the State of my
adoption, is represented by men from
every other State in the Union, and I
believe that the smallest representa-
tion is from the State of Delaware.
Whenever have been asked why
this is the case my answer has been
because as rule. they have sense
enough to stay at home. But I have
never met a Delawarean of the
Pacific coast yet who could not take
care Of himself no matter what the
circumstances might be. Capt. Cald-
wells famous old blue hen has had
the most prolific progeny in the
history Of any chicken, for I believe
the old fighting stock which cleaned
out every cockpit from the Pennsyl-
vania line down to the Accomac and
Northampton, finds a counterpart
in the people who now make their
home in the three lower counties on
the Delaware"
"The G.. A. R.-May the fra