Omaha daily bee., 1891-05-12
LEADVILLE'S SILVER GIFT.
President Harrison Presented with Seven
Pound Brick of Bullion.
LADIES RECEIVE BEAUTIFUL SOUVENIRS
Large and Enthusiastic Crowds Greet
the Party at Salida, Pueblo and
Canon City-Arrival at
Denver.

was given a most enthusiastic reception by
large crowd of people assembled at the depot.
The streets and buildings were handsomely
decorated. At the hotel, where the party was
in carriages, Judge Goddard delivered
an address Of welcome and presented the
presideu, a brick weighing nearly seven
pouu ds made Of LeadViue silver, gJJ ine. II
has the inscription:
TO Benjamin Harrison president Of the
United states, from the smelters of Lead.
VILE, May II, 1891
On the reverse side was the Inscription:
"l5g. .6S}. .O1S in twelve years.
President Harrison res ponded and was fol-
lowed by Postmaster General Wanamaker
and Secretary Rusk in short speeches. The
party then entered carriages and were driven
to the mines, where they had cordial re-
Ceptlon and thence proceeded back to the
train, which left the depot at 9 o'clock
amid the hearty cheers of the populGce.
A demonstration by over eight hundred
school children was one of the features of the
day. The ladies of the party received many
beautiful souvenirs. 1t was learned today
that some Of the party were robbed of small
sums Of money while at the Portland hotel
in Portland, Ore, last Tuesday night.
CoToPANI, Colo, May lin his speech at
Salida tne president said that he looked with
great interest i'll passing through these
mountain gorges at the enterprise of the peo-
pie who had constructed interesting lines of
railroad upon these difficult grades and
through threatening Canons 1t had not
been many days since such feats of engineer
ing would have been regarded as impossible,
and yet now railroads had touched the high
est points had gone above the snow line, had
reached elevated mines and brought isolate
valleys into easy communication with the
more settled parts of the country. 1t had
given him great pleasure, he said, to look
upon the beautiful valley in which the town
of SaLida was situated and which would un-
doubtedly be capable of large agricultural
production when system of irrigation was
completed. 1t might be desirable to the
people of Indiana and Illinois and
other agricultural states if Colorado
had to buy her wheat and corn from them,
but our larger interest made it desirable that
each community should supply its own wants.
He anticipated with pleasure the day when
these mountain states would not be content
with mining, but should add agricultural
pursuits and manufacturing and when the
wool which was sheared from the focks
would be woven at home. 1t was pleasing
condition of things when all classes We're
prosperous, when the workingman had fair
wages that would leave him some margin
above his daily necessities. He would lose
hope for our institutions when there should
be despairing classes among US. An Ameri-
can citizen could not be a good citizen who
did not have hope in his heart. Every boy
has hope in his heart Every boy, however
humble, could pass through our pu bile schools
and climb to any position of usefulness and
There had been marvellous instances of
what courage and pluck and intelligence may
do in this way To the children he gave a
cordial greeting. They had been a happy
feature of almost every gathering in his jour.
ney. He hoped they might all receive that
attention which would make theT men and
women OF intelligence and capable of taking
full share in all those good things in the
community and in the state for which they
are TO be responsible
A
president received from the citizens of Villa
Grove a large box of fine specimens of gold,
silver, iron, copper, lead, zinc and:coal mined
in the sunny San Luis valley. The school
children presented Mrs. Harrison with an
album Of pressed wild flowers. The presi-
dents special made a short stop at 80
o'clock on the hanging bridge over the Ar
kansas river in the Royal Gorge can0n in Or
der to allow the travellers to view the grand
beauty of their surroundings. a photograph
of the scene was taken with the presidential
party in the foreground.
1t was 80 o'clock when the train reached
Canon City and nearly all the residents, in
Guiding Grand Army men and school chill
dren, were assembled at the station They
Cheered the president and peted him with
lilacs and other flowers. He addressed the
crowd as follows:
Comrades and Fellow Citizens: 1t gives me
great pleasure to see you and accept with a
thankful heart those cordial greetings with
which you have met us. | have been talking
SO much since left Washington that | really
am almost talked out, and yet until shall
have altogether lost my voice, of which there
does not seem to be any prospect. ! cannot re-
frain from say ing thank you. To these friends
who greet US with such atfectionatc interest
we do appreciate it very highly. But do not
at al assume il is merely your interest In me-
1t is, am sure. your interest in the country
in its constitution and in its tiag-the flag for
which these comrades fought, which they car
red through the stress OF battle and brought
home Ia honor 1t Is our free Institutions, our
free ballot our representative government
that you all honor in coming here today. 1t Is
very surprising ana very pleasant TO drop
| down out of these SnOw-clap SUBMITS and to
| have passed into our hands in the valley
branches OF peach and pear and boquets Of
| flowers, the first fruits of the spring more gen
| ial here than 1t seemed to be al LeadVille this
have revealed to me the disabilities @ Of Of mis- is
country, how unuer the system of irrigation
| that which seemed to be waste, accursed Of
| God comes To be a very garden of Eden in
beauty and productiVenesS. | hope you have
| not only the fruits ana flowers OF paradise.
but that you have your homes in that state OF
peace and bIessedncss which prevailed before
our first mother took the apple. Applause ]
| To these comrades want TO give Il comradc :
greeting, | know of no higher honor in this
world than to be called 'comrade" by the sur
vivors of those who saved the union, Jap
plause and cheers,
Speeches were made by Postmaster Gen.
eral Wanamaker audSecretarvR Rusk. The mex [
! place visited was Florence in the oil district.
! One enthusiastic individual proposed three
cheers for the first president who has thought
| given with aw will and the president answered
| them as follows:
! My Fellow Citizens: | am very much
obliged for this greeting. | expect there have
been other presidents who thought Of YOU.
though they have not visited YOU, This has
| been very pleasant and instructive journey
tD me- thought had kept myself reason
ably well informed of the capabilities OF this
| country and Of its productions, but | am
| amazed to lind how things are put together
| We came out OF the snow where everything is
| barren and where labor is underground, where
| the precious metals are being extracted. and
| there Is nothing pleasant in the landscape eN-
| cept the snow covered mountains and pres
| entity We are In land Of fruit and have
| handed up To MS great branches laden with
| well set peach ana pear ana We are again
| shuwercd as we were in California with the
| flowers OF cary spring, and now 70 my sur
! prise we seem TO be in the oil region OF Penn
| sylNauld. These numerous derricks and oil
| wells remind ~ OF things about Oh city. I'M
| I'll saw them was not aware that YOU had
! here i'm Colorado oil production. 1t shows IA,
| how Impartial after all the Great Creator has
| been, lie has given rs everywhere Dusslbili.
| ties which itWcll improved will make comfort
| able and happy homes. LChccrsl
The postmaster general and the secretary
OF agriculture also responded 70 the demands
! OF the crowd
MIR Robert p. Porter superintendent OF
! the census, and MIR John +. Plummer OF
I New York, who with party of ladies and
/ gentlemen are on their way TO Oregon, Were
/ passengers on the presidents train from
/ Florence to Pueblo, which latter city was
! reached at 80 o'clock. The reception ac