Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-10-22
FAITH BACKED BY GENIUS.
A Great Crowd Gathers in Old City
Hall 10 Hear the Speeches.
THE MUSIC A LEADING FEATURE.
Letters Of Regret From President Harrison
and Governor Fattison.
AN ANNIVERSARY WE'LL CELEBRATED

| whether christopher COLUMBUS was
buccaneer, a rowing pirate who robbed
helpless seamen on the Spanish main, ol
an Italian gentleman, he held the right O.
the house at the large gathering in hIs
honor at Old City Hall last evening
For once George Washington, the
father of his country, had to give
way to the fifteenth century discoverer.
Christopher snd George were the patron
saints Large pictures of both hung on the
bucolic scenery in the rear of the stage.
The rugged features OF the Genoese sailor
appeared on the right of the stars and
stripes. while a large-sized picture of the
revolutionary patriot held place on the
lett The meeting was befitting climax to
the great parade of the day.
The hall was beautifully decorated with
the national colors of Italy, Spain and
America. The red, white and green of the
Italians, contrasted prettiiy with the
orange of the Spaniards Large bars OF
! colored bunting concealed the dingy
wind ows and added 10 the attractiveness of
the scene. Japanese umbrellas and Chinese
lanterns were hung diagonally across the
auditorium. and contributed their share
to make the picture effective.
Distinguished Guests of the Evening.
The platform was filled with distin-
guished company of local orators, SINCE 8
and musicians They faced large and en-
thusiastic audience of Allegheny county
people.
Long before the doors were opened a
crowd gathered on Market street and waited
impatiently to get inside. Only one fault
could be found with the meeting-the pro-
gramme was too long. However, the audi
ence did not complain, but sat good
naturedly from o'clock until II 80 listening
to the speeches and music.
At II when the people were showing
signs of WEAKNESS, white-whiskered old
gentleman in the front row put new life
into the crowd by yelling "Glorious." He
was wrought up BY some patriotic statement
made by one of the orators. Fortunately
all the speakers were not present, and every
once in while. District Attorney Burleigh
would congratulate the audience on this
fact The absentees were Judge Collier,
Rev. Frederick Ruoff, and Dr.. j. Milton
Duff.
When Mayor Gourley appeared on the
platform the first time he was loudly ap-
plauded. 1t showed that the public ap-
preciates his hustling capacity, and much
of the credit for the Columbus demonstra-
tion belongs to him. w. T Kerr, Chair
man of the Executive Committee, acted as
Temporary President.
Opened the Meeting With Prayer.
d. Nor;o VUoaJ,;J. Jol;u.,.l
opening prayer. He thanked God for Co.
lumbus and the blessings of his discovery.
He touchingly referred to President Harri-
son, and asked that the suffering of his
dying wife might be alleviated. Mr.. Kerr,
in few words, introduced District At
tornev Rurleigh, who was the Chairman of
the evening
The music, both vocal and instrumental,
was appropriate and one of the strong points
of the meeting. 1t was greatly appreciated
by the audience. The young tenor, Joseph
C. Breil, added much to his reputation by
the composition of an ode to Columbus,
which he set to music. A distinguished
writer had been asked to write the ode, but
few weeks ago he declined. Then Mr..
Rreil undertook the tough job. and made a
decided hit. With the assistance OF
choir he sang his ode, and received the
plaudits of the large audience for his ef-
fort Orally Round the Flag" as sung
by George F. Root and the Apollo Glee
Club, was received with cheers. The
boys aroused the people by pulling small
American flags from beneath their low-cut
vests, and only recall would satisfy the
audience. sHail Columbia" by the Teu-
tonia Male Chorus was we'll received. The
instrumental music was very satisfactory.
President Harrison Sends His Regrets.
A number of letters of regret were re-
ceived The ones from >Presi-
dent Harrison, Governor Pattison,
Congressman DalzeIl and Chevalier
Ray bandi Massiglia, the italian Consul to
the United States, were read. The Italians
epistle was written on mourning paper.
The Presidents letter was from Private
Secretary Halford. and simply regretted
that he could not be present. Governor
Pattison "warmly appreciated the remem-
brance, but as he is in Chicago he couldn't
be in Pittsburg at the same time. Mr..
Dalzell is at the disposal of the Republican
Committee, and, of course, the exigencies
of politics are such just now that the ora
torical Pittsburger could not be spared from
the stump for one night.
Mayor ii. I. Gourley was the first speaker
introduced. He was called an honest and
able executive officer. When he appeared
uc Nos ICCCiNCu Will STcdt upplduSe. mayor
Gourley said: 81 won't detain you but
moment. I congratulate you on the success
of the demonstration to-day. Whether you
are native-born, or sons of other lands,
wherever you first saw the light, we ali
meet here tonight as Americans [applause]
to celebrate the fourth centennial of that
great event of the fifteenth century and to
honor the man who had the genius, the hone
and the faith to discover for you and me
new world.
Causes for National Pride.
"And if the italian thinks the yellow
Tber is nearest heaven, if the Englishmap
sees beauty in the Thames, if the Scotch |
man is proud of the heathered hills, if the |
Laplander can believe his country is the |
finest in the warld, how must the native or |
adopted son Of America swell with pride as
he contemplates THE great land |
discovered by Columbus He did |
more than discover America. He |
overturned the teachings of six centuries |
His fellows tried to show him that the |
earth was fiat Even great teachers wanted |
to know if the world was round how the |
people. on the other side would see the Lord |
descend on the Judgment day. Columbus |
was inspired like Galileo, who demon
strated that instead of the sun revolving |
around the earth our sphere moves around |
the sun. Calico was laughed at, but he |
kingly threats"
AN EXcUsABLE PRIDE