River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1895-10-10
noNoRs FOR LIBERTY BELL.
Remarkable Scenes on Its Journey to
Atlanta

Atlanta
KNOXVILLE, Tenn, Oct. s.-Like a
benedietion the liberty bell sped
through the lovely Roanoke valley,
over the rugged Blue Ridge mountains
and down through the picturesque val
ley of East Tennessee, on an ideal
October Sabbath. Reverently earn
est thousands paid their tribute
of homage to the venerated
relic. Sunday schools of all denomi-
nations, marshalled by their pastors,
and educational institutions turned
out the youth and beauty of Virginia
and Tennessee and bullet-scarred ex-
confederates walking side by side with
G. A. Il. veterans. uncovered their
heads in silent but stately salute.
Truly it was wonderful day. From
Roanoke, Va, where the party spent
Saturday night. the progress of the
relic has been one continuous ovation,
quiet and dignified though it was. AT
every cross road men, women and
children stared with uncovered heads
and waved flags as the train flew past
Church bells tolled aud little children
pelted the bell with flowers.
At Elliston a great-grandson of
Patrick Henry, himself white-L aired
man of 20 years, pressed for
ward and craved permission to
touch the bell Here a full Sunday
school sang a patriotic hymn. At
Christiansburg the boys of the Blacks
burg military academy stood in line as
guard of honor. There was a
great crowd at East Radford, where
Mayor Warwick and Thomas L. Hicks
made brief addresses to a concourse
of public school children. The .eat
zine and iron town OF Pulaski gave
hearty greeting. At Marion, Glade
Springs and Abingdon the population
were all out. and between them were
knots of people at every mountain
cabin.
1t was left for Bristol, half in Vir-
ginia and half in Tennessee. to turn
out a crowd that overfiowed the rail-
road station and stretched out as
far in every direction as the
eve could reach. Volunteer firemen
acted as guards, while Mayor Winston,
Anderson, of the Tennessee side,
Joined in the welcome. Girls from
the Southwest Virginia institute
sang a hymn and placed a banner of
black and gold on the peak of the
bell. Then they clambered over the
car, each in turn touching the bell.
A line was formed, and for two hours a
steady stream of people of all ages,
colors and social standing passed
across the bell car One venera BILE
woman who admitted that she was SIS
wears old knelt at the bell and invoked
divine blessing upon the old mass of
historic metal.
At johnson City, Tenn, 900 public
school children sang and pelted the
bell with flowers. Every house, and
even the street cars, showed the
national colors. Another brief
stop was made at Jonesboro,
the ancient capital city of the one-time
state of Franklin, which was part of
Tennessee, a slice of Kentucky and a
corner of North Carolina. Here An
drew jackson presided as judge over
the circuit court. A great crowd poured
out of the quaint old town and
Mayor Warwick made a brief address.
A. Greenville, the home and last rest
ing place of Andrew johnson, there
was another dignified ovation. At
Morristown the choir of the Methodist
church sang hymns, in the chorus of
which hundreds of children joined.
1t was dark when Knoxville was
reached, but people swarmed on the
bridge over the railroad and into the
big railroad freight yards where the
bell car was sidetracked. The crush
of people was tremendous, and stall
wart policemen quickly formed line,
and until nearly midnight there was a
steady stream of people around the