The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-07-04
A u AT CANTON.

Five Thousand Women Attend n Recep-
ton to Maj. Mckinley and to His Wife
and Aged Mother-StirrinG Speech by
Mrs. Alice Dannos Jones. Which Brought
Tears to the Eyes OF Her Auditors-Mc-
kinley's Life Commended.
CANTON, o., June 21.-The reception
by the ladies of Canton to Maj. and
Mrs. Mckinley and the venerable moth
er of Maj. Mckinley, indicates that
the candidate nominated at st. Louis
appeals in some way with great power
to the sentiment of the women of this
community, for they came forth by
the hundred and by the thousand,
without regard to party or sect or
color, to do honor to Maj. Mckinney
and the two ladies. For more thar
two hours an unbroken stream OF
women, two and sometimes three
abreast, passed in at the front doors
of the spacious Miller residence,
thence to the receiving room and u
by a side door. There were women OF
all ages and condition. Young girls OF
u, grandmothers and g~reatgrand-
mothers pushed in side by side. Sub
stantlal matrons of the city, wives OF
the great manufacturers were crowded
between bevies of shop girls and type
writer's. There were pretty girls,
homely girls, stylish girls and girls
plainly from the country and the coun-
try dressmaker.
1t was a good-natured. smiling crowd,
and it numbered 5000. While the
uro,,,, ,-,lI,od tbrn,rb tba bo,Sa tba
orchestra, concealed behind Il great
bank of ferns, palms and flowers
played and the movement of 500
tongues did not wholly drown it. The
house was a bower of bloom and ver-
dure. Hundreds of roses, carnations
and ported plants had been used with
a happy skill by the decorators. The
girl typewriters all said it was sim
ply elegant" and there is no doubt
that the effect was a charming and
satisfactory one. The flowers and
palms were thickly studded with tiny
electric bulbs. The light of day was
excluded, and when the incandescent
burners blazed forth amid bloom and
leaves and from the ceiling, the spec
tacle was a radiant n
The reception commenced with a
speech. 1t was made by a Canton
lady, Mrs. Alice Dannos Jones. Mrs.
Jones stood in the window of the re-
ception room and spoke to the sea of
bobbing parasols on the lawn. This
was before the door were opened and
the assembling hosts of women had to
listen to the speech or go away. None
of them went, for the speech was.good
and is destined to have wide currency
in the campaign. 1t vas just the sort
of speech the good people of Canton
wanted to hear, and during it's deliv-
cry many a woman INDUCED in the
luxury of a furtive tear. Among
other things Mrs. Jones said:
Fourteen years ago, on the Sunday
following his nomination, James A.
Garfield walked into the old home
church, bearing on his arm his aged
mother, and on last Sabbath morning
into the church of his early faith
walked our future president, and with
him walked his mother. With home
anchorage such as this, we women
have no fears that under the COM
ing administration hearthfires will
burn DINNER or counting rooms be
closed. Our men may deal with ques-
tionS of tariff and finance and po-
litical policy; we women believe that
the Importance of pure living is
higher than all, and are satisfied that
should you be called to preside over
the destinies of the nation, we shall
have a man at the head with a charac-
ter so pure and Il record SO unfair
nished that n mother here to-day
would feel proud to know that the
steppings of their little boys might he
in lines parallel with his"
All the mothers with little boys felt
the future glow with hope when the
speaker uttered these words, and they
applauded her vigorously when she
finished.
Maj. Mckinley in a dozen words
thanked the ladies for their presence
and took his place with his wife and
mother to receive the women of his
town. The reception to-day was the
first formal expression on the part of
the women CT the liking they have for
Mai. Mckinley, and it was a very
unique social and significant function