The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-07-10

Crowds! You never saw the like
Gas! You would have thought that
hades had broke loose
1t rained Friday night, and if this
had been only an ordinary celebra-
ton. why there wouldn't have been
enough of it TO tell about. But, bless
your soul, this was no ordinary cele-
bration. 1t was the most extraordi-
nary celebration ever turned loose
west of the Mississippi river. Every
body knew it was going to be that
kind and SO they came in spite of the
rain. They would have come if it had
rained intrenching tools. And see
ing il couldn't keep them at home the
rain let up, so that it was nice and
cool all day, without speok of dust,
and stilliwithout mud enough to make
anybody uncomfortable.
And how the people did come! And
keep coming And then some more
They began coming early in the
morning, the boys on horseback in a
hurry to get here before it rained.
Then along toward noon the middle
aged people who were just little
afraid, but concluded they would risk
it. Then after dinner the old folks
who saw it was going to clear off
without a shower. And late in the
evening the buggies with the young
folks from Bronson and Moran and
Humboldt and all the rest of the
towns around. And the train with
its four coaches from Yates Center by
way of Colony, with the fine Colony
band, handsomely dressed and play
ing splendid music, and with about
400 people on board. People who
drove out into the country about 6
O'Clock say that more teams were
coming in to town than were going
out. John Reimert kept tab awhile
in the afternoon at the park gate and
marked down $50 vehicles as they
came out. But he got tired before all
of them were out, and at the same
time there were not fewer than two
hundred buggies put up at the various
livery stables that never went into
the park at all, to say nothing of
those that had gone out before Mr..
Reimert began his tally, and of those
which drove into town by the hun-
dred after the exercises at the park
were all over, and so never went
down there.
You may guess from this something
about the crowd that was there. No
body that we have talked with puts
it at less than 1000, while many think
there could not have been fewer peo-
pie here during the day and evening
than 10000. And everybody agrees
that it was the biggest crowd ever got
together on any occasion in Allen
county.
It was awelI-behaved crowd. That
goes without saying. There was
nothing for the marshals to do but to
keep them from blocking the streets
and the gateways into and out of the
park. A couple of boys were arrested
for a couple of minutes for fighting,
but they begged so hard and promised
so fervently that the marshal let
them off. All the stands and restau-
rants did a straight business, and we
didn't see or hear of anybody drunk
enough to create disturbance.
PHIL CAMPBELL's SPEECH.
1t was "Hon. P. P. Campbell, of
Pittsburg," on the bills. But all his
friends call him "Phil." We have
known him these many years, and he
is one of the brightest and best fell
lows on earth. He made good sem
sible American talk to a great crowd
here Saturday. And thecrowd listened
too. 1t wasn't a written-out, spread
eagle kind of a speech, but just an off
AanO vain eAOOOI lhO O0oAAOoS VI OClAk
q good, patriotic American citizen. 1t
was a plea to get rid of the idea that
your country was the town or the
state or the section you happened to
live in, and to stretch out to the con-
ception that when you sang MY
Country, tits of Thee" you meant
Massachusetts and New York and
South Carolina and Alabama, as well
as Kansas and Nevada and Wyoming
and Colorado. 1t was a plea for citi-
zens to 60 to the primaries and help
run the country instead of staying at
home and kicking about the way the
other fellows run it. It was a plea to
do your duty and quit growing. 1t |
was a good speech and the crowd |
liked it. When Phil Campbell wants