The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1896-06-13
NORTH AMERICAN sANGERBUND
Now i'm Session Mt Pittsburg-Tbe
Smoky City Looking Gay.

Pittsburg. June S-Pittsburg and Allie
gheny City are gas- soday with triumphal
arches. tri-colored bunting. the stars and
stripes and the flags of the Fatherland,
and the air is niieu with the music OF
bands and of vocal song. All these in
dications of festivity are in honor OF the
opening of the 2Sth annual Sangerfest OF
the North American Sangerbund. and
which was inaugurated this morning with
reception to the visitors at the old city
hall and other central buildings.
Since Saturday organized clubs and
their escorts have been coming on each
arriving train from the east and west.
and this morning the scenes at the depots
recall those of the last national Grand
Army encampment in this city. AS each
club or chorus left the cars it was
bounced upon by a reception committee
and escorted to the stopping place Sc
lected for ii by the local committee.
By noon delegates had arrived from
nearly all the principal cities of the coGn-
try, and. according to the badges con-
spicuousy worn, the German populations
of Chicago, Milwaukee, Peoria, Cincin-
natl, Cleveland, st. Louis, New York, In
dianapolis, Wheeling CIV. Va.), Philadsl-
phia, Columbus, Dayton, Evansville, Lou
isville. Memphis, Minneapolis. Denver,
San Francisco and New Orleans are es-
pecially well represented. This afternoon
was devoted to exchanges of visits be-
tween the societies, and tonight the great
fest received it's baptism in the magnif-
cent exposition building. which has been
remodeled to afford a seating capacity OF
between 5000 and 5000.
An earnest invitation had been extend
ed to President Cleveland to take part
personally in the opening ceremonies but
the chief executive, finding ~ impossible
to leave Washington at this time, the
program has been so arranged as to en-
able him to perform the duty of declar-
ing the fest open, through the medium of
the electric current. Precisely at half
past s the president, seated at his desk
in the White house in Washington,
touched a button, and the electric cur
rent thus created Illuminated an immense
red, white and blue flag of incandescent
lights that had been erected in the rear
of the big stage. With the first touch of
the button the red portion of the flag
was Illuminated at the second the white
and at the third the blue; the orchestra
meanwhile rendering America" At the
moment the illumination was completed
the immense audience at a given signal
rOse and the Star Spangled Banner
was played and sung with vigor and pa
triotic intensity. John Dimling of this
city, the director general of the fest, de-
livered the address of welcome and ac-
cepted the sangerbund flag, first present
ed to the North American association 81
years ago by the women of Columbus,
Ohio After this, as a token of tribute to
Stephen c. Foster of this city, the mixed
chorus of 5000 voices sang THE Old
Folks at Home" There were more
speeches, followed by a rendition of
Saint-Saens' "Deluge" by the combined
festival chorus and orchestra. This
brought the exercises to a close. To-
morrow the musical features of the fest
will be inaugurated in earnest with the
| appearance of the great soloists who
have been engaged and who form a gall
axy of stars of melody.