The San Francisco call., 1897-08-25
His Happy Response to
" The Nation and Its
Defenders"
Makes Another Little Speech
to Old Comrades at a
Campfire.
Colonel Mack VIII Be the Next
Comm mander-in- Chief, Cincinnati
the Meeting-Place.

Mckinley was tonight the guest of Co.
lumbia Post of Chicago ut banquet
which was attended by all the distin-
guished officers of the G. A. R. The
scenes outside the banquet hall were as in
teresting as those inside. When the Presi-
dental party arrived, at 8 o'clock this
aftern oon, the route from the station to
the hotel was lined with enormous
crowds. President and Mrs. Mckinley,
Commander-in-C Chief Clarkson and Angus
tus Scheu of Buffalo rode in a carriage be-
hind twenty-five mounted policemen to
the Niagara Hotel. There the crowd was
so persistent that the President was
obliged to make speech. as he had done
in Syracuse. The Presidents journey
downtown again was the scene of excep-
tional enthusiasm. Columbia Post was
his escort, and a he stepped from the car
riage to the sidewalk cannon doomed and
$4,000 voices joined in great cheer.
-Four hundred diners Assem- bled at the
Ellicott Club. Commander Mcconnell OF
Columbia Post acted as POSTMASTER. On
his right sat the President and on his left
General Clarkson. Others at this table
were Arch bishop Ireland, General Alger,
ex-Postnaster General B ssell. Governor
Black and Governor Pingree OF Michigan.
Governor Black made an address OF well
come TO the G. A. R. in behalf of the
State. The Presidents toast was The
Nation and Its Defenders. He said:
II wish l might frame fitting words TO
make response to the more than gracious
welcome you have accorded me tonight l
come with no set form of opeech, with no
studied phrases to present to you, but in
a spirit of comradeship, to talk to you as
we have so often talked in the past,
around campfres in war as we'll as camp
fires in peace.
"My fellow citizens: Blessed is that
country whose defenders are patriots;
blessed is that country whose sold ers are
lighting for it and willing to give the best
they have their own lives, to preserve it
because they love it. Such an army the
United States has always commanded in
every crisis of her history. From the War
of the Revolution to the late Civil War
men have fol owed that flag in battle be-
cause they loved the 1ag and believed
what it represented. That was the stuff
of which our volunteer army was made
Every one of them not only fought but
thought, and many of them did their own
thinking and did not always agree with
their commanders.
There was young soldier who upon
the battle-line went ahead with the color
guard bearing the stars and stripes away
in front of the line. The general called
out to the color bearer: Bring those
colors back 10 the liner And quicker
than any bullet that young soldier an
swered: Bring the line up to the colors!
1t was voice of command; there was a
man behind it and there was patriotism
in his heart.
"And so more than 1900. 900 brave men
thus responded, and made the army
grander than any army that ever shook the
earth with its tread and engaged in
holier cause than ever engaged soldiers
before.
"What defenders. my countrymen, have
we now? We have the remnant Of this
old, magnificent, matchless army of
which l have been speaking, and then as
allies in any future war we have the brave
NJ en- who fought against us on Southern
battlehelds. The army of Grant and the
army OF Lee are together in faith, hope,
fraternity, purpose and invincible patriot
ism, and therefore the country is in no
danger. In justice strong, in peace Sc
cure in devotion to the flag all one"
From the banquet the President went
to the camp pfre, where he SAID:
Gentlemen: / only came to this splendid
presence tonight so that l might pay respect
TO my old comrades and lay at their feet my
tribute of love, appreciation and affection.
When the war commenced we had no concep-
tion of the great results Nobody believed
l mean no great mass of our people--that the
end of the war would be the end of human
slavery.
But not from men was our issue; from Him
who is the sovereign Lord came our ordeal
battle that men might be freed. And as re-
suit OF the great struggle we have the great test
Government because we have the freest Gov
ernment, and we have the fTeest Government
because we have equal Government, governed
equally by equal citizens everywhere. And 1t
is the business OF every man and woman in
the highest and best citizenship. for upon the
highest and best citiz hip rests the highest
and best duty of the Government
While every one else was talking of Nc
Kinley's visit to-day Colonel Mack of
Sandusky was working like a beaver to
maintain supremacy in the race for the
championship, and he met with great sue.
cess. The attitude OF Colonel Sexton of
Chicago to-day is equivalent to with
drawal, SO tonight Colonel Mack has IlIi-
pois, most of Indiana and Ohio and more
than half of the Western States. He
claims 100 majority on the first ballot.
The Ohio men are determined that Gin
cinnati shall get the encampment. San
Francisco started in with renewed vigor
for the encampment To-day and offers
guarantee fund of 500, 900, but the Gin
cinnati movement Is so well esta blished
that the onslaught had little effect. 1t
seems impossible to beat either Gin cinnati
or Mack, and so the precedents OF the
Grand Army are threatened.