The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-23
At the Banquet of the New
England Society
IN GREATER NEW YORK
Resents Secretary Cages Criti-
ciSm of the Senate
And Stands Up For the West
in Everything.

Iand society in the city of New York
was held at Delmonico's last night.
-Four hundred members of the society
and their friends, including many dis
tinguished men. We're present. The ta-
bles were void of decorations, except for
the miniature pyramids of yellow
doughnuts and rose red Baldwin ap-
pies.
Throughout the evening the parlors
of DelmonicOs were thronged with
New Englanders, representing everyone
of the states so designated.
An hour was spent in social inter
course, and although the dinner was
set for $50, it was 8 o'clock when the
guests seated themselves at the ta-
bles.
Among those who sat at the guests
of honor table were:
J. PierpOnt Morgan, Jos. H. Choate,
Gen. Wesley Merritt, James Whitcomb
Riley, Richard Olney, Senator E. o.
WolcOtt, Gov Frank Black, Senator
Geo. F. Hoar, President Charles W. FL
lot. Gen. Nelson A. Miles and Mayor
VIM. L. Strong.
The dinner was made up of good, old
New England dishes, and during its
discussion, a Quartette, assisted by the
greater portion of those present, sang
popular airs.
The speeches began at 10 o'clock and
Rev. DR.. Lyman Abbott responded to
the toast, "FOrefather'S Day"
He declared that if purftaniSm reign
ed in Massachusetts at the present time
/
remain there for a moment, and he
himself would have to depart for New
Amsterdam.
Gov. Black responded to the toast,
1.-The State of New York"
President Charles w. Eliot of Har-
ward university said that the puritan
spirit survives and that the descend
ants of the puritans are now doing just
such things as the puritans themselves
had done.
Senator Edward o. Wolcott of Colo
rado received hearty applause when
he rose to respond to the toast, THE
East and the West"
Mr.. Wolcott began with a humorous
reference to the political resignation
with which the exileS from New Eng
land bore their banishment; then he
spoke of an alleged desire of the Ca
madam government to acquire the state
of Maine and portions of New Hamp-
shire and Vermont in exchange for ter
ritory in western Canada. Serious
thought the subject of a possible
cession the part of New England,
Mr.. w WOlcOtt said, brought "a reahza-
tion of what it would mean to these
people to face the possibility of chang
ing by the shadow of a hair the con-
tour of these states or the sacrifice of
a chip of it's native granite, however
barren"
He continues: mot only does this
sentiment Dervade the land, but we
seem at times to be developing an in
clination to invite some other country
to differ with US in order that we may
demonstrate our united aggressive
ness.
IN certain directions our domestic
differences are crystalizing and not dis
integrating. For more than genera
tion we have waited for the day when
parties would divide solely on national
questions, and when the old sectional
issues growing out of the war and the
race problem would be buried. The
time came. The parties met on a broad
economic question, and 10, we emerge
from the contest, threatened with an
other bitter sectional division. The far
west, largely the child of the east, and
pulsing with its blood, joins hands with
the south The new alignment is not
only debtor against creditor, class
against class, but in land pervaded
with equal devotion to what its peO-
Dle believed is the truest welfare of the
country, great majOrities in one sec
tion face equally great TnaJor1tfes in
another.
THE west is not decadent; its views
are of men virile, industrious and gen
uine and their beliefs are honest. They
would ScOrn any sort OF evasion OF an
obligation. They are patriotic men. men
There is in the whole far west hardly
a northerner born who was old enough
to go to the war whom you Will not see
on Decorat tiOn day wearing proudly the
badge of his old corps. They are Amer
icans to a, proportion greater, lar
greater than in the east, native born
citizens The views they cherish are
held with practical unanimity.
80 universal a feeling as that which
pervades the great west cannot all be
wrong. You cannot dispose of con-
viction held by millions of intelligent
people by calling IL a craze, and some
day you may find it worth your While
to look for the truth where it is usually
hidden-somewheTe between extremes.
Somehow it is not really recognized
in the west that ability to TeOrganiZe
western railroad and swell its stock
and securities, several millions every
time it is foreclOsed, necessarily ind1-
Gates an equal ability to determine the
Wisest economic policy Tor the farmer
who lives along the right of way. And
men who would no more dream of en-
trusting their banker with the duty OF
formulating their financial views than
thpV would Of entruSting the man OF
whom they bought a shotgun with the
command of the armies of their coun-
try are naturally inclined to fear that
in this part of the moral vineyard,
there is a. tendency to assume that the
Dossession of great wealth means nee
essarily the possession of great wis
dom.
1t is only a few years ago that New
England was uncommon proud OF that
west which her sons had so largely
peopled and her resources, lavishly
ventured had done 50 much to devel-
op. Perhaps they are only supersen-
sative weSternerS who fancy they see
in certain quarters a subtle change, an
inclination to criticise, an inability to
find much to commend and a tendency
to took still further to the eastward for
methods and ideals fit to follow.
hope it is all a mistake. COntentment
cannot come to this land by sections,
and it can never come except under
conditions which bear equally on the
whole people Only the other day
cabinet officer came over here to en-
tighten one of your great commercial
bodies and with a gifted Chicago
imagination quoted Walter Whitman,
told YOU how our fathers, when George
the Third was king. Dashed the cup