Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1897-05-06
THE CITIZEN .
a Lively Crowd

A Lively Crowd
/ Col. Peter Bolger tells the story OF the
/ trip made by the Pennsylvania leglsla-
ture to the Grant Monument and the
| scenes and incidents of the day, IN the
Philadelphia Record.
He says there were $50 persons in the
delegation which left Philadelphia at
: o'clock Tuesday morning including
| Senators. members of the House clerks
and special guests \ requisition had
been made for only Psi seats on the
grand stand and here was the rub.
/ Senator Grouse was chairman Of the
committee OF arrangements and was
ably assisted by Captain John Bare,
/ chairman Of the House Committee on
/ Military Affairs.
Now sam. said Mr.. Grouse, or
( rather General Grouse. that title hav-
/ ing been unanimously voted him be-
cause Of his Craftsmanship of the Mill
tary Committee of the Senate. Now
sam he remarked to the Senior Senator
from Schuylkill. Mr., Losch, and now
Harry, he added addressing Mr.. Kuhn
| the Speakers clerk, 4 want both OF
YOU to come into executive session with
me and the chairman Of the Military
! Committee of the House, Captain Bare
l want to show you how to divide 254
grand stand admission tickets among
$50 gentlemen.
So the two military commanders, 10
| escape the rush made upon them from
all the cars for tickets while the train
was speeding to New York. sought to
put themselves in retirement with their
two advisers in the rear corners of the
last car of the train. First they dis
PATCHED Trustworthy messengers TO go
through the train with 200 tickets for
200 legislators. That was easy enough
but only "a tickets remained.
While General Grouse sought the
commissary department for headache
powders, Mr. Losch handed the cham
orous Reading Clerk of the House,
Fred Flitz, a score of tickets for en-
ployes of the House, and Captain Bare
thrust a dozen tickets upon Chief Clerk
Smiley and Librarian Miller for the
employees of the Senate. General
Grouse in despair slipped the remaining
% tickets into the pocket of half doz-
en- trusty employees, urging them for
heaven sake to do the best they could
with them among the 134 persons still
awaiting the coveted cardboards.
Come on now gentlemen. Lei each
gentleamn form in twos and march in
pairs This command came from one
of the assistant sergeant-at-arms on the
station platform after the train reached
Jersey City. General Grouse counter
manded it as physical impossibility.
Delayed briefly for an expression of
sympathy with Librarian Miller for
having on so cold a day lost his hat in
the Passaic, the party boarded the Co
ney Island steamboat General Island,
and fell to at the sliced turkey, bread
and butter and coffee provided by the
Harrisburg boniface. At near by bar
was dispensed an abundance Of tonic in
divers forms.
Steaming up the Hudson to the River
side Park Bluff, from which the Grant
monument overlooks the Palisades and
Tappan Bay, the Pennsylvania party
passed the White Squadron anchored in
front of the tomb, and landed half a
mile above at One Hundred and Thirty
third street dock By this time the
majority who were in light overcoats,
envied the comparatively few who
were not too comfortably wrapped in
their mid-winter wear, and pitied the
half dozen or more who had been be
guiled by the bright morning sky to
come thus i'll fortified for the stiff chill
wind with which the bright sun yainly
strove for supremacy. Even those
with light overcoats had shivered com
ing up the river, and upon landing bar
gained with the boat authorities for
blankets, in which they incased them
selves and subsequently sat Indian
fashion on the grand stand
In brisk walk of half mile south
to the foot of the bluff and in the
climbing OF the latter, the blankets
carried by dozen or more blue nosed
gentlemen were hardly needed Climb
| ing the bluff stirred their blood n little
more. On the top thickly covered with
sights the visiting statesmen com
mented upon the forethought of Sena-
tor Grouse in putting his military skill
into practice. He had caused all hands
to pin their badges to their coats and
have their tickets ready. Consequently
every courtesy was shown them by the
police and guards, and they had no diff
ficulty in making their way to the
grand stand. Those who had no tick
cts Travelled that far on the pestige of
those who had but no farther After
that they had to shift for themselves
The legislators were on the rear part
of the grand stand, just south of the
monument which was little ahead of
them to their right as they sat facing
the Hudson. They could see President
Mckinley at times, but could hear
nothing of the speeches Being there
from II o'clock until ? and many of
them until Governor Hastings rode up
at the head of the Pennsylvania troops,
not long before 3 they complained to
one another of the cold even those
who wore the heaviest overcoats.
As Representative Hopwood, of Fay
ette sat wrapped in his blanket wishing
that the New York soldiers were gone
by so that he could see Governor Hast
ings in his double breasted dark frock
and Senator Goblin in his generals uni
form at the head of the six regiments
constituting Pennsylvania a provisional
brigade he wondered why there was so
much merriment behind him. Senator
Becker had remembered having in his
pocket piece of the red chalk with
which the Illuminated announcement
Of the legislative committee meetings
were made on the blackboards in Grace
Church Harrisburg and had bribed
| v-,+h tnr.a ,i,,u ,.y "a l,,,I,. II.,,., ..1,,.I.