The Topeka state journal., 1897-08-25
rendered Banquet by COlum-
bia Post of Chicago.
TOASTS INTERRUPTED
BY Cries of "Wheat $1.O3, Sill
YER 40 Cents.
President Responds to the Toast
"The Nations Defenders"

the president and retinue to the city ar
rived until he retired last night there
was one glorious and spontaneous dem
onstra ton From the depot to the Nj
agara hotel, a distance of two miles,
the streets were lined with people, and
at the hotel, in front of which there Is
a great square, the police and soldiers
from the nearby barracks had d1fficult
work to keep the multitude in position
Even when Mrs. Mckinley and Gov
ernor Black and the president had en-
tered the hotel and vanished from
sight there followed after him the cheers
of the people until he was obliged to
come to the balcony, where, after Or
der had been restored, he said:
Il come to greet you and TO thank
you at the same time for your generous
welcome. The Grand Army of the Re-
public seems to be on foot today, put
since laid aside and the Grand Army of
the Republic is today dedicated to peace
CApplause) and the Union forever l
am glad to be in the city of Buffalo with
my comrades of 81 and '65 and my com
rades now. 1 thank you all and bid
you good afternoon.
Shortly after o'clock. Columbia post,
dressed in fatigue coat and white duck
trousers. arrived at the hotel and acted
as escort to the president to the Elliott
club where the post entertained the
president at a banquet. AS the presl-
dent passed from the hotel to the ban
quet hall the police had to literally
drive a way through for carriages, and
at the Elliott club the corridors were so
densely packed that the president had
to be lifted through by stalwart police
men In the reception room of the
club met prominent citizens of Buf-
falo, and then a little later he entered
the great banquet hall as the guest of
honor of Columbia post of Chico go, with
500 other distinguished guests and SOL
diers. Among those at the guest table
were Commander c. H. Mcconnell of
Columbia post, toastmaster of the oc-
casion; President Mckinley, Com
mander-in-Chief T. S. Clarkson, Arch
bishop Ireland, Mayor Jewett, General
Russell Il. Alger, Governor Frank Black,
Wilson Bissell, Hazen s. Pingree of
Michigan and former Commander-in-
Chief T. w Lawter.
When an elaborate menu had been
discussed to the satisfaction of the
guests, the toaStmaster called for Gov
ernor Frank s. Black, who extended
a welcome from Columbia post to Pres
ident Mckinley. .,--r.4
At s:45 O'clock Senator Mark Hanna.
who had just arrived in the city, came.
into the banquet hall. His entry was
noted by applause at the further end of
the hall and as the proceedings passed
President Mckinley arose from his seat
and passed along the hall to meet him.
There were shouts of applause as the
two men clasped hands and the presi-
dents left hand went up TO Mr.. Hanna's
shoulder. Both acknowledged the ap-
plause. Mr.. Hanna had to hold
levee.
Closely following Mr.. Hanna's en-
trance, it was announced that the Pres
ident, desiring to hear Archbishop Ire
land and other speakers, had decided
to make brief visit to some of the
campfires and then return. He left, ac-
companied by Chief
ClarkSon.
The POSTMASTER then announced the
next toast, THE City of Buffalo We'll
comes the Grand Army
Mayor Jewett responded.
While Mr.. Jewett was speaking the
president returned and for few mo-
1nents pandemonium reigned, somebody
yelling Wheat $1.O3, silver 40i" cry
that was taken up and repeated again
and again.
When Mr. Jewett had finished his ad-
dress, President Mckinley was intro
duced. For fully five minutes it seem
ed as though the roof would have to
fall or the side walls bulge with the
roars of applause and greeting.
Then the president, very slowly and
distinctly, said:
Mr. Toastmaster and Comrades and
my Fellow Citizens:-I wish might
frame fitting words to make a fitting
response to the more than gracious
welcome which you have accorded me
here tonight. 1 come with no set form
of speech. I come with studied
phrases to present to you, but I come
in the spirit of comradeship to talk to
you, as we have often talked in the
past around camp fires in war as well
as at camp fires in peace. To me L see
by the programme has been assigned
the toast, ssThe Country and It's De-
Tenders" My fellow citizens. blessed
is that country whose defenders are
patriots. Blessed is that country whose
soldiers fight for it and are willing to
give the best they have, the best that
any man has, their own lives, to pre-
serve it because they love it. Such
army the United States has always
commanded in every crisis of her his
tory. From the war of the revolution
to the late civil war the men followed
that flag in battle because they loved
that flag and believed in what it rep
resented. That was the stuff OF which
the volunteer army of 81 was made.
Everyone of them not only fought, but
they thought, and many of them did
their own thinking, and did not always
agree with their commander. That was
true of the young soldier, who, in the
late war upon the battle line ahead
with the color guard bearing the stars
and stripes way in front of the line, but
the enemy still in front of him, when
the general called out to the color
bearer: Bring those colors back to
the line and quicker than any bullet
that young soldier answered back:
Bring the line up to the colors.' 1t
was the voice of command; there was
a man behind it, there was patriotism
in his heart.
so nigh to grandeur is our debt,
So near to God is man,
When duty whispers:
Lo. Thou must,
Youth replies:
I can.
''And so more than two million brave
men thus responded and made up an
army grander than any army that ever
shook the earth with it's tread and en-
gagged III a holier cause than ever SOL
diers did before. What defenders, my
countrymen, have we now? We have
the remnant of this old. magnificent
matehless army of which / have been
speaking, and then as allies in any fu-
ture war, we have the brave men who
fought against US on southern battle
fields. The army of Grant and the ar