The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-23
NEW ENGLAND MEN AT DINNER.
NoTABLES OF THE WAR GATHER
AT THE WALDORF-ASTORIA

Roosevelt Praises the Soldiers ana
Sailors of the COnfiict-Merritt
Talks of Commerce in the East
and Almost COmmends Expansion
Gen. wheeler ROundly Cheered
Spoke of the Presidents Southern
Trip and Its Result.
New York. Dec 22-OveF 400 sons of
New England sat down tonight TO the
ninety-third annual dinner Of the New
England Society of New York, at the
Waldorf-Astoria.
President Rowland presided and over his
chair was the seal of the society, flank
ed on either side by the American and
English flags, while on either side of the
flags and at the head of the room were
the coats of arms of the New England
states. The tables were strewn with cut
flowers and dotted here and there with
ported palms. while along the sides Of the
board were red applies, white turnips and
big gold pumpkins
The guests included many men promin-
ent in public and private life, among them
being Brayton Ives. Ehhu Root, j. r.
Morgan. Joseph II. Choate, Gen. Hamil-
ton S. Hawkins, Gen. William r. Shat
ter Gov. Elisha Dyer of Rhode Island
Admiral William 7. Sampson, Col. Theo-
dore Roosevelt, Gen. Joseph Wheeler, Gen.
Wesley Merritt. former Governor Roswell
p. Flower, Coils P. Huntington and FOR
rner vice President Levi p. Morton.
Governor-elect Roosevelt was greeted
with loud cheers when he rose to respond
to 1.-THE State of New York" He spoke
In part as follows:
To the Army end Navy.
THE Puritan came from stock when
carried the Bible In one hand, and in the
other a sword. think we of the present
generation have awakened to a liveler
sense of what we owe to these men, whose
careers typify this word In modern life
of what we owe to the representatives. of
the regular army and regular navy. We
owe much TO others of the past; we owe
much to our statesmen, our common
wealth builders we owe most 90 the men
who risked their lives that the honor of
the flag might be upheld and we get from
the Puritan the inheritance of more than
tues, and we will do well to recollect that
no one set of virtues is enough to save
a state; that a nation composed merely of
warriors is Is sure ultimately to fail as is
a nation composed merely of merchants,
merely of men great in peace"
Gen. Merritt said: I'VE have a great
work before us. What we have done and
what the administration has done has
been in the interests of the country. There
. hoe From
every side in the tropics. We can extend
our commerce there and we can extend
the trade of America, which is now three
fourths of it limited to the tropics. TO an
enormous extent. We have the English
feeling with US when we are in the colo
MES of England.
Merritt Tends. to Expansion.
"A great many people have insisted that
the constitution forbids it, To these l
have said, We have outgrown the consti-
tuition Ii is not worth while to discuss It,
We are here, and We are here to stay.
IT is not worth while for me to extend my
remarks for the purpose of convincing you
gentlemen that everything is in our favor
in the Far East. Our trade with China,
the Philippines, Japan and all those coun-
tries point to a result that we have to con-
template that we have to accept. We
could not do less. Admiral Dewey could
not have withdrawn his fleet from Manila
bay after he had captured it on the first
day of May. The army that was sent
there could not withdraw and leave the
Spaniards in command.
What may be the result. do not care
to prognostlcate, but I am satisfied thai
Americans viii find solution for the mat
ter however difficult it may be-"
Gen. Shafter spoke on The Army"
paying a warm tribute to the regular
army and to the men who had taken
part in the campaign against the Span
iards.
Maj. Gen. Wheeler was the next speaker.
He was dressed in the full uniform of a
brigadier general of the general army and
was received with cheers. He paid a
tribute to Col. Roosevelt and told of the
campaign in Cuba. He referred to expan-
sion and said that while he would not dis
cuss that question, yet this country could
not back down from the task imposed
upon 1t by Providence.
In conclusion he spoke of the recent trip
of President Mckinley and his colleagues
in the South, where he met and mingled
on friendly terms with men who had once
opposed our nation, which now, is one ma
ton. President McKinley's trip to the
South, he said, would do more to cement
the North and South than anything else
since the war.
Gen. Randolph spoke ON THE Army and
Navy"
Mai. Gen. Hawkins spoke on THE Reg
ular Army" Augustus Thomas on Com
rades in Arms" and Commander Higgin-
son of the battleship Massachusetts, on
THE Navy"
sCHLEY's HANDSOME SWORD.