The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1898-05-13
The Speeches.

mothers son of them" Applause.
DR.. John Merritte Driver was intro.
duced and said that he had expected
to talk to acres Of people, but it
seemed that he was confronted with
townships and counties of them.
In the midst of his remarks DR.
Driver quantity turned poet, after the
manner of the late Walt Whitman,
and greatly amused the audience by
Keeling off the following impromptu
jingles:
loft in the Dewey-eve,
My thoughts have turned to thee,
Oh, thou mightiest commander,
Of the Asiatic sea.
"And while the Spanish dons were strutting,
And the Spanish queen was fretting,
And the Spanish kid was crying,
And the BOBBY Blanco Boosting,
And their navy f1abbergasted,
And their bands were playing Sweet Marie,
Thou hast met them at Manila,
And sent them to the bottom of the sea.
"Then three times three for Dewey,
And tiger for his sailor lads,
land for their wives and sweethearts
loud and grand refrain,)
They have avenged the Maine !"
DR.. Driver said that he was anx-
ious to bring one serious thought to
the consideration of his hearers. The
immortal victory that was to place
the name of Dewey high on the bead
roll of fame was not due to chance
but to an intelligent idea. In the
beginning of the civil war, the idea
of liberty and humanity brought TO-
gether the people of the North. When
we look at picture of Dewey we can
see his face TRANSPORTED with grand
idea, that led him to pillow through
the Asiatic sea and win immortal vic
tory at Manila harbor. Columbus
after a while got an idea tangled into
his hair, worked into his wool-the
idea of a western gateway to the
spicy gardens of the Indies and the
East, and this led him to discover the
western world that is today contend
ing with the old mother country.
Abraham Lincoln was ruled by an
idea. 1t was the close study and the
consideration of minute details and
the mastery Of the mighty principles
of warfare that brought about
Dewey's winning victory and gain.
ing an admiralty.
DR.. DRYER said that he rejoiced, al.
though it was with tears, over this
war, because it is the welding to
gether Of North and South. Let US
pray, said he, that the union may be
perfectly cemented in this struggle
against foreign nation, and that
hereafter there may be no East, nc
West, no North, no South, but one
nation under the stars and.stripes
He closed by asking the audience to
sing one verse of "a merica."
The juvenile band played "Tenting
on the Old Camp Ground"
WA. Funk was next introduced, land
said that we meet tonight to celebrate
a victory unique and peculiar in the
history of the world. We may search
the pages Of history in vain for bat.
tie where so great results were &C.
complished with so little loss. The
God of the universe was arraigned on
our side, and on the other side Spain
and such auxiliary evil forces sas may
suggest themselves to your minds.
The other side was no match for ours.
We cannot hope to be always So
successful. The spirit of criticism is
abroad in some parts over some of the
acts Of the government. The same
criticism was INDUCED during the
civil war, but where is the man now
who would say that Lincoln and his
cabinet were not loyal and able be.
yond their critics? Mr.. Funk said
that he hoped that the people who
think they know more about the con.
duct of the war than the authorities
do would leave the conduct of the wal
to the president and his cabinet. He
hoped that the war would soon be
over, but he could not help but hope
that it would last long enough fol
Capt. Comstock to get his boys to the
front and see what kind of stuff they
are made of. He wanted these 1OC
brave boys to shoot straight and hard,
and he wanted to send the message by
them to the Spaniards that in Man.
kato there are 5000 more men willing
to go to the front and go to .battle if
necessary. (Cheers.)
W. N. Plymat said that, like the
Roman senator, we know that the
country is safe when we see the army
Of school boys. But the old soldiers
are not all gone. Dewey is here and
Manila is ours. Sampson is here and
the Spanish feet will soon be wiped
off of the Atlantic. Mckinley is here
and the thrones OF the world tremble.
Kingly power will soon be swept from
the Western hemisphere, and there