La Junta tribune., 1898-12-31
HoRsoN DENVER.
Receives n Warm Welcome. Hut Docs No
kissing.

welcome. He arrived at 400 O'Clock
yesterday morning over the Union Pa
ciiic. and departed last evening at G:43
o'clock by the same route. He is due
at San Francisco Saturday, whence he
will take the China for the Orient and
report to Dewey. His stay in this city
was marked by series of events. He
visited the high school and the manual
training school. shook hands with the
employees at the state capitol and greet
ed the governor. At ) o'clock III the
afternoon he received 5000 people at
the Brown Palace and dined with
party of forty-three to which he made
Il few remarks touching naval life. Inc
Tabor contained over loo people early
in the evening, while the lieutenant re-
counted incidents OF the sinking of the
Merrimac.
During his eventful visit in this city
yesterday there We're no repetitions OF
the osculatory exhibitions which have
set the East agog. Although he shook
the hands of hundreds ofyoung women.
but one asked him for kiss. Jean
Fullerton. the litle daughter of Dr. L.
III. Fullerton of Waterloo. Iowa. was
the only girl in Denver who pressed the
hero's lips. and the incident, instead of
exciting condemnation and criticism,
aroused appreciation.
Denvers people turned out in good
force to greet the hero of Santiago
channel. The majority were women
drawn to him from the feeling of Gu
riosity than anything else. The lieu
tenant proved himself. before Denver
people, as n modest, retiring and thor
oughly polished officer, who character
ICES the act of women kissing him
while in the East as simply mani
festation OF their patriotic enthusiasm.
Regarding the scandalous stories spred
through the press, the lieutenant has
little to say. He asks to have all the
blame laid upon himself. If any blame
is to be attached 10 the matter
Lieutenant Hobson sent the follow
ing manly statement 10 the Rocky
Mountain News:
Il have nothing to say about this
kissing matter. other than that the
women and children connected with 1t
had simple patriotic enthusiasm, when
l recognize and appreciate as sucn.
They should he entirely eNonerated,
and I wish TO bear all the blame that
any one may wish to attach TO the mat
ter"
The lecture given ut the Tabor was
IOF t1t Dtutlll VI tue tNoIhiNie Shib w.
ciety.
He began In n very low voice, which,
however. afterward dccpened and grew
round and sonorous. He speaks with
the liquid drawl of the South without
oratorical effect. but with the earnest
ness and effectiveness of a cultivated
gentleman who has something worth
saying which he wishes to impress on
the people. Hobson produces the ef-
feet OF extreme and punctilious mod
esty. He gave all the credit to some
body else; and contrary to Chaplain
Mcintyre he accorded most generous
praise to the Spanish with whom he
came in contact. His long arms
swayed to and fro. and that firm index
finger OF his pointed all around the
house in n circle. His talk was
rambling. disconnected and fragment
airy one. but it was interesting, for all
that. He began by telling how, when
the enterprise of blowing up the Merri-
mae was first mooted, he was beset
with pleas from sailors and Junior OF
ticers who were wild TO be members
of the gallant and famous little com
pany, Old shipmates who had sailed
with him on former cruises came and
reminded him of past comradeship In
pathetic tones. rs they begged him to
use his influence to get them place on
the Merrimac on the Iowa, when II
was found that just one man would
be taken, the ships company sifted 1t
down until there We're only two men
left, between whom they could choose
So they told them they could draw
lots. The man that got the long straw
leaped in the air for joy: while the man
that got the short straw presented n
pitiable spectacle in his disappoint-
ment, and finally said to the other:
Murphy. I'll give you my whole years
pay If you'll let me go in your place.
And this standard of bravery and
devotion to duty is only the same stand
ard that prevails throughout the ma
ton" said he The men who dis
played It Were only a little handful out
of the great mass at home, ana they
were no drawer than the volunteers
that stormcd the hill of San Juan, In
the face of the magazine rifles and ma
chine guns of the enemy"
He also remarked on the strange fact
that Americans throughout the war
seemed to bear a charmed life. Span
ish projectiIes would burst on deck. in
the midst OF crowds of men, would tear
their way 10 either side. or down
through the deck beams, and not n man
would be injured Even when the pro-
iectile kept up grinding that was al
most continuous across the decks, the
same was true. 1t was the same In
both Philippine and Cuban waters. On
the other hand. the American projec-
tiles did fearful slaughter on all the
Spanish ships. The wrecks when they
visited them afterward were sham
bles Whole crews wer killed by burst
ing shells. The magazines of the Span
ish ships were blown up.
.Our projectiles seemed to accom-
plsh the maximum of destruction he
said. However you may look at 1t.
my friends. these are the simple, cold
facts. To me. when saw those char
red remains of men still in the posi-
tions they had held when life left them
l could not help thinking that the
NJ uonaru finus yyera bpfnp