The times., 1898-11-17
with glimpse of the President when the

Fully ten thousand persons went to tn
hall. and large proportion of this rum
ber secured admittance into the building
When the regiment arrived, under tn
escort OF the band which accompanied tn
volunteers to the front. the signal wal
given and the committee of citizens whicl
was in waiting made its appearance ant
led the way into the great hall.
Col. William Dickson and Major Z. II
Neumeyer led the way. This committe,
was representative of the leading citizen.
of the city. and consisted of merchant.
and professional men, officers of the Dis
triot Government and of the courts, anC
men of every walk in life. The escort o
citizens entering the hall in advance o
the regiment promptly took seats on tn,
platform.
Mrs. +. NJ. Dickins chairman of TIL,
committee on the distribution of relief tt
the needy members of the regiment, anc
her associates in the good work. Mrs
Mark Burckle Hatch. Mrs. l.. w. Culver
and Miss Cornelia Clay. also occupied
seats on the platform. When the commit
tee of citizens were seated the regiment
marched into the hall amid continued ap.
piause and the waving of handlSerchiefs.
Marching Down the Aisle.
The different companies marched down
the main aisle TO the center of the hall.
where LOCO seats Were reserved for the
members of the regiment. I'he seating of
the regiment, though quite a task, was
engineered without a hitch. and within
twenty minutes the entire body OF men
was accommodated
President Mckinley. accompanied by Sec
retary Porter, reached the hall at five
minutes after o'c,ock, and was ecorted
to a large couch in the cen;er of the plat
form and introduced to President Wight,
of the Board of District Commissioners,
and Col. F. Z. Hay, the master of cere-
monies. The appearance of the President
WIS made during the confusion caused by
the seating of the regiment. but was not
unnoticed. being the signal for an out
burst of applause
The regiment in passing down the aisle
to the seats reserved for its members had
to pass the platform where the invited
guests were seated. The President scan-
ned the men very closely as they passed
in review. and frequntly bowed When
the color company advanced, the Presi-
dent arose and went to the balustrade in
front of the platform. resuming his seat
after the passing OF the colors
The hall presented an inspiring scene
after the entrance of the regiment. On
the huge platform, constructed along the
west wall of the auditorium was the
President. surrounded by the guests OF
honor. The guests and the citizens COM
mittee were attired in black and present
ed striking and dignilied contrast to the
color of the floral decora tions which were
banked along the balustrades of the
stage. Near the President was a slender
oak stand, upon which rested a vase con-
faf fVefa la- -
themums and red roses. tied with tri-coi-
ored ribbons. The platform was festoon-
ed with patriotic bunting. but glimpses
of this could only be caught occasionally
through the huge ferns and rich forest
cuttings, which were everywhere in pro-
fusion. Reddened oak leaves and ferns
We're the predominant feature of the floral
decorations.
Regiment in the Center.
The regiment sat in the center of the
hall directly in front of the platform.
The men We're attired in their Winter uni
forms of blue and presented a very fine
appearance. Surrounding the reg gment on
either side were masses OF people. The
fair sex predominated and cast admiring
glances at the valorous ones throughout
the ceremony.
1.eaiiiiilS from iluili-COlOfSQ DulDS, Nlu-
den behind clusters of oak leaves and
palm branches. in the great structural
trusses of the vaulted ceiling of the build
ing a flood of light streamed over the
vast assemb,age. lighting up the bright
colors of the decorations and lending ad-
ditionaI life and color to the scene.
After the singing of America" under
the direction of Prof Percy S. Foster,
Capt. Lansing H. Beach, the Engineer
Commissioner of the District of Columbia
and vice chairman of the committee OH
the presentation of the regiment. stepped
to the front of the platform and address
ing Mr.. Wight, said: Mr.. Chairman.
the First District of Columbia Regiment
of Volunteers is now present and awaits
the honors which the citizens of Wash
ington are about to bestow."
Commissioner Wight accepted the regi-
ment and turning presented 1t to the
President. At this point II. L. West, chair
man of the medal committee. handed the
medals to Commissioner Wight for distri-
button. Mr.. West made a short address.
announcing the conclusion of the labors
of his committee. He said that the medals
were of little intrinsic value. and were
simply badges of honor to be worn by
brave men who went to war in defense
of their country.
Mr.. WiGht's Brief Speech.
Commissioner Wight in accepting the
medals turned to the President and said
that when the first call for volunteers
was issued by him no troops responded
quicker than the District boys, and tina;
they faced danger and the hardships OF
camp life just as unflinchingly as any
other troops during the war.
farr- r-fsrr. 4-lsS M ,iccf nov
Wight were spoken so low that it was
with difficulty that he could be heard fif-
teen feet away. Mr. Wight is not an en-
tertaining speaker. as evidenced by his
effort yesterday. His speech had the one
merit of being brief.
The medals were then handed TO the
various officers of the regiment, to be pre-
sented by them in turn to the members OF
the various companies. The distribution
was made to the soldiers after the troops
had left the hall at the close of the cere-
monies, and Ia several instances took
place in the streets in the vicinity of the
building.
TrnEcdinn Hanford Recitcs.
The Star Spangled Banner was then
recited by the tragedian, Charles B. Han
ford. who was vigorously applauded AT
the conclusion. The ceremonies closed
with the singing of the Star Spangled
Banner by the entire assemblage. AS the
President was about to leave the platform
cries of Speech. Speech emanated from
the confusion occasioned by the breaking
up of the audience in every part of the
hall. The President returned to the cen.
ter of the platform, and with his hat in
his hand spoke to the regiment as follows;
Soldiers of the First District of Column
bia: 1t has given me great pleasure to
join your fellow citizens in participating
in the service which gives honor to this
regiment.
1T was my good fortune to look into