The age-herald., 1898-08-03
LIEUT.. ROBSON MAKES A SPEECH
 -l
 si
 j.
 His Stay in Atlanta Vas One COntinu- 0uS Ovation. RECEPTION RENDERED HIM
. At the Governors Mansion in Peach
 tree Street Last Night.
LECTURE AT WOMAN'S CLUB ROOMS
Was One of the Most Enjoyable Dis.
 courses Ever Heard in the Gate City-Told Story of Sink ing the Merrimac.

Atlanta, Ga, Aug. 2.-Richmond Pearson Hobson has had at least two warm recep- tions in his life One was under the belch- ing fires of Morro; the other was in the midst of AtIanta's hospitality today. He of Merrimac fame was the toast of the whole town. From the time he arrived this morning until he departed tonight he received one continuous ovation from young and old, big and little, patrician and plebeian.
 The reception at the governors mansion in Peachtree street to the young leuten- ant was one of the most remarkable dem- onstrations ever witnessed in Atlanta. Fully 5000 people called to see Hobson and his mother Everybody was invited, and it seemed as if everybody went. The leuten- ant was so compe .ely exhausted shaking so many hands and speaking a word of appre- citation to so many people that he was forced to retire to room and snatch few moments rest before the reception was over. No more enthusiastic welcome or greeting has ever been extended to any former visitor to the Gate City.
 Hobson's Lecture
 MT. Hobson's lecture at the Woman's club rooms in the Grand building just be- fore the reception at the mansion, was one of the most thoroughly enjoyable dis courses heard here in some time. With that wonderful modesty that has eharac- terized his whole career, he never once mentioned himself in his graphic descrip- tions of the trying ordeals through which he has just passed He told of how the Merrimac went to the bottom midst that hurricane of shot and shell in Santiago harbor-and it was these mem and rot himself. On the other hand, he claimed the sinking of the Merrimac was no illus trious deed, but that it was merely an evidence that the men of the American navy stand ready and willing to answer any call, irrespective of danger or ool- dition, that their county might make. The speech was most eloquent. Not in it's fiuency, in it's high soaring phrases, but in it's simplicity. To say that it was most enthusiastically received, and that the boy reached the hearts of every one of his hearers, does not half express it. e7sss=. | In company with his mother he left the city at midnight for New York, where he will preside over the big meeting of the Soldiers and Sailors Family Relief Asso- citation Thursday night.
 When Hobson arrived yesterday morning from Lithia Springs he was approached by Miss Powell president of the Atlantic Re lief Association. to know if he would gIVe a short talk in the club rooms at the ' Grand building tonight for the benefit of the Georgia soldiers in the field With his accustomed good nature lie readily ac- cepted.
 Club Rooms Packed
 The club rooms were packed. Every seat was taken and standing room was almost at a premium Hobson, dressed in full evening attire, did not arrive until S:2o o'clock. Colonel w. A. Hemphill, master of ceremonies, introduced the guest Of honor in a few well-chosen words.
 Mir Hobson was greeted with prolonged cheers. It was evident that he had no we'll thumbed manuscript. His effort was ex- temporaneous. His voice was sympathetic and very deep and rich. "I have the good fortune" said he. "of having just arrived from the front, where the American troops have been active on both land and sea. Some stirring scenes have been enacted there. and let me assure you the men do not fail to appreciate the interest you have been and are taking in their welfare. Tnose experiences are only the continuation Of our first acquaintance with the Jackey, or the sailors I remember at Annapolis we had an old practice ship out three-quarters Of a mile from shore. One day two men tried to swim from shore to the ship. It was nearly dark, and as the men approached the shin we heard faint cry for help Realiz- ing that something was wrong, we lowered the .dingy but could not reach tnemi In an instant dozens of cadets began 1umning overheard to the assistance of the len until the officer of the deck had to give pos tive orders prohibiting any more seamen from jumping overheard. fG 5s'$g
 '.It was this sort of metal that was ex- hibted by the men who sank the Merri- mac. So eager were the men to make that expedition, that only a short while after h bad prohibitiye order was issued that no more men would be wanted. One hundred brave sailors had volunteered on the New York alone, and the Iowa signalled across the water that 150 men had volunteered there.
 The Fire Unheeded
 Just before the vessel started into the mouth of the harbor a conversation was overheard among two of the men who ex- pressed the belief that the vessel was to be run three miles up the harbor When the men took their stations on the Merri- mac for their final start, every man lay flat on his face on the deck with a special torpedo to manage Directions had been given and it was expressly agreed that no man should heed the enemy's fire, no matter how hot it got, not even to raise his head. Moreover, it was agreed that in case the projectiles from the Spanish guns flew thick and fast and any man was wounded, he was still to remain at his post attend ing, if possible, to the special duty assigned him. Those men lay there, and those men attended to those duties. It was no occa- sional shot that came from the enemy's guns It was a perfect grind of metal-a rainstorm of shot and she'll Then came the tremendous explosions. The vessel went down by degrees, and those were mo- ments that the men will never forget. When a big 6-inch shell exploded directly in front of the little group lying huddled on the deck, when one shell went into the boilers and let the steam loose by the side of the men. the strict command, "No man move till ordered" was obeyed to the letter. When those men were in the water, being hunted by Spanish boats looking for any that might have escaped, the order that no man should move was obeyed per- fectlyl On the arrival at Moro, when the men were placed in cells, the Spanish sol- diers made threatening signs at them. at our sailors merely laughed at them. We