The Topeka state journal., 1899-10-26
DECORATE, DECORATEl

The people of Topeka must awake to
the Importance of the Twentieth KAN
sas reception. 1t will be less than
week until the trains bearing the sol
diers to their homes will arrive. 1t is
time to think about decorations. There
should not be a business house from
one end of Kansas avenue to the other
barren of decoration. The occasion Of
fers unbounded possibilities for the
decorator and his skill should be tried
as it has never been before. Let there
be a flag fluttering from every win
dow. Festoons of garlands should be
suspended from every gable. Topeka
is called upon to meet the requirements
of a most important occasion. The rep
utation of the city will be gauged by
the success of the demonstration
There may be 100, 900 people here to
welcome the Twentieth and no one
must be allowed to depart disappointed.
The city should wear its gayest holi-
day attire. The buildings will not dec
crate themselves and it is important
that the people should be around to
meet the needs of the occasion. Dec
crate, decorate, decorated!
The newspapers of Kansas are saying
nice things about Topeka and the fol-
lowing leader from the Wichita Eagle
shows how the people of the state feel:
"The reception to be rendered the
Twentieth Kansas by the people of the
state, at the capital, with the arrival
of it's officers and men, on special Santa
Fe trains from San Francisco, will be
the most inspiring event of the charac-
ter ever witnessed in the west, not ex-
cepting Denver's enthusiastic welcome
to the returning Coloradoans last
month. Colorado welcomed back to
their mountain homes a band of
patriots. Kansas, herself the child of
the sentiment: Liberty without
crown; herself the champion of the
principles: Freedom without a slave,
will open her arms to a whole regiment
of heroes. and all her own heart and
blood, and all valOrOus beyond compare
in the estimation of the whole world,
her own sons whose warrant as such
inheres in their daring and intrepidity.
THE distinctive honor of this recep-
ton, which is to be marked for SYM
pathy and enthusiasm, for cOrdiality
and admiration, falls to Topeka, and
the evidences all point to that city's
WorthinesS of the trust. Generosity and
pride have inspired the greatest effort
of her civic life. No pains or expense
are to be spared. Her homes are to be
hOstelries, her public houses casemates,
her public buildings bivouacs her
streets an encampment smothered in
colors and brilliant from a thousand
broken currents of the dynamo. The
time, energy and money so freely and
literally contributed by the citizens of
Topeka have been enhanced by the
handsome contributions of cash from
several of the trunk lines of railway,
and all kansans are especially invited
guests, the freedom of the city and all
it has or is to be theirs. There can be
no question as to the entire success of
this promised jubilee. Even an unpro-
pitious spell of weather would fail to
dampen so great an ardOr, or seriously
mar its glory Every town. city and
hamlet of the state will be represented
by men and women who believe that
there is not only prestige and prosperi-
ty for our country in the acquisition of
the Pacff1c's thousand rich islands. but
liberty, happiness and wealth for their
heretofore benighted and oppressed
peoples. especially, or more particu-
larly will the communities of the east
ern section of the state from which
these brave soldiers of ours hail. be on
hand in great numbers at the capital
our only regret in this connection is
that the TWenty-first regiment which
came from our own section of the state
were denied the opportunity of sailing
for Manila also, for the Philippine war
would not only have been ended ere
this, but we would have been welcOn-
ing back to Kansas hearts and homes
two, instead of one. thousand heroes