The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-05-23

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IL was In the fall of l700 that the hrst
settlers came to Gardiner I the solicita-
ton Of DR.. Sylvester Gardiner. The town
of Gardiner was incorporated In 1903 and
was named in honor Of Robert HALO
we'll Gardiner. 1t was on November 20,
1s49, that the town became q cry and the
man for whom IL was named became Its
first mayor. Since then 1t has had syme
vicisitudes of fortune, but OF late years,
owing to the enterprise OF its people. the
city has gained rapidly in wealth and
population. Gardiner has always been
a patriot, city. Its people have served
in all the nations wars and have ever
been devoted to the principles of good
government. In 1860 there were only 500
polls in the city, yet over 400 enlisted in
the Civil war. To-Day the people of Gar
diner work together for that which tends
to the advancement of their city, and If
the same harmony prevails at the centen-
NAL of the city as now, its inhabitants
will indeed be happy and oontented peo-
pie.
Chairman spear spoke of the great
men " no have represented Maine In Con-
gress. He alluded feelingly to the death
of Congressman Dingley and added that
the people of the Second District had In
their wisdom selected worthy successor
of the Hon. Nelson Dipgley. have the
honor to present to you the Hon. Charles
E. Little6eld, the next Congressman
from the Second District. Mr. Little
field was greeted with applause. He ex-
tended the hearty congratulations OF the
guests of the evening for whom he was
called upon to respond. 1t Is well that
Gardiner on this occasion should celebrate
her history and her glory. MIR. Little
field having thus disposed of the toast,
mace one of his characteristic. eloquent
and witty speeches in which he briefly
discussed the progress of Maine, the waste
of its money and men in far distant en-
terprises and the Philippine question.
We read good many facts and figures
in these days, he said, that Indicate
Maine in not holding its own. When l
reachsd your city this afternoon l backed
back so years and compared the figures of
that time with those showing the condi-
ton of the state today. l found that
Maine then had valuation of 800, 00O,-
600. Now 1t is. 1929, 900, 900, gain of 229
per cent in so years, yet there are aban-
donsd farms in Maine. The valuation
per capita SO years ago was S111; today
it is S49s; have you all got 1t? daughter
Gardiner 90 years ago had valuation
of 81, 700. 0OO. Today its valuation is 3d.
6ss, 900. My brother Heseltine, tells me
that the city's population is 6OOo, al
though the last census made 1t only 1900
That gives per capita valuation today
of s6l4 Now 1 hope you've all got 1t and
will keep it, but / am afraid the wealth
is not as evenly distributed as that.
What has been the history of MaineY
Depletion of her brain and Drawn and
muscle. Thousands and thousands OF
dollars have gone to Western states never
to return. 1t has been well said that
Westward the star of empire takes its
way" Now perhaps l had better stop
right here and explain what l mean by
empire. l do not mean by 1t Porto Rico.
Cuba, GRAND here the speaker read
long list of the jaw-breaking names OF
the Philippine islands. He assured his
hearers that his pronunciation was cor
rect as he had looked it all up-I didn't
mean that empire. l mean the great and
mighty West into which Maine has poured
her money and her muscle.
Speaking of the Philippine empire, you
know that Mr.. Dingley said that Ameri-
ca was bounded ON the East by the At
lantic ocean and ON the West by George
Dewey. He also said that if President
Mckinley wanted to overtake Dewey he
should go East and meet him as he came
round. Shakespeare ssys-and l always
Ike to put Shakespeare into a speech:
Our life finds tongues in trees,
Books in running brooks.
Sermons in stones and good in everything.
+, Now 1t turns out that We have in this
country many honest and intelligent peo-
pie who can see nothing in our present
situation but imperialism. William Nc
Kinley at the Home Market club dinner
in boston, said that Imperialism was for
eign to our purpose and our institutions
Yet some people began to M the mails
with pamphlets on national crime. and
the hell of war. 1t was this latter title
which lead an elderly citizen down my
way to exclaim: "Who is this man who
calls this hell OF n war;" daughter. }
John ID. Long said that we were to give
the people of the Philippines the same
civilization that you enjoy in Gardiner,
yet these people Will not down. They
remind me of the verses we used to read
in our school books:
he thrusts his fists against the posts,
And still insists he sees the ghosts.
Laughter)
Give the administration time to carry
out its promises.
This is a good time to think of the adj
vantages of the State of Maine. How lit
tie we do to make them known. We are
asked to send men and money away.
What do we do to invite men and money
heres 1t is in this way that these GEN.
tsnnial celebrations do great work for
Maine and one which will tend to her
prosperity.
AS Mr.. Littleheld concluded his re-
marks with renewed expressions of CON-
graduation to the people of Gardiner, he
was again loudly applauded.
A fter graceful and appropriate remarks
by Hon. George W. Heseltine and VIII 9.
Atkins ESQ Chairman Smear said that