Omaha daily bee., 1899-02-14
MARQUETTE CLUB BANQUET
Finances, Diplomacy, Greater America and
Lincoln Themes Of the Orators.
BRITIsHER ON CHARACTER OF THE MARTYR
Charles q. Dawes, Comptroller of the
Currency, DwcIIS ON Bcncats
of Currency Reform 10 Mar
auettc Members.

CflCAdO, fcb, lS.-lne annual banquet
Of the Marquette club was held this even
ing in the Auditorium. 1t was the four
teenth event of its kind and a large number
of prominent men from all parts Of the
! United States were present. Members of
the club and other invited guests swelled
the total number at the banquet to nearly
| 1000 The chief speaker of the evening was
| Whitelaw Reid member of the Spanish
American Peace commission. who responded
to the toast, American Diplomacy"
Hon. Charles G.. Dawes, comptroller Of
the currency, spoke on Currency Reform"
| John Charlton, member of the British
American Joint High commission spoke
on Abraham Lincoln" His remarks
were warmly received Congressman
Charles II. Grosvenor of Ohio, who was to
speak on "A Republican Administration"
was unable to be present.
Hon. Whitelaw Reid of New York re-
| spending to the sentiment, American
| Diplomacy" said in part:
Commissioners Do Duty TOO We'll.
Beyond the Aleghenies the American voice
! rings clear and true. 1t does not sound,
here in Chicago, as if you favored the pur
| suit of partisan aims in great questions OF
| foreign policy, or division among our own
people in the face of insurgent guns turned
upon our soldiers on the distant fields TO
which we sent them. We are all here, 1t
would seem, to stand by the peace that has
been secured, even If we have to fight for it.
Neither has any reproach cCme to the
peace commissioners from Chicago because
great negotiation in a foreign capital they
made a settlement on terms too favorable
| to their own country-because in bringing
home peace with honor they also brought
home more property than some of our peo-
| pie wanted When that reproach has been
/ urged elsewhere, 1t has recalled the fa
maFar defense against a similar complaint
In am old political contest There might, it
was said, be some serious disadvantages
about surplus in the national treasury, but
at any rate it was easier to- deal with
surplus than with a deficit! If we have
brought back too much, that is only ques
tion for congress and our own people II
we had brought back too little, it might
have been again question for the army and
I the navy.
No one of you has ever beeu heard to find
fault with an agent because in making diff
cult settlement he got ell you wanted and
free option on something further chat every
body else wanted! Do you know Of any
! other civilized nation Of the first or even the
second class that wouldn't jump at that OPP
tion on the Philippines? Ask Russia, ask
Germany, ask Japan, ask England or France.
And yet what one Of them, unless it be
Japan, has any conceivable interest in the
Philippines to be compared with that of the
mighty republic which now commands the
one side of the Pacific and unless this Ameri-
can generation is binder to opportunity than
any of its predecessors will soon command
the other?
Britisher on Lincoln.
John Charlton, NJ. p, and a member of
the American British Joint High commits
sion, responded to the toast, Abraham Lin
coin" He said in part:
On every hand evidences abound showing
that an era of better feeling between the
United States and Great Britain has ar
rived and the fact that CT her majesty
commissioners of the Anglo American COM
mission has the honor 20 respond at this
dinner to the sentiment of Abraham Lin I
coin" by the kind invitation of the officers
of the Marquette club is one of these sgni-
ficacions.
America has given to history many emf |
nent names. Two of these rank with the ]
most exalted of earth's famous men, whether
of antiquity or modem days, and in the case
of neither has the guerdon of fame been ,
purchased at the cost of honor or of selfish |
thirst for power; neither has trampled upon !
the rights of his felow-man; neither has
earned the eXecration sinned against the
interests of humanity.
George Washington may fairly be said TO
have been an English gentleman. He was
born and reared in a British colony. He .
was English in education, instincts ana
tastes. He served with distinction under
the British flag. He ptided upon English
descent and when he took up arms in de.
fense of his fellow coonLss he did so under
the belief that he fought for the principles
of British liberty-a belief entertained by
the great mass of English people today.
Abraham Lincoln, on the contrary, was
typical American, typical in sense peculiar
to his own day and generation, for the con-
ditiOns of life in which he grew to manhood
have we'll nigh ceased to exist in even the
newer sections of the United States. Reared
amid scenes of absolute poverty, with scanty |
allowance for educational advantages, a
Al,
society, a rude, unkempt boyhood spent
amid ignorant though self-reliant compan-
ions, a home in rude cabin in the midst
of little clearing surrounded by the deep
solitudeS of the primeval forests, a father
who belonged to that class of southern men
known as poor whites" with nothing in
his environment to sweeten lot of hard
ship and call into play the dormant powers
of a keen and powerful intellect. How wild
ait that time would have seemed prediction
that the day would come when the gaze of
the world would be upon him and he would
become the eyangel of liberty to more than
4, 600 900 human beings,
An echo of the national sorrow came back
from nearly all foreign lands to convince
the American people that the reputation oil
their great ruler was worldwide and that
his qualities were universally appreciated, !
this man VINO was born to the estate. Of n
coarse, unlettered pioneer and who died all
hng-grander in character,
mightie4 in achievement than either Crom-
Wel UT NdSHMlbtoN' ,
Dawes on Currency Reform.
The Hon. Charles G. Dawes, comptroller |
of the currency, spoke about Currency Re-
form" He said
The question of the changes in our pres
ent law which should be made in order to
carry out the will of the people as expressed
In 1896, in favor of sound governmental
money and the gold standard is one which
confronts the country and which, now that
The clouds of war have lifted, is again re-
,elving careful and general consideration.
The year 1898 had demonstrated that our
present monetary system, when subjected to
the severe test of commercial panic and {
deficiency in governmental revenues, had ,
an inherent weakness which, before that | ;
ime, had not been generally recognized.
This weakness resulted chiefly from two
sauses. The first cause was the dispropor
ion existing between demand govern /
mental currency liabilities and the gold in
he treasury with which to redeem them. {
The second cause was the fact that when ,
lhese demand liabilities were once redeemed
n gold they could be raid out again for
governmental expenses. This enabled the !
public, coming again into their possession,
l. lVNN