The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-07-03
D DEAD IND LIVING
Eloquent Tribute in Sundays
Memorial Service
BY PROF. A. C. SCOTT
Ranks Rough Riders First in
the War With Spain.

Oklahoma City, o. T, July 2-The cot
ton compress grounds are spacious. yet
humanity overspread every available inch
Of space yesterday, when the Apollo club,
200 voices strong, advanced to the center
OF the stage and poured forth a hymn.
The swelling volumes placed the giant
audience in a receptive mood and was a
fitting and graceful prelude to the mag
nifcent tribute paid TO the dead Rough
Riders, by Oklahoma's distinguished
adopted son, Hon. A. c. Scott, president
Of the Agricultural and Mechanical col
lege at Saltwater. Mr.. Scott was in
trcduced by the Rev. Harper of Oklaho-
ma City, in graceful and deservedly COM
plimentary words.
As an orator, Mr.. Scot has few equals
in the southwest, and his effort yesterday
exceeded in eIoquence all his previous eff
forts On the forum. OF commanding APP
pearance, dulcet voiced, thoroughly at
home when facing large crowds, Mr.. Scott
was thoroughly at his best. AS he Wove
the witching tracing of historical SEMI
ment about the deeds and daring Of the
brave American boys who faced the
Spanish Mauser at San Juan and San
tiago the huge audience sat entranced.
The English language, at all time flexible
TO the eloquent, was utilized by rhe
gifted Scott. as no man has ever before
used # in Oklahoma. As ne Few the
sheen over the pictures of Cuban suffer
ing and patriotism and in pathetic phras-
E-told Of the deeds of heriosm, prompe-
ed only by the 4ove Of patriotism, tears
coursed down the cheeks Of rugged men
and the whole audience was overcome
with what seemed personal sorrow. The
story of the Rough Riders was never
more fttingiy told.
- In his address. the speaker said. in part:
Two years ago on the day after to
morrow, in the calm of the Sabbath
morning. the flower Of the Spanish navy
sailed out OF the harbOr of Santiago
into the jaws OF death. Theh fact Of its
destruction thrilled the American people
not so much as the manner Of 1.-THE re-
uentIessness of it, the buoyancy of it.
the completeness of It. It was task so
thoroughly and mastefuily done, test
SO adequately and magHiicently met, as
Dewey sixty days before had met the
test and performed the task in the har-
Dor of Manila And as IL these achieve
ments were not enough, between them
lay the superb valor Of El Caney and
Las Guasimas and San Juan hill-some
Of the greatest and deadliest of it dis
played this very day two years ago No
wonder we rejoiced. And we were re-
joiclng in something more than the spoils
and the effects Of victory. We We're
thrilled and jubillant because we had
found out for good and for sure that
American patriotism was still a living
thing and that the American soldier and
sailor were as virile and invincible as in
eny Of the greatest days Of the Republic.
''And where shall we bestow chief
honor All. well, when we remember the
cool and splendid courage of Dewey's
marines and the magnificent dash and
discipline Of the men Of Sampson and
Schley and the heroic fortitude and en-
durance Of the regulars before Santiago,
and the glorious record of the Twentieth /
Kansas. the First Nebraska the First .
Colorado and all the other splendid fight (
ers of the Philippines, we have not the .
heart to say-we Canont say-that here, :
or here or here is the one heroic spot /
of all the war. Everywhere, by land and
sea, it was always, always the same
story of unfaltering courage, Of unfailing
devotion of unquenchable love of coun-
try. But when all this is said, it may
still Ibe said that for sheer fighting force. J
for sheer invinciole valor, for sheer indi- /
vidual nerve and grit and courage. his (
tory has never given TO the world a story
finer than the story Of the First United
States volunteer cavalry. known now and .
always as the Ropgh Riders. From be-
ginning TO end that story reads like a ro-
nance of the age OF chivalry. It was
a bold and original thought to bring to-
gether and fuse into great fighting
force the very antpodal factors OF So .
ciety-the club men, the college man, the !
football man. the polo player, the steepIe
chase rider of the east the cowboy, the
plaipsmen, the mountaineer, the mining
picSpector, the full blood Indian of the
west. 1t appealed TO the Imagination /
o. the world and held 1t captive. And ,