The age-herald., 1900-05-21
Commissioner Fischer Made a
 Strong Impression.
WAS SURPRISED AT THIS WELCOME
He Said They Had Expected Kind Treatment, But Were Not Pre- pared for the Great Demon
 stration Accored Them.

Washington, May 20-An audience, re- markable for its size, sympathy and en- thusiasm, greeted the Boer envoys at the reception given in their honor tonight at the Grand opera house under the auspices of the congressional and citizens commit tee. Long before the time for the meeting to open, the house was crowded to suf- location, and many were turned away, un- able to gain admittance. The interior was appropriately decorated with the national colors of both the United States and the Transvaal
 While official Washington was not rep resented in any manner, there were prob- ably thirty members of the senate and the house occupying seats in the auditorium and on the stage. Speaker Henderson was in one of the boxes, and others present were Senators Daniel of Virginia, Teller, Tillman, Pettgrew, Mason and Wellington; Representatives Shafroth, Atwater, Stay den, Glynn, Ruppert, Gaines, Latimer, Lentz, Sulzer, Landis, Linney, Ryan, Greene, Henry, Hay, Dearmond, Clark, Meiers and Rhea of Kentucky One of the boxes, it was stated, had been reserved for the president, a committee having been sent to the White House with tickets of admission to the opera house, but no rep resentative of the presidents official house. hold was on hand
 Chairman Sulzer of the reception commit tee, presided, and number or ao- dresses, all of them patriotic in character and earnestly supporting the cause of the Boers, were made, the speakers, lnclud- ing Messrs Fischer Wolmarans and Wes- sels the Boer envoyS.
 suizer Made First Speech
 Chairman Sulzer was the first speaker. After welcoming the envoys and emphatl- cally stating that the occasion was non- partisan and non-politcal in character, he said in part:
 .In my judgment the nine-tenths of the American people are against England Tn this bloody war of conquest for sordid gain and in sympathy with the Boers. The best thought of England condemns the conflict and the awakening conscience of the Brit ish empire demands peace with honor in the name of humanity, Christianity and civilization.
 .'In 1776 the patriot fathers of this repub- lie fought England to gain our independ- ence The South African patriots are today
  independence That is the only difference.
 'We sympathized with Poland, with Hun gary, with Greece, with all the South American republics, with Armenia and with Cuba in their struggles for freedom. Many we helped. Why I ask, in the name of all that is just and honorable, in the name of our glorious past, should we now refuse to lend our moral support, our sympathy and our aid to the patriots of South Africa? Is American sentiment dead?
 England now and always has been the aggressor The Boers will never surrender their love of liberty. They can only be con- quered by being exterminated and England must not be permitted to exterminate them and steal their homes. Her criminal march of devastation must and will be checked.
 "God grant that the English army may never reach Pretoria
 The Envoys Introduced
 The three envoys were introduced in turn by MT. Sulzer and each of them was given a cordial reception. Their remarks were listened to with close attention. The audi ence gave a standing greeting to Commis- sioner Fischer, who told his hearers why the envoys had come to this country and what they hoped to accomplish. His re- marks were very much In keeping with what he already has said in published in- terviews.
 we have come across the seas from two different republics" said he. "to see whether here in the hearts of the people of a great sister republic the spirit of more than a hundred years ago is still alive, whether the sentiment that caused its people to take up arms to obtain its freedom is strong enough to recognize the feeling possessed by us. We come to you as a great liberty-loving people in whom the sense of justice and fair play is strong and look to you to find a practical scheme to obtain peace with justice cannot dilate on the causes which have led to the trouble which now exists as I would like to. We come to appeal to your people and speak to you as brother republicans, and to ask for hearing, and hope to obtain it. The receptions which we have been given have been most gratifying to us ever since we have set foot on your shores There is no doubt from assurances re- ceived from all parts of the country that the sympathy of the people is with us. We look to you to help us if possible, and whether we get assistance or not we appre-