The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-04-04

Zimmerman, E. o.
The piece de resistance of the menu
was mildly insinuating punch named
| in honor of Capt. Sigsbee, more potent
than the guns of the S.. Paul and more
| dangerous than the mines which blew up
! the Maine. Coming late in the evening
it failed in its internal mission and re-
suited simply in a little of the excellent
| good cheer which prompted Ambrose
Tighe TO the effort Of his life In introduc-
| ing the programme OF toasts. Cigars and
| coffee followed the menu, and while these
We're being served President Pruden Of
the Commercial club, spoke informally
of the pleasure afforded the guests In be-
| ing able to greet in a cordial way the
man who spread St Paul's good name by
his excellent record on the ship named
after the city. The toastmaster was
then introduced to work his capricious
will.
Mr.. Tighe struck happy vein In his
remarks upon the occasion of the ban
quet. He dilated upon the beauties Of
the city, and speaking of the pleasure of
Capt Sigsbees visit said:
We have devoted this week in St
Paul to practical consideration Of our
! national greatness. AS we reflect on the
| glories of Manila bay and of that bright
morning off Santiago the presence with
us of one who participated in many of
the events Of that war brings back to
us more clearly the Significance and
meaning in national advancement which
they heralded. We cherish a glorious
memory and one which will tend to bring
hyphenated americans into closer union
as one people, proud cf the flag and of
her brave defenders. Nights like these
are fertilizers of patriotism, a good of
Whlcn we cannot have too much, either
as Minnesotans or as Americans
lD EfTlCc flalAV.
speaker paid a number Of compliments
and dropped into humorous vein, which
provoked laughter and good feeling. The
principal toast of the evening. 1.-The
Navy, was then proposed, and M D.
Grover. general counsel of the Great
Northern, responded.
said:
I'm accepting your kind invitation to
| come here tonight I have promised to tell
the truth and not a story A Christian
nation knows Its representative men, its
professional men, its men in literature
| and arts, In statesmenship, and its men
who command its army and ships. 1t is
pleasant to greet tonight our guest. a
distinguished member of the American
navy. His presence here brings back
hopes and bright ideals Of the summer
days Of the war with Spain This is not
the nrst banquet given an officer of the
navy. Jan. l3, 1913, Commodore Decatur
sailed into New York harbor with the
British ship Macedonia The corporation
of the city Of New York gave him a
banquet They had wine, speech and
songs, time-honored combination.
Grover Cleveland, twice president of the
United States in his first annual mes
! sage, said that the navy could not live In
| the waves against tho fire Of a foreign
foe. A nation whose navy was weak had
| no strong foreign policy HIS words were
| needed. The administration, with the
business tact of Secretary Whitney, pro-
ceeded to reorganize the navy Ships
were built, and now We have a navy
that will meet and sink, boat for boat
any other navy afioat. March, 1862, the
Merrimac destroyed vessels Of the Ameri-
can fleet. John Ericsson c0ntrived the
Monitor, and taking dts model from
shelf, he handed it to Business, a mer-
chant, who took 1t to Washington. The
navy board could not see it. 1t was not
until 1T was guaranteed to the govern
ment that it would float and sink any
thing af1oat and come up to the specifica-
tions that 1t was built The Monitor was
built in 120 days, and when her bows
struck the water of Hampton Roads, May
8, beautiful Saturday night, she steam
ed around to Old Point Comfort and
nestled up for the night near the Mime
sofa. That wonderful battle between the
Monitor and Merrimac resulted in the
Merrimac retiring, broken, torn and shat
tered and reVoluuonized ideas of naval
warfare.
FEB. Is, 1885, the torpedo in Havana
harbor aroused the American people be-
cause it sank the Maine. That event
changed our foreign policies-changed
our IDEAS, and expanded our commerce.
1t was that event that compelled foreign
powers, in considering international ques-
tions, to give us motive"
CAPT. sIGsBEE's REMARKS.
Capt Sigsbee was next introduced by
Toastmaster Tighe, and the ovation
which was rendered him was very noisy
we'll as cordial.
Capt. Sigsbee spoke for something less
than an hour, telling In simple, unos-
tentatious manner the story of the serv-
ice Of the auxiliary cruiser st. Paul, hold
ing the attention of the gathering for the
entire period. He said:
In having your own way, the West
ern way, If you will, you will reflect that
you are calling upon me to do that which
a sailor knows the least. [ am not d
public speaker. rarely permit myself
to speak about the Maine, and always
shrink from discussing a subject about
which SO much good will has been ex-
pressed
Capt. Sigsbee referred to his famous
telegram to the war department, in
which he asked that opinion be suspend
ed. He stated that when he wrote the
telegram he knew that he had lost his
ship and part of his crew In modest
way he told of the sending of the tele-
gram and the circumstances surround
mig its origin He had no thought, he
said, of influencing the country, but
hoped that it might help the administra-
tion to control the situation until the
people could give the incident a more Sc
rious and sober thought, after the ex-
citement incident to the reception of the
first news had passed.
In closing Capt. Sigsbee said: "I hard
ly feel capable of expressing my graft
tude at this hearty demonstration of good
will. My pleasant reflection is that am
here as naval officer, rather than Capt.
Sigsbee. l shall always remember this
visit as the greatest honor of this life.
and shall always remember with great
pleasure this cordial reception
Rev. James D. Paxton, of the House of
Hope, was the last speaker. AS the
hour was late, he made a brief speech
and took his seat. but continued his ad-
dress on the subject assigned to him, in
response to an eager demand from the
company for his toast. He stated that
Continued ON FIfSh pee