The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-08-25

IS INVADED
BY KANSAS
Chester |, Long Makes Speech
at Jefferson.
OLD SOLDIERS REUNION
Discusses Topics Of Great
Interest to Territory.
OLD SOLDIERS REUNION

Jefferson, o. T.. Aug. 24-Kansas in
vaded Oklahoma Thursday and the vic
tory was complete.
For a good many years the manage
ment Of the territorial reunion has been
trying to get Representative Chester L.
Long to come here and make a speech.
He has been unable to do SO until this
year. Yesterday he came. and an Okla
homan scarce could have been more
warmly welcomed than he.
This world is not so big, after all, nor
Oklahoma so far removed from Kansas
that it can not number among its in
habitants everywhere in the territory,
those who are former Kansans and from
the Seventh district. Mr.. Long expected
to find old friends. He went prepared
to meet many whom he formerly knew in
Kansas. But he did not anticipate being
surrounded after his speech by scores Of
men who were not only from Kansas,
but former residents Of his district, and
to find that he could call most Of them
by first name.
This reunion so FAR as yesterday was
concerned, was simply one big love feast.
The enthusiastic Oklahoman believes in
some way that Chester l. Long rendered
material assistance TO Dennis Flynn in
the free homes fight in the last congress.
He thinks he is not assuming too much
when he anticipates that Long viii help
Flynn all he can in the coming state
either also knows the congressman per-
sonally or by reputation, or else his
neighbor or his neighbors brother is a
former resident Of the Seventh Kansas.
Arriving in the morning. Mr.. Long was
driven TO the grounds, where he stayed
some time, meeting the people. He spoke
in he afternoon TO densely wedged-in
crowd All around the platform erected
for the speaker. The day was a close,
humid. torrid one, and audience and
speaker suffered from it alike, but there
was no retreat from the platform until
the speech was ended.
The speaker began by expressing his
pleasure at appeparing in Oklahoma and
meeting its people. He had often wished,
he said. to come down here and see the
OkIahomans, but never had been able to
Go so.
Il wished, said be. "to attend your
free homes picnic recently, but I had
other engagements which prevented. 1
have been accused of having had some
thing to do with the passage of the free
homes bin, and ] plead guilty. I did
all / could to enact this legislation. But
it was your able representative, your
delegate in congress. who really gave you
this legislation. The rest of US simply
helped him. He could not vote; We could;
he could only talk-and he did that. I
believed free homes was right, and L
wished to help bring it about. 1 con-
graduate you on the success Of the meas
ure, and I am here to bear witness to
the great ability and true worth of your
delegate in congress. Without him, you
would not have had Tree homes.
THE next big fight for Oklahoma viii
be for statehood. You should be a state
in the near future. You have the pOpula-
ton and the wealth. You have the in
telligence and the ability to govern your
self You have a delegate who win make
the fight for You And I want to say
here, that when that fight occurs. the
representative from the Seventh Kan
sas district win support with all his
strength any reasonable and equitable bill
looking to statehood for oklahoma.
AS Mr., Long made his references to
the free homes fight. to Dennis Flynn and
to statehood, the crowd surged around
the platform and cheered wildly.
Longs style Of speech and his humor-
Gus references TO Kansas and Oklahoma
in the early part OF his talk, greatly
pleased the soldiers and other Oklaho-
mans He caught them with everything
he said. For instance, he said:
II don't know how it is here, but up in
Kansas you can asy almost anything you
wish at an old soldiers reunion. You can
talk about public questions, and the soI-
diers are greatly interested. You can talk