The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-05-24

nOSt anu AuotCsS niCt tnc Poat As eAsS gate and ushered them into the commodi- ous country home, where a brief rest was had and a few minutes were spent In so- ciaI enjoyment. About the house had gathered many of the plantation negroes. who were objects of rare interest to the Ncrtherners and to whom the Northern CTS were objects of rare interest. An ex- cellent negro vaudeville program had been arranged by MT. Reese for the en- tertainment of his guests. The visitors from the North were given an opportunity of seeing and hearing the natural negro musician in, his native setting. The best plantation singers and dancers of this section had part on the program. They wers the feaIc negro performers, ana all the most interesting to the party for that reason. The performance closed with q genuine plantation cake walk. The wis itors were unstinted with their applause.
 The dinner was excellent in every de- tail. It was rather broader than the term barbecue embraces, yet the barbecue fea- ture of it had by no means been over- looked, that part having been attended to by the most famous cuist in Mont gomery County. The bill of fare included barbecued meats of every description. fried chicken, buttermiik, turkey, pastry. berries and cream. With appetites sharp ened by the six-mile drive, the guests did full justice to the inviting luncheon. The guests, many of thcm. were unfamiliar with the bill of fare, but they were loud in their praise of the dinner.
 Secretary Shaw Proposes Toast.
 When the end of the bill of fere had been reached. Secretary Shaw, who sat at the head of the table with Congress man Wiley on his right, rose and proposed a toast to the host and the charming hos -l t.f Hon the toast was drunk standing. He express ed the gratitude of the party at the splendid entertainment that had been ac- corded them. They had arrived hungry, he said, and had been fed in such man. ner that he feared that the orators of the party were for once too full for utter ance.
 In responding. Mir. Reese expressed the pleasure that 1t Lad given him and the pec pie of Montgomery to entertain the distinguished party from the North. T hope" he said, T sincerely hope. that at some date in the future, in the near fu- ture. we may all meet here again on sucn another occasion"
 Let's have the next one in Iowa." call ed out Secretary Shaw from the other end of the table.
 Mir. Reese was followed by M. P. Le- Grand, who assured the visitors of the ileartiness of their welcome and of the pleas that the people of Montgomery had in the entertainment of a body of such distinguished citizens from theNorth He spoke briefly of the good that must come from the visit of the party, and called upon Colonel Charles w. Thomp- son, to whom they were indebted for the pleasure of the occasion.
 Colonel Thompson spoke briefly. He fell that already the gcod :esults that he had hoped for when the members of the party and the people of his State knew each other better had been attained. He was proud that he had played part, small one, 1t might be, of bringing the leading men of the North and his own people to- gether They understood each other bet ter and were brethren in more than name "I wish here," said Colonel Thompson, "to invite all in this party to a barbecue on my Russell County place on the Fourth of July. 1903.'
 Make it the Fourth of July. 1902. sug- gested Congressman Littlefield.
 "I would" replied Colonel Thompson. but some of us who are in Congress may have to be at home looking after our fences during the coming summer"
 In response to repeated calls. Congress man Charles Littlefield of Maine spoke feIicitously for fifteen minutes. The
 
 declared amid laughter, has been vastly increased by the arrival of the Secretary of the Treasury. While the people of Alabama may be learning from our pres ence among them, we of the North are learning much more. Our position can be illustrated by story which l do not mind saying l was reservng for Bir- mingham, but which l will nevertheless tell here. In my native State of Maine we do not have barbecues or occasions of this kind. We have. however, cattle fairs in the different counties of the State during the months of August and Sep tember which are largely attended by the country people. A certain shrewd fellow was making the rounds of the county fairs with a trained moose. which he claimed to be educated. To see this moose. he charged 15 cents. but sold tick cts for entire families at a wholesale rate of 25 cents. At one of the fairs a coun. tryman approached and asked if he could get family ticket for 25 cents.
 Certainly" replied the show man where is your family
 There they are" said the countrymar with a sweep of his arm that took in thu entire grounds" These fourteen childreI arc mine and that woman is my wife. E