The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1902-09-17
TEDDY al AsHEWLLE..

ysesH 49,
It gives me great pleasure to repre-
sent Che. Daily Item on this momentous
occasion, and to tell the truth, as Tsee
it, for the benefit of your lordly pa
irons. Teddy has come, and is now
about to go. have both seen and
heard him, and am prepared togiye to
the public she Impressions resulting
from this passing privilege.
s. First OF all, let us get his narae s.cor-
rectly. It is spelled Roosevelt, but is
pronounced Roswell.
AshevilIe was laid ont for country
village, in an unambitious way. The
Court House is IN the centre of the
square, and the stores are on the four
sides. This was IN the beginning.
From this. square the streets branch
out, Patton going west, College going
east and Main street going north and
south. just In front Of the Court
House, which faces west, is tie monuz
ment to Senator Vance. AT the foot
of this monument, platform was set
up to seat 200 persons, and around
three sides OF this the multitude gath
cred. The speech which we were told
would be delivered at $50 really
began at 10 40 and the impatient crowd
increased in restlessness. The chron-i
ic wag was on hand, however, and kept
the multitude in a good humor. After
an hours delay music was heard far
away down Patton Avenue, and the
iocose veg cried out g The barr hunter
isa coming !s' The whole crowd of
thousands turned aboutface and strove
TO peer down the avenue; but it was
down hill and no one could see any
| thing. We had merely to wait until
Mr.. Roosevelt ascended the platform.
THIS he soon did. A big bunch Of
red flowers on table was his sign :
post and he made for it. A venerable
Old lady sitting in his rear sought an
introduction and for five minutes,
while conversing with her, ne kept
his back to the multitude. After he
was emancipated from her clutches,
Senator Pritchard brought his sen and
daughter, and introduced them to him.
The chairman-the mayor. presume,
arose and said: The Hon. Hezekiah
um-um-um will now deliver an ad-
dress of welcome to the president" "
Who this Hezekiah was, never found
out. Let us he satisfied that it was
j Hezekiah. It is an evil and noxious
habit people have of calling your name
and omitting the other fellows In CIV
ing an introduction. Hezekiah gave
a brief, patriotic deliverance, and took
his seat. Tbe mayor then arose and
said, g I present the President OF the
United States With this the multi
tude cried out, though I am free bosay
the yelling never did at any time come
up to that heard at a Tillman caa,
paign meeting.
Teddy then arose. Now, then, how
does Teddy looks What is he like? Or
whom does he resemble? He IS a
brawny Dutchman, weighing 249
pounds, and is a threefQld com6ina-
tion of DR.. Clifton, DR.. Montague,
lately of Furman University, and our
| former honored townsman, Mr.. Stack,
the shoemaker. A misanthrop;c friend
of mine once said to me, Whenever
you come upon a man ford in the
face, with sandy hair, and thick lips,
set him down as a first class liar.
| Teddy fits this description, but am
not prepared to say that my friend
aforenamed was correct In his dag
nosis of face and feature. Teddy be
lieves IN che strenuous life, !" he IS
fond of display, and loves to be lwor-
shipped, but [ have no reason to be-
heve he ever tells what is untrue.
Teddy was plainly dressed in dark
coat and vest and black and gray or
pepper and salt, pants. His vest was
tride short IA front. His right check
and. chin bore the marks made by his
attempt to knock trolley car from
She track. He may have much check,
but cannot contend with trolley. He
has beautiful teeth, white and perfect
ly aligned, and when be speaks, he
throws both upper and lower lips far
out of place in order to reveal these
teeth. His features are coarse and
heavy, but his voice is, rather small
and sharp. He spoke slowly and with
deliberation. It was manifest that he
was speaking to the whole United
| States, and not merely to the few thou
sands gathered about him, and conse-
quently he gave the reporters ample
time to get down every word he utter
ed. How many reporters were on
naHo, cduHot say puG tue houdh
fiends abounded. Three fellows with
kodaks sat near the reporters table,
and every time Teddy raised hand, or
winked an extra eye, or showed his
teeth, they snapped their machines at
him. All through the crowd, the
kodak folk were swapping away, and
in second-story window, fronting the
speakers stand, photographer had
planted mis- camera, and took many
views of the first man Of our nation.
ssssTeddy's speech was on the question
Of citizenship, and he told us that
character was the one thing to be
desired above all others, and character
| was made up, among other things, of
courage, manhood and general
integrity. I concluded that he had
given US very good description of