The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1902-04-18

made by Capt. F. W. WAGNER presi-
dent of the South Carolina Interstate
and West Indian Exposition company;
Gov. insolvency, of South Carolina;
Gov. Aycock, of North Carolina; Mayor
Smith, of Charleston, and the presi-
dent of the United States.
The Presidents Address.
The president spoke in part as fol-
lows:
sit Is to me peculiar privilege to speak
here in your beautiful city. My mothers
people were from Georgia; but before they
came to Georgia, before the revolution. in
the days of colonial rule, they dwelt for
nearly century in South Carolina; and
therefore l can claim your state as mine
by inheritance no less than by the stronger
and nobler right which makes each foot
eof American soil in a sense the property of
all Americans. Charleston is not only a
typical southern city; it is also city whose
history techs with events which link them
selves to American history as whole.
A Reunited People.
''When four years ago this nation was
compelled to face foreign foe, the COM
pleteness of the reunion became instantly
and strikingly evident. The war was not
sone which called for the exercise of more
than an Insignificant fraction of our
strength, and the strain put upon us was
slight indeed compared with the results.
But it was satisfactory thing to see the
way in which the sons of the soldier of the
union and the soldier of the confederacy
leaped eagerly forward, anxious to show
In brotherly rivalry the qualities which had
won renown for their fathers, the men of
the great war. 1t was my good fortune to
serve under an ex-confederate general, gal
liant old Joe Wheeler, who commanded the
cavalry division at Santiago.
Southerners Honored.
''In my regiment there were certainly as
many men whose fathers had served in
the southern as there were men whose
fathers had served in the northern army.
Among the captains there was opportunity
to promote but one to field rank. The man
who was singled out for this promotion be-
cause of conspicuous gallantry in the field
was the son of a confederate general and
was himself a citizen of this. the Palmetto
state: and no American officer could wish
to march to battle beside more loyal,
gallant and absolutely fearless comrade
than my former captain and major, your
fell citizen, Micah jenkins.
"A few months ago, owing to the en-
forced absence of the governor of the Phil
ippines, 1T became necessary to nominate
a vice governor to take his place-one of
the more important places in our govern
rnent at this time. l nominated as vice
governor an eX-confederate, Gen. Luke
Wright, of Tennessee. 1t is therefore an
,ex-confederate who now stands as the eX-
ponent of this government and this people
in that great group of islands in the eastern
seas over which the American flag floats.
Importance of the West Indies.
"You have made a particular effort in
your exhibition to get into touch with the
West Indies. This is wise. The events of
the last four years have shown us that the
West Indies and the isthmus in the future
rn,, low vN1o ", any. tto,,
policy than in the past. This is proved by
the negotiations for the purchase of the
Danish islands, the acquisition of Porto
Rico, the preparation for building an 18TH
man canal and finally by the changed re-
lations which these years have produced
between us and Cuba. AS nation we have
AN especial right to take honest pride in
what we have done for Cuba. Our critics
abroad and at home have insisted that We
never intended to leave the island But on
the Goth of next month Cuba becomes a free
republic, and we turn over to the islanders
the control of their own government. 1t
would be very difficult to find a parallel
in the conduct of any other great state
that has occupied such position as ours
We have kept our word and done our duty
Just as an honest individual in private life
keeps his word and does his duty.
Combinations.
'"This is an era of great combinations
both of labor and capital. In many ways
these combinations have worked for good;
but they must work under the law, and the
laws concerning them must be just and
wise or they will inevitably do evil; and
this applies as much to the richest corpora
ton as to the most powerful labor union.
Our laws must be wise, sane, healthy con-
ceived in the spirit of those who scorn the
mere agitator, the mere meter of class or
sectional hatred; who wish justice for all
men; who recognize the need of adhering
so far as possible to the old American doc
trine of giving the widest possible scope
for the free exercise of individual initiative,
and yet who recognize also that after COM
binations have reached a certain stage it
Is indispensable to the general welfare that
the nation should exercise over them, eau