Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-08
FORMAL WELCOME
Great Gathering in
Convention Hall.
MANY GREETINGS
President, District Govern
ment, Citizens Represented.
SECRETARY ROOT
ELOQUENTLY SPEAKS FOR THE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE.
Commissioner Macfarland and Chair
man Warner Also Make Addresses
ELOQUENTLY SPEAKS FOR THE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE.
Commissioner mcfarland and Chair
man Warner Also Make Addresses
Gen. Torrance's Response.

With exultant cheers for Old Glory, the
veterans of the Grand Army of the Repub-
lie received at the hands of the District and
national governments last night the free
dom Of the city of Washington. Their re-
Spouse to the addresses of welcome made
by Chairman Warner of the citizens COM
mittee, Commissioner Mcfarland and Sec
rotary Root was quite enthusiastic as
the welcome extended to them by those rep
resentatives of the capital city. At the
close of the meeting, with flags waving
everywhere and the stars and stripes
thrown into relief by means Of a search
light, the whole concourse rose and sang
THE Star Spangled Banner" with an earn
estness and wholeheartedness which be-
spoke volumes for the spirit Of the GER
emony.
This meeting of last night at Convention
Hall was planned as a formal expression
of the welcome promised the Grand Army
and its allied organizations when the en-
voys of the city invited them to convene
here this month. To this end the executive
committee provided that Mr.. Warner, chair
man of that body, should preside; that
Commissioner Macfarland, president of
the board of District Commissioners, should
speak on behalf of the municipal govern
resentative of the national administration,
should address the veterans in the name or
the national government. All three or these
gentlemen attended and spoke, Mr.. Root
address evoking demonstrations OF enthu-
siasm which surpassed in effect any other
feature of the program. At the close OF
these regular exercises Mr.. Warner intro
duced to the audience Gen. Jacob II. Smith,
Mrs Ellen Spencer Mussey, chairman of
the woman's auxiliary committee. and
several others, who spoke eXtemporaneously
and very briefly
An Audience Bedecked With Flags.
The audience filled the hall comfortably.
So many counter entertainments were
scheduled for last night, and each one of
them was SO peculiarly significant in the
eyes of the old soldiers, that the compost
ton Of the assembly changed from time to
time There were present throughout the
evening, however, sufficiently many persons
to make the auditorium seem full and in
spire the speakers by the most unstlnted
and frequent applause.
Red, white and blue predominated signii-
cantly. The ceiling-a canopy OF corn color
and blue-was broken at every arch by post
and garrison flags. Along the walls, les
tooned from every projection, were flags of
smaller dimensions. Nearly every veteran
wore a badge in which the national colors
were component parts. Over the platform
at the west side Of the hall were festooned
VI
itor as he entered the hall was presented
with q small flag mounted on a red, white
and blue staff. dash Of color was given
the audience itself by the presence Of the
Marine Band. directly before the platform,
with its uniform Of bright red and blue. and
the small flags presented by the committee
fastened conspicuously on its music racks.
On the platform were seated several hun
ner sat in the middle of the front row with
General Torrance, Mrs. Torrance and Miss
Torrance on his right, and Gen. Jacob H.
Smith, Secretary Root, Mr.. Mcfarland and
Mrs Mussey on his left. Near these were
Eugene F. Ware, commissioner Of pensions;
John w. Foster, former Secretary Of State;
Private John M. Dalzell Of Ohio: Mrs A. B.
Fay Of Upper Jay, N. Y, national president
Margaret B. Dixon, captain commanding,
and Mrs. 8. e. Reynolds, national secretary,
Ladies Of the G. A. r.; Mrs. Kate Brownlee
Sherwood Of Ohio, past national president
of the Woman's Relief Corps, and Mrs.
Calista Robinson Jones, the present head of
that organization. In single row at the
rear of the platform were the twenty mem
bers of the Modoc Gee Club Of Kansas, at
tired in evening clothes and wearing large
sunfiowers over the lapels Of their coats.
Chairman Warmers Welcome.
Chairman Warner called the big assem-
blage to order, and In doing SO said:
ut is a pleasure to once more welcome
the Grand Army Of the Republic to the ma
tional capital. This city was endeared to
our comrades by their military experience
and by the fact that ever since they became
citizens they have looked upon its develop
ment and growth with interest and pleas
urs.
"A little more than thirty seven years age
the heroes of 1900 battlefelds marched ur
Pennsylvania avenue to disband and enter
the fields of civil occupation. The greatest
army that the world had ever seen under
istence. Half a million young men had
fallen in the struggle which had called
them to arms. The Army Of the Potomac
with 10000 men, passed the Presidents stand
on the first day Of the great review. Or
the second day came the great army Of the
west, headed by General Sherman.
For four years they had been engaged
in a struggle aggressive and brilliant The
fields Of Belmont, Donaldson, Shiloh. Vicks
burg, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Atlanta
and Savannah had thinned their ranks and
taken many Of their comrades out Of the
camp Of life. That great and silent man
the most prominent hero Of the civil war
General Grant looked upon the mightiest
host that had ever been brought together
under the command Of any general
General Meade the hero Of Gettysburg
and Appomattox; the dashing Custer, the
cyclonic Sheridan and host Of others mar
| shaled the Army Of the Potomac while
from the west came such men as Howard
Logan. Hazen, Blair, Slocum and othel
leaders OF prominence whose career mac
| largely been in the west. How many OF
these men have passed out Of life and into
history?
'-The Washington of that day cannot be
recognized as that Of the present time. The
miserable streets and poor accommodations
have been supplanted by fine avenues and
those modern attractions which are charac.
teristic Of the progressive American city
Since then the Capitol and many of the
public buildings then unfinished, have beer
| completed, while the State, War and Navy
| Departments building, bureau Of engraving
and printing National Museum, Agricul-
tural Department building, Congressional
Library, city post Office, pension bureau
| and public library have all been erected
| since.
Many miles Of good street pavement ani
| sidewalks. hundreds of fine residences and
| stores. all the statues and monuments. with
few exceptions; thousands of trees and
many parks have all come into being, anc
the city that was SO objectionable as to ex
cite SIlrnrfSe that Il remained the nit a