The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-04-27
SOME ROOSEVELT EVENTS
Editor Joseph e. Robinson's Personal
Point Of View.
SAD NEWS OF HAMPTON's DEATt
How The Governor Of North Carolina Won First
Place When Thousands Gathered For
North Carolina Week in the
HiSto l. w.

North Carolina week at Charleston was
the red letter week. in point OF attrac-
tions and attendance, of the great Ex-
position-and, indeed, it is a great ex-
position of the resources, capabilities
and energy of the South; and while
many Northern States have generously
creditably vieing with their sister
States of the South, yet the visitors from
all sections of the country and the world
marvel most and linger longest in admi-
ration over what the South and the is
lands of the southern seas have there on
exhibition.
OF course much of the success of North
Carolina week was due to the visit of
President Roosevelt, whose distinguished
presence during Tuesday and Wednesday
of the week and his participation in the
celebrations of the occasion drew thou
sands of visitors from the North and
South to swell the other thousands from
all sections of North Carolina; but this
was but another of those fortuitous cir
cumstances which always come to North
Carolina; and while the country at large
expected the Old North State to be over
Swallowed by the Presidential personality
the thousands who came to give him cor
dial welcome and glad acclaim gave, il
possible, more generously of admiration
and applause to North Cardinals great
yet young Governor Charley Aycock,"
as with winsome presence and sweeping
eloquence he met the highest expecta-
tions of those who knew him and won the
admiration and spontaneous applause Of
the thousands who had never heard nor
seen him before.
Governor Aycock, accompanied by Sec
rotary of State, Col. Bryan Grimes;
State Treasurer, Mr.. B. R. Lacy; State
Auditor. Dr. B. +. Dixon; State Super
intendent of Public Instruction. Prof. j.
Y. Joyner; the members of his personal
staff, Adjt. Gen. Register, Inspector Gem
eral Balm, and many other military men
and large party of private citizens,
both ladies and gentlemen. arrived in
Charleston Tuesday afternoon and the
party were met at the depot by function
aries of the city and Exposition and the
provisional regiment of North Carolina
troops with their drum corps and splen-
did band, who escorted us to the Argyle,
where the Governor had his headquarters
during his stay in the city, and adjoining
those of Governor McSweeny, of South
Carolina. by whom he was greeted at the
hotel and publicly welcomed.
The first thing on the tapis was
banquet to President Roosevelt in the
spacious dining room of the Charleston
Hotel. Tuesday night, given by the citi-
zens Of Charleston, at which but linn
tied number of guests-some 250-were
permitted. To this banquet Governor
Aycock and the four above mentioned
State officials were invited, but Messrs.
Grimes, Lacy, Dixon and Joyner did not
find it convenient to accept, so only the
Governor attended, as was proper that
he should, as the representative of and
guest of honor from North Carolina.
Admission to the banquet was had only
by ticket-and no other than those seated
at table and the walters and guards
(secret service mem was admitted; but
there was one man who successfully
passed the outposts of police, the inner
guard of secret service contingent, and
the watchful CD self-important body
guard. of the President. and took his
seat within a bower of palms and trail
ing bamboo; and from this comfortable
position he took observations of the dis
tinguished personages at table, viewed
the myriad lights and artistic decora-
tions of ceiling, walls and tables, and
heard and compared the speecehs of che
occasion and decided that Governor Ay-
cocks was the best-and so did the
great assemblage of cultured guests and
competent critics, as was evidenced by
the unfeigned admiration on their beam
ing countenances and their unstinted ap-
plause in which the President himself
most generously led. 1t was, in fact,
the fame of this speech, spreading from
banquet hall to the assembled thousands
within the city, that prepared them for
the Governors great speech in the audi
torium the following day. which pre-
coded that of President Roosevelt, itself
splendid utterance, replete with fine
sentiment and faultless principles of
political ethics: and in which, with gen.
erous spirit and graceful manner facing
the great audience, with evident good
humor beaming from his pleasant coun-
tenance, he said:
There is but one complaint 1 have to
make against the Governor of North
Carolina and that is, he said in his
Il
wanted to say-and they were so we'll
said that l cannot improve upon them,
but l am just going to say them over
again anyway"
This was indeed a high compliment to
Governor Aycock, and right royalty was
it received with spontaneous applause
by the great audience of thousands to
whom it was addressed.
The Presidents drive through the city
on Wednesday, from his hotel, along the
line of march, to the Exposition grounds,
where the review took place, and in the
of which the speaking was
held, was one continuous ovation from
the thousands of citizens and visitors
alike who densely thronged the side
walks and the windows and roofs of the
buildings all along the entire route. All
the people, whether citizens or visitors,
wherever they saw the President es-
teemed him-uot Charlestons alone, but