The sun., 1903-02-27
ROOSEVELT TO MEYHODISTS.
PRESIDENT ADDRESSES A GREAT
MEETING ~ CARNEGIE HALL.
Pays Tribute to the Past Of John Wesley's
Church at Its Bicentenary Because.
He Says. "Yeu Have Deserved Well q
Manufactured ThrOng Cheers Him.

A great building full Of Methodists and
others greeted President Roosevelt at
Carnegie Hall last night, when he came
here as the guest Of honor and the prin-
cipal speaker AZ the celebration OF the
2Ooth anniversary Of the birth OF John
Wesley. father and founder Of Methodism.
The seating capacity Of stage. pit, boxes
and galleries was exhausted by 730 o'clock
| and word to that effect was passed from
the police within to the police without.
| Thereupon the doors were closed and .
few thousand folk were locked out in Fifty
sixth and Fifth-seventh streets and Seventh
| avenue, with no Methodist handy TO I'D.
dress an overflow meeting.
The President was scheduled to arrive
at the hall at s:l5 O'Clock. A second or
two after that hour a small boy rushed
upon the stage and told the man who vors
clerical garb, a Phi Beta Kappa key.
aud acted as master Of ceremonies. that
the President had arrived. The Phi Beta
Kappa brother bolted over to the west end
OF the stage and whispered something To
a fashionably attred young woman, who
, held a cornet in her hand.
The young woman nodded and signalled
! TO three other young women, each OF whom
had a cornet. to stand up. Then father
in Methodism uprose, beat a few measures
of time and the cornes quartet played a
few bars of my Country, It's OF Thee
! The leader Of the singing beat few moro
bars. keeping his eye meantime on tic
eastern entrance to the stage, and set the
audience singing the first stanza.
But when the first stanza had been sung
the audience got the signal to sit down
| again and the four young women continued
| to play snatches Of symphonies on tho
| cornets for two or three minutes longer.
| There was a stir at the stage entrance again
! and everybody thought something OF im-
| portance was going to happen this time.
! sure. But it was only Police Captain
! Schmttberger. He walked on the stage.
| examined a few chairs. looked at the au.
| dience and walked of again without 80
! much as a handicap.
Finally at s:22 the President, sandwiched
! between his host, Samuel W. Bovine, and
! Commander Cowles, attired in the full
evening dress of the United States Navy,
| walked on the stage.
! Everybody got up, cheered and waved
! handkerchiefs TO show their enthusiasm.
, Then the leader Of the singing signalled to
the leader of the cornet quartet and the
prelude to America was played all over
again and a chorus sang three stanzas OF
the anthem. Prayer by Bishop. Foss OF
! Inllauclpnld dlu tueu DoWho
made speech OF introduction, in the course
of which he said
said, al Vast ne Is said 70 have said. that
a little weak in a. few small towns along the
seaboard but inland and away to the far
Of As Il sr0ah
land il is making Christians and It . Is maxi
pg .t m rSssaFRR soaa pnS as
, is istiaus and that's on" rrsson that our
rrea, presidcnt is here tonight TO talk to
| us about Mcthodism. i have the honor and
! the great privil- Ec TO Introduce the Hon;
Theodore Roosevelt. President OF the United
| States.
There was another uprising Of the au-
dience and some more cheering for several
! seconds and then the President began.
, He said: Il know that the chairman will
| pardon my saying that come To a dress
! Then there was loud report and big
puff of smoke under the western gallery.
which frightened many of the women into
, -yclamatiJns Of -Oh' and Dear me-
, But when the smoke cleared away 1t was
seen that the only thing that had happened
! was the taking of "A fashlig't picture of
the President making his speech. MIR.
| Roo ,evrt looled toward tie rising smoke
| rlt- and said:
Now, / suppose, "" NAV 90 on. re-
| neat that | know the chairman will pardon
, nv slying that | come 10 address you
tonight, not in the least as representatives
! If any party, but a my i How Americans,
as men and wpln. u, with whom ! claim
tie right of kinship tIat comes from
! common efiori or a comm u cau-e.
WIKI - much of an Introduction, the
President Continued a. follows:
Mn CHNEMtN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
an glad to have th" chance of addressing
/ which Wesley founded, on the occasion Of
the comnemoraiion Of IA" Two hnndred,h
| over, has a peculiar proprletarv claim on
, Wn-lcv's memorvt for J, j. on our continent
its greatest dcve!opm"nt In the DAYS q,
! our Colonial lie M"thodism was not on tho
whole Errat factor in the religious and
| social life Of the people The Conercra-
| tionali.'S were supreme throughout mos,
! OF New Eurltnd the Episcopllilus on the
! s,a,oard from New YoIk sputhwprd Will"
! tho PRESBYTERIAN congregations We're niosi
! .s.ieru frontier. and the Quaker. Catholic
| and Dutch Reformed churches each had
| developments in SpcCl1l places The great
growth of the Methodist church, like the
| great vrowth of the Baptist church, began
, n about tn" time of Ia" Revolutionary War.
| To-day my lhrmc H. purely M"thodism
! Since the DAYS of the Revolution not only
has the Mc'hodisI Church Increased greatly
| in tho old communities of th" tntri""n original
States, but II has rl N"d a r"cu,M and iTomi-
nent part in the iIcn""r nrow'h ol our coun-
| try and HIS in ,on~"uu"nc" assumed pos-
| ton OF inmei-" rmp"rianGe lhioHHhou' ne
! has been added tn our nation s'nco N" days
| when the Continental ,onsr"~S first met
! Fora century aItcr IA, Declaration OF inde-
| r.rdruc,, the greatest worF oi our people,
! with the Keep ion only of th" work OF self
| prc>erN alton under Lincoln. Wa IN" work
| of the purcer> a. they took possession OF
| tni~ Cort',nt. During that century We
p shed westward from the Alh gtanles 10
! H.. pac'tc. southwFrd 10 the GLIt aud the
| Rio Grahdr and also took possession OF
Alaska The work of advancing our bonn
daTv, Of pushing Ia" frontier aoTosS forest
| and desert and mountain cham. was tho
great typical work OF our nation; and tho
| mon who did 1.-THE fronticr-la'n, tn" po-
n''rS ia" baCkWoOd-n"n. pIatueni'n, noun
tain men formed class by themselves.
| II was an iron task which none but men of
iron soul ard iron body could do The mon
who carried II 10 successful "OnChl sion had
characters strong alIk" for good and for eva.
lLeir rugged natures made them powers
WHO served light or darkness with ncrc" In
! torsity. and together with heroic traits they
had thosa evil and dreadful tendencies which
| are hut too apt 10 bo found ia characters OF
heroic pos ihilitic- such men max" the most
! q n ~ servants Of the Lord " tlI'r thol. Nd
! iug vitality and energy are directed aright,
aud Z mi-diTact'd their influence i. 'Quallv
| uo,rnt arain~t the cause Of Christianity and
| irre civilization. In IN" hard and cruel Nfc
| Of III" lord, ?. with its grim struggle against
| the forbiddirC forces OF Wild nature and
wilder M u. ther" was luch TO pill thc iron.
| moral tcachlnr and moral guidance, Wilhouf
| any of the irilu'nC.S that t'nd toward tho
| q no 1Iui N The brtitp