The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-05-22
PRESIDENT PARTICIPATES IN
CEREMONIES At PORTLAND.
Ne LAYS THE CORNERSTONE
Puts in Place First Stone Of Monu.
ment to Lewis and
Clarke.
Portland, Ore, May 21.-President

Portland, Ore, May 21.-President
Roosevelt travelled through the fertile
Willamette valley from early this
morning until 2 o'clock this after
noon, when he arrived in this city.
At Salem, the capital Of the state,
a stop of three hours was made, and
the president d~ellvered an address on
citizenship" at the capitol. The
only other stop made during the day
was at Oregon City, a manufacturing
town fifteen miles south of this city.
Along the route crowds gathered at
the stations and gave the president
an enthusiastic reception. In this
city he made two speeches, n at
the laying of the cornerstone of the
Lewis and Clarke monument, and
another at the banquet given in his
honor at the Hotel Portland tonight
by the citizens of Portland. The pres
ident will spend the night here and
at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning will
esum his journey, two hours later
crossing the Columbia river and en-
tering the state of Washington.
When the president reached the city
park, at 4:30, $4,000 people had as
sembled to witness the laying OF the
cornerstone OF the Lewis and Clarke
monument. The spot where the mon
ument is to be erected is an elevation
200 feet above the city, from which
point a fine view of the Columbia and
Willamette rivers, Mount Hood, Mount
Helens, Mount Adams and other
capped peaks of the Cascade range,
can be had.
Mayor Williams delivered the ad.
dress of welcome.
Presidents Address.
I'VE come here today to lay a cor
nerstone that is to call to mind the
greatest single pioneering feat on this
continent, the voyage across the con-
tinent by Lewis and Clarke, which
rounded out the ripe craftsmanship OF
Jefferson and his fellows by giving to
the United States all of the domain
between the Mississippi and the Pa
cific. Following their advent came the
reign of the fur trader, and then some
sixty years ago those entered in whose
children and children's children we're
to possess the land. Across the con-
tinent in the early forties came the
Ox-drawn, white-topped wagons bear
ing the pioneers, the stalwart, sturdy,
sunburned men, with their wives and
their little ones, who entered into this
country to possess it. You have built
up here this wonderful commonwealth,
a commonwealth great in it's past
and infinitely greater in it's future.
(Applause.)
ut was a pleasure to me today to
have as part OF my escort the men OF
the Second Oregon, who carried on
the expansion of our people beyond
the Pacific as your fathers had al
ried it on to the Pacific. I speak to
the men of the Pacific slope, to the
men whose predecessors gave us this
region because they were not afraid,
because they did not seek the life OF
ease and safety, because their life
training was not to shrink from OBJ
s~tacles, but to overcome them, and
now l ask that this nation go forward
as it has gone forward in the past;
/ ask that it shape its life in accord
ance with the highest ideals; l ask
that we govern the Philippines pri.
marily in the interest of the people
of the islands ~(applause), and just
SO long as men like Taft and Luke
Wright are there they will be so gov
erned; l ask that our name be a syno,
nym for truthful and fair dealing with
all the nations of the world, and | ask
two things in connection with our for
eign ~policy-that WE never wrong the
weak and that we never finch from
the strong.
To-day the secretary of the navy
spoke of the great pride we take in
the feats of the mighty battleshiI
which bears the name of this state
the Oregon (Cheers and applause
It is a good thing to cheer her, but i
is a better thing to see that we keel
on building other ships like her blu
even better. That is the right way II
cheer the Oregon: 10 e to it that Oh.
senators and representatives in con
gress go on with the building up o
the United States navy. Whether w
wish it or not, we have to be a grea
~ hovo RI NAV n great part