The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-04-05
ENTERING THE WEST.
President Roosevelt Crosses the Father
of Waters.

pulled into East St. Louis, ILL.,, on time
reaching the Illinois transfer belt line
at O'Clock where the Southern Rail-
way handed the train over to the
Terminal Railway company for trans
fer across the river to st. Louis
The train did not proceed into East
St. Louis, but passed through the east
ern outskirts to Madison, three miles
north. Knots of people were scattered
along the track, but as it had been gen
orally understood the train would not
arrive until 8 o'clock there were no
crowds to see the train and no demon
stratiOn beyond cheering here and
there along the way.
At Madison a throng was congregat-
ed and wildly cheered as the train
rounded the bend at the approach of
Merchants bridge across the Missis-
sippi- Without pause the train slowly
and cautiously proceeded across the
bridge to the North Market Street
Railway yards where it met the M
K. & T. road.
At o'clock the train slowly crept
down the steep incline at the Missouri
end of the Merchants bridge and as
soon as the assembled throng discover
ed it in the darkness a welcome from
Missouri was sent resounding through
the night
When the train stopped at the North
Market street station President Roose-
Welt was at dinner and did not appear.
The people congregated, cheered lusti-
ly in the hope of inducing a glimpse
of the president but almost before
the first cheers had died away the
switching engine began shunting the
train to the NJ. K. & T. tracks.
Colonel Cecil Lyon, member of the
! Republican national committee from
Texas under whose guidance the jack
rabbit hunt in Texas is to be made.
/ joined the party here.
! The private car of A. A. Allen, vice
/ president and general manager of the
/ M. K. & T. road was attached in the
/ yards, and Mr.. Allen viii remain with
/ the party as long as the train is on the
! Katy system.
! Switching continued until $50. when,
with a long Shrek from the whistle of
/ the big new engine, the train plunged
/ into its long run to Texas with a pilot
/ engine running five minutes ahead. The
/ first stop viii be made at Vinita, I. T.
! From Louisville, KY, to st. Louis,
! President Roosevelt took more than a
passing interest in Indiana and illinois,
/ the two states through which his spec
/ ial train passed. He discussed with his
| guests the relative merits of the states
/ from an agricultural point of view and
I the warmth of the people as displayed
at the various towns where the special
\ stopped. At a dozen or more places the
/ train slowed down and at most of these
/ great crowds were at the station cheers
[ ing as long as the trainesHaS in sight
/ He made three speeches en- route. They
wei at Midtown, Indiana, Huntington,
] Ind, and Mount Vernon, Ill. At East
/ junction near Princeton. Ind. where Il
] change OF engines was made, the pr6Sl-
! dent jumped down from the rear plat
| form of the train to shake hands with a
number of employees of the railroad
/ shops there. The train ran through
] Princeton slowly to give the president
an opportunity to hastily review sew
eral hundred school children that had
been assembled near the railroad
tracks.
At Huntington the president said:
4
great pleasure to catch this glimpse of
you and greet you on my way down to
the reunion of my old regiment at San
/ Antonio Tex. There is one thing
am always impressed with in going
/ through this country and that is that
down at the bottom, east, or west,
north or south, wherever you meet the
average American he is pretty good
American.
IN greeting all of you. I want to
say that while I am particularly glad
I to see the men and the women,
think I am even more glad to see the
! children I think the American stock
| is a niddling good one, and I do not
want to see it die out. I see here men
who wear the button that shows that
! they fought in the great war They
| have left US legacy not only OF how
to do our duty in war. but in peace.
Let US Of the younger generation try
to keep UP their standard"
At Mount Vernon, Illinois, the presi-
1 dent said:
my Friends and Fellow Americans:
I am delighted to be in this great and
beautiful state today, to be passing
| through Illinois which I know SO well
and to be greeted by you. have but
a moment and I want to say a word Of
special greeting to two bodies here; in
the first place to the men of the great
war, to the men of the Grand Army, to
the men who actually did the deed in
stead of talking about it; and in the
nj
boys and girls, for it is going to depend
upon what you do and the way you are
i brought up whether thirty years hence
we are as proud of this country as we
K are now One word to the fathers and
mothers: in bringing up the children do
not make the mistake of trying to bring
them up merely 50 that everything shall
be as easy as possible, but so that they
; will be able to do the best that can be
done with life, which is certain to be a
little rough at best Teach them not
to shirk difficulties but to overcome
them"