Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1905-02-09
IT WAS A HUMMER
Annual Banquet of Gridley Club
at IOnia.
Nearly 700 Guests Partook of Feast
of wit, Humor and Good Things
TO Eat-PresidentS = heldon Won
Many Laurels by His
speech.

The annual banquet of the Ioni;
County Gridley Club is once more ;
thing of the past and another yeal
must necessarily elapse before this
popular function can be held again
but those who were in attendance a
the meeting held in Ionia Friday
evening, will haye many pleasant
memories of this great gathering
hanging around the seat of memory
until another similar banquet shall
be held.
After a substantial repast which
was furnished by the ladies of Church
of Christ, to which every one seemed
to do full Justice. The meeting was
called to order by President, Dwight
G. Sheldon, of this city who called
upon the audience to assume a spirit
of quiet while Rev Spencer of Ionia,
invoked divine blessing on the assem-
blage, following which, Mr. Sheldon
delivered an address which from an
oratorical and educational point OF
view won its way at once TO the
hearts and souls of all present.
Mr.. Sheldon said in part: Fellow
citizens I'D members of the Gridley
Club, party defeat has never cast its
depressing shadows over our annual
banquet and tonight with feelings of
happiness, in the lingering glow of
an unprecedented victory we meet
again 10 consecrate this hour of our
political faith anG in harmony renew
our VOWS at the shrine of Republican,
ism. About half a century ago this
party was moulded in the crucible of
patriotism. 1t unfurled its banner in
the tempest of one of the saddest
wars in the annals of history to pre-
serve from dissolution our national
-hcritage. 1t removed from the eyes
of the South the veil OF commercial
greed which has made of liberty a
partial travesty since the days of the
revolution.
Only once since that time has the
siren voice of Democracy allured the
nation from it's chosen course, and as
a result of that false step there still
dwells in memories chambers the
shadow of gloomy period of panic
and Depression the like of which we
hope never to witness again. The
history of the Republican party for
the past half century has been the
history of the nation and as the for
ist shades the petals TO the ilower so
the Republican party has improved
the status of our country until today
we stand as the beacon light to all of
the nations of the earth.
The Republican party has furnish
ed a master as well as a principle in
every crisis. | fancy that when the
inspired hand of Abraham Lincoln
penned the Emancipation Proclama.
tion his being thrilled with an ecstacy
of delight, as he dreamed of the vol.
ume of human happiness to follow its
winged message across the land.
The work of reconstruction follow
ed the devastating war and the hand
of epublicanism was ever present
in the labor Of love, and as a result
we, as a nation, have developed mas
ter minds for every impending need
A successor of mean ability complet
ing the unfinished task of William
Mckinley would have been obscureC
by his personality. The chord o
public approval vibrated in perfec
harmony with the keynote of Theo
dore Roosevelt's character when III
said $50 far as in my power lies
shall see that every man gets
square deal, no more, no less
AS the base of the mountain up
holds the highest peak so the Repub