The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1905-10-27
THE Presidents
SOUTHERN TOUR
Receives 4 Warm Welcome In the
Historic City of Rich
nond, Virginia.
Ills COMING MADE A HOLIDAY.
GREETED By MANY THOUSANDS
Tells the V~irginIans That they
Have No More Right to KinslIip
In Lee and jackson Than He
Hus-Addresses Confederate Vet
Grams at the Statue of sem Lee.

President Roosevelt started On MS
southern tour on the 18th. His first
stop was at Richmond, Va, where he
was warmly received.
At a luncheon the president said:
zone among the very many great
Yirginians at the time when this ma
ton was born-(and | quote, gentle
men, Patrick Henry)-said; we are
no longer New Workers or New En-
CHAMBERS, Pennsylyanians or Virgin
lans; we are Americans and surely,
Mr.. Mayor, the man would be but a
poor American who was not touched
and stirred to the depths by the re-
cePt!Qn that have met with to-day in
lis great historic city of America.
Coming to-day by the statue Of Stone
wall Jackson, in the city of Lee, | felt
what a privilege it is that |, as an
American, have in claiming that you
yourselves have no more right to kim
ship in Lee and Jackson than | have.
| can claim to be a middling good
American, because my ancestry was
half southern and half northern; | was
born in the east and have lived a
good while in the wcst-so long, in
fact, that | do not admit that any man
can be a better westerner than am"
The president addressed confederate
veterans, Here | greet you in the
shadow of the statue of your mighty
commander, Gen. Robert e. Lee" we're
the words with which he began his
speech.
To a delegation Of negroes he said:
I want 10 congratulate you upon the
showing your school children have
made, and, further, | wish, as an Amer
lean, to congratulate the representa-
tives of the colored race who have
shown such progress in the industrial
interests of this city"
He showed special interest in the
school children lined up to greet him,
the whites on one side of Broad street,
the blacks on the other. He was much
amused at another point by the appear
ance of a huge stuffed bear over which
was the sign, "Mr. President, have a
shot; the only one in Richmond"
AS the presidential party passed the
Centenary Methodist church the chimes
in the tower of the church rang out
My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and at an
other point $50 girls from the Women's
attired in pure white, sang
The same anthem.
He was driven TO the old home of
John Marshall, former chief Justice Of
he United States, and to the c~onfeder-
lite museum, where many of the ladies
" the confederate memorial and lit
association were present to well
'ome him. He was presented here also
by the ladies with a bunch of red and
white roses, tied with the confederate
The party visited st. Johns
Episcopal church, in which Patrick
Henry made his famous GIVE me lib
'rty or give me death" speech, and
he president expressed great interest
n the old church and the adjacent
ground.
On leaving, the president said to a re-
81 want the people of Richmond
o know what a great pleasure it has
'een for me to have been with you,
to have an opportunity of meeting
hem personally. If they like me half
much as l like them, we'll call it
quare, and III be satisfied"