The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-10-24

the womanhood and manhood of our Southland. and peculiarly appropriate as you are half Southern"
 Judge Afford. chairman of the Com mittee of Arrangements, then intro- duced the President who was brfefly and warmly wsl,cmed by Mayor P. T. Lyons, who paid nigh tribute to him n man. q statesman and a patriot. The formal welcome was then delivered by Col Edward Lafayette HasselI. one of Alabama. who spoke as follows:
 Your coming nto our midst has been source of inspiration to our people, and my selection by my ueighbors to welcome you to thls old city | shnIf prise as one of the gruat events of my Our people are familiar with your record as a soldier and as a -citizen. Your wise statesmanship. coupled with your public acts and public declara~ tions, have given them cou1dence In your sine gritty of purpose ana pakr4- otism. Since you have been Prexident you have demonstrated by your ainsin- istration of our Federal affairs that you are loyal and devoted to our free institutions. coinei out of the blood, sacrifices and treasures of our ances- tors.
 Faith in the PreusAent.
 Such is the faith Of our people In you as q patriot that they believe you would cheerfully surrender your life rather than endanger the sacred trust that has been conflded to your patriotic keeping. They look upon you as the staunch friend of an honest and faith fuI administration of our federal gov ernment. They look upon you as the friend of the honest and faithful public officer. They regard you as the enemy of any man connected with our govern ment who forgets his responsibility as such and desceuds Into peculaticn and corruption. You have dsnsonstrated that under your administration no man can hold federal cffiee and be unfafth- ful to his trust.
 "0ur people applaud you for the rnasy bravo acts you have performed In your exalted position, They applaud you for the part you took in order to secure the Panama canal. which win directly the Gulf States They appiaid you for the intelligent and diplomatic manner In which you brought about peace ana the conclusion of the bloody war be- tween Japan and Russia. Theyregard you as the friend of our country and of the home. They are familiar with your home life, and it has of such every intelligent. patriotic citizen with in this broad domain. You have been so clean, frank and sincere in all of your public acts and in the performances of all of your public duties that the mere recital of them sends a thrill of patriotic pride through the hearts of your countrymen.
 \ Gratcfui to MT. Roosevelt. .Our people are deeply grateful to you for coming to their rescue. as soon as the appalling pestiience of yellow fever had made It's appearance in some of our neighboring cities, by ordering the marine hospital service to take control and handle this dread scourge under the scientific methods that had been discovered. This act of yours re- suited in arresting this terrible plague. thereby saving many valuable lives and preventing the suffering of our people living along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.
 Now sir. have performed the duty confided to. me by my people. I well come you to our midst; thrice welcome you. and in this welcome every heart in the city of Mobile joins me" When President Roosevelt rose to respond the applause was deafening for several seconds. The shade of ever- ing were falling and the glow of myriads of electric lights and embiems to the scene.
 T cannot sufficiently express my ap- preciation of the magnificent greeting that you have given me today he said. '@rhe man would be but poor Amerf- can who could meet you here, my fei- low citizens, without being stirred and feeling that he must even more than before strive to do all that in him Hes for our common country. I know that the rest of you will not grudge my saying that most of all I am touched by the sight of men who wore the grey H.I wa&s@ <4 4fx.r~ AS.sSa today. @ q have Just been presented by Judge Semmes with a beautiful badge. I passed by the statue of Admiral Semmes as we drove up hither. Admiral Semmes had under him on the Alabama one of my uncIes. and it was another uncle that built the Alabama The is the wife of that distinguished ex- Confederate. who. by his rule as Gov ernor of the Philippines. has held aIoft the record of American rule for inc tegrity, eflciency and firmness.
 The Panama Canal.
 Tn speaking before the citizens Of this great seaport of the gulf. want to say a word of the Panama Canal ' hold that as a matter of public policy whatever helps part Of our country helps the whole. And n did my best to bring about the construction of the canal in the interest or all our peOples but if there was any one section to bo most beneflted l6y 1t. it Is the section that incIudes the Gulf States. Ori&- inaily | he'd been for the Nicaraguan Canal, hat when Congress acted abode by the directions of Congress. It besame evident that we should eith- CT bAve no canal or the Panama Canal avd am for a canal
 If we had not acted as we have act- cd. ali chance of building that canal would have vanished for half century to come And, as 1t Is. we are now assured of having that canal within a comparatively short time. Gentle men, l want to warn you not to be misled by interested clamor. Every man who had to do with bringing about the construction of the canal knows that for decades 1t was opposed and successfully opposed by eomnaer- cIaI interests which did not want to see 1t completed. and did not wish a ss4nrfs fnff