Arizona republican., 1909-10-16
BANQUET AT GRAND CANYON Last of the Arizona Taft
 Functions STATEHOOD ENTHUSIASM
It Seems to Be a Growing Fire With the Presiden- tial Party Scattering of the Presidents Arizona Escort.

Several of the gentlemen who went to the Grand Canyon wi;h the pres ident's party returned home yester- day afternoon, and the rest of them continued on with the party toward Fl Paso. where they will have the pleasure of witnessing the meeting of the two presidents. Those who came back say that the stay at the Canyon was a delightful one in every way.
 The evening banquet rendered the president by Governor Sloan was a charming affair. \ Beside the presi- dential party. about forty Arizonians were present, seated at a triple pronged table, amid decorations in which the national colors served as background for greenery and flowers. Back of the presidents chair was the national coat of arms. Perhaps a third of the dining room of Fl Tovar hotel was utilized as a banquet hall. the rest of the room being fenced off by a lattice of flowers and shrubbery. behind which other guests of the hotel were given opportunity to hear and to see.
 The principal toast of the evening. The President" was proposed by the governor in a delightful little speech, in which he expressed the deep pleas ure afforded him and the people of the territory in the visit of a real, live president. one whose words rang true with promise of benefit to come through full enfranchisement.
 When the glasses had been drained and the applause had subsided, Presi- dent Taft, his far-famed smile much in evidence, expressed the hope that Arizona would consider well expended its share of the presidential twenty five thousand dollar expense account. He reiterated his expression at Phoe- nix and Prescott in favor of single statehood and. even more strongly than before, assured his auditors that all the help he could give would DS
 
 could be compared in grandeur to the Grand Canyon, itself a tremendous wonder The government is poor. he observed. and hardly able to expend much money for anything not strictly utilitarian. yet he voiced his hope that the nation soon would take hold of the Grand Canyon region. with the inten- tion of making it, in improvement and management, similar to the park of the Yellowstone. In expressing his deep feeling of qualification over the 1 reception that had been given him in Arizona. the president highly com plimented Governor Sloan, exciting l laughter and long-continued applause by the semi-personal observation that, 1 If we get from the bench a good ex- ecutive we should thank the Lord"
 A keynote speech was that of Post ! master General Hitchcock, who stated | that he considered himself we'll able 1 to speak with authority for Arizona, | in which he had spent so much time ! and with whose people he had be- l come so well acquainted He spoke l of the breadth and heartiness of the | southwestern character likening it to the spread of a horizon that seems | much farther away than does the sky 1 line in the more thickly settled parts | of the Union. In connection with | this. he referred to his experience in | watching at Maricopa. a few nights | ago. the headlight of a st-speeding special. which could be seen at night for two hours before the arrival of the train MT. Hitchcock addressed very straight political talk to the president who seemed to receive with unadulter- ated approval every word addressed him on behalf of the territory
 Chief Justice Kent and Frank NJ Murphy spoke of the growth, develop ment and riches of the territory. their words being followed closely by the president, to whom the whole trip has served as an education covering the economic conditions of Arizona The speaking list had to be curtailed be- cause of the approaching time for de- parture of the presidential train, but xCongressman Marcus A. Smith was given an opportunity in closing. His address was brief, but was a gem of eloquence. During the day, MT. Smith had expressed full approval of the presidents warning over freak consti- tutions. In his speech he said he con sidered the constitution of the United