The Detroit times., 1910-05-27
BY w. q. SHEPHERD.

NEW YORK, May 27-Nine O'CLOCK
in the morning OF Saturday, June Is,
Theodore Roosevelt will endeavor 10
gumshoe his way back onto the North
American continent, after an absence,
almost to the hour. OF 420 days.
II will be some job to get in quietly;
in fact, he can't do II. Folks, some
how, all over the country, have got the
notion that, in addition to being the
only living ex-president OF the United
States, he Is also the foremost citizen
OF the greatest republic in the world.
Wherefore, there are going to be
doings The Dewey welcome will be
outdone
This Is the way II is:
Some months ago lot OF Republic
cans planned to welcome Roosevelt;
they wanted him to shake hands with
Taft In public and thus o. k. the Tart
administration. But crafty VIM. Loeb
chloroformed this plan.
BY letter and even by cable Roosa.
welt had asked Loeb to go easy and
make the welcome light So Loeb de-
cided that II ought to be only a city
affair: let New York welcome Roose-
welt was his idea. Whereupon he
asked Mayor Gaynor to name COM
mittee OF citizens to conduct the wei
come. Cornelius Vanderbilt was named
chairman. F. A. Cosby, a Rough
Rider, was elected secretary, and the
committee was made up OF 298 VII
layers.
The committee Immediately began
20 receive letters from organizations
all over the country, pleading for
places in the parade. No parade had
been planned, but of course
a Overwhelmed BY Work. >.
Vanderbilt and Cosby tried to DO the
work of preparation at their private
offices. This was out OF the question,
because the correspondence was so
great. They rented one room, then
two and now they are crowded in five
In a Broadway building. They hired
stenographers and clerks and a drafts
man and letter writer's and finally, be-
cause the newspapers demanded 50
much information, they hired press
agents. Before they knew II they we're
running a big business, just in prepar-
alton for Roosevelt's home coming.
The committeeman have put up the
money.
The enthusiasm reached Washing
ton Congressmen or senators from
35 states have written letters to the
newspapers In their districts saying
that there Is nothing political in the
welcome to Roosevelt. and that the en-
tire country ought TO join in. That
announcement brought other demands
from organizations for place in either
the land or water parades.
No water parade had been planned,
but the committee had to plan one.
On the 25th day of May, "a days
before the homecoming, every tug and
craft in the harbor OF New York had
been chartered for the Roosevelt re-
ception.
The committee began to try to tone
down the reception; things were
growing too large to suit Mr.. Roose-
Welt, they thought. For instance, they
planned that proper parade ought to
take four hours to pass a given point.
But the organizations that had re-
ouested places In the line would form
a parade that would take 20 hours to
pass.
Would Be Gigantic Parade.
Such a parade would be five times
larger than any OF the gigantic parades
OF the Hudson Fulton celebration and
could be likened In size only to the
passage OF the million Union soldiers
who marched up Pennsylvania-ave. In
washington after the war.
Every prominent fraternal lodge In
the country, various lodges Of Italians,
Germans and other foreign-Americans.
clubs, societies, bunds-almost every
unit Of the many associations into
which American people gather, Will
be represented In the parade. They
will come from every part of the coun'
try.
In Battery park, where Mayor Gay
nor, on a raised platform. will vel
come Roosevelt in view Of hundreds
OF thousands Of persons, an area will
be roped of for 5000 individuals
These 5000 favored ones, within the
Enclosure, will include senators, con
gressmen, financial leaders and men
who are so prominent that their
names appear almost daily In the pub.
lie prints. They will form about as
exclusive a little crowd as has ever
been gathered in this country. On
tine platform, where only 200 Of the
very biggest of the big can be &C
comuodated, will be seen the faces OF
diplomats and men of worldwide re
nown. Col. Roosevelt Is expected to
make a short speech and then he will
enter carriage for the parade
Mayor Gaynor will ride with him.
One thousand mounted policemen