Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-02
HOTELS JAMMED BY PEOPLE
EAGER TO SEE ROOSEVELT
Commercial Club of Kansas City
Booms T. R. for President

KANSAS CITY, Sept. 1.-Colonel
Roosevelt ended his Kansas invasion
with an address in Kansas City, Kas'
today, and then crossed the Kaw river
to plunge into an active day on the
Missouri side.
The former presidents train arrived
in Argentine, Kas, from Lawrence at
1O:30 o'clock. He was taken by motor
to the place where he spoke, and, atter
a short address, was rushed back TO
his train and brought to the union
depot here.
A great crowd greeted the colonel
on his arrival at the union station
AS this is the only point at which his
train is to stop In Missouri on MS
present trip. thousands Of persons
from all parts of Missouri and the
southwest came to greet him. Every
hotel was damned with visitors last
night, and hours before his special
train arrived today the station and the
streets along which the parade passed
were lined.
Colonel Roosevelt was given lunch
con at O. hotel at / o'clock and made
an informal talk there. Every at
tempt was made to make his VISIT as
informal as possible. Guests invited
to the luncheon were advised that II
would not be necessary to wear rrocK
coats and silk hats. Colonel Hoose-
velt shook hands with them as they
entered the banquet room. Many cow
hovs and rough riders mingled with
the crowd The Third regiment. Mis-
souri, National Guard, acted as the
colonels escort.
DRINKS TOAST TO PRESIDENT
AS the guest of honor of the Kansas
foI Nhan60TA ROOS0-
Welt today drank a toast to the preSl-
dent. was himself toasted as "the tirst
citizen of the United States" and
listened to a rollicking song to the tune
of an the Good Old Summer Time"
which ran as follows:
At next election time
| At next election time.
Roaming round the woolly west
Getting things in line,
For we like him and he likes US
And that's a very good sign
That he will be president
At next election time.
The colonel responded heartily to the
toast to the president, but looked
statuesque as the references to himself
were made. =
Later, when he was called on to
speak, he referred to the song, saying
| that lone of them was anXiously seek
ing the knowledge of my where
abouts"
Another song ending with the re-
frain, "For he's insurgent through and
through" could have been improved In
technical accuracy If the word PRO
gressive" had been substituted for the
word "insurgent."
"Don't get the bride off," said the
! colonel amid cheers.
GIVEN NOISY WELCOME
Three hundred men attended the
luncheon and gave Colonel Roosevelt
| a. noisy welcome.
Before the guests were seated former
| Congressman William S. CoWherd,
who was toastmaster, said:
"It is always the custom of the Com
mercial club to drink the first toast
to the president of the United States. .
Everybody joined in drinking the
! toast. Among the guests were Gov
ernor Hadley of Missouri, Governor
, Stubbs of Kansas, Clifford Pinchot,
/ James r. Garfield, Col. w. r. Nelson,
proprietor of the Kansas City Star;
Senator Bristow and Representative
/ Madison.
Colonel Roosevelt complimented the
people of Kansas City upon the ex-
/ tensive improvements that have been
made to their waterworks system. He
expressed his interest in the improve
ments of the waterways, especially OF
the Missouri river.
"When 1 began as president the
movement against rebates that were
universally demanded and given, the
practice was so general that the fact
Of giving them and asking for more
had become a purely conventional
crime" said Colonel Roosevelt.
"No one spoke of the giving of re-
bates as a crime, and as that practice
was freely indulged in by the great
mass of people, others were driven to
commit the crime, having the alterna-
tive of being ruined by their competi-
/ tors if they did not get them.
"The shippers demanded rebates OF
the railroads, and the railroads grant
ed rebates to certain shippers until
they got in a network of preferences
from which they were unable to ex-
tricate themselves by any individual
action on their part. After some diff
fieulty. accompanied by the usual
statement that it was running the bust
ness interests of the country, we got
the rebate practice definitely stopped
'I think it was as fine an exemplih-
cation as one could desire of the
i Willingness of your people to squarelJ
| faee a moral ISSUE"