The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1911-02-17
PRESIDENT TAFT AT
TOMB OF LINCOLN
Great Crowds Greet Executive
at Springfield, Ill

Springfield put on gala attire for the
visit of President Taft. On the i'm
posing pile which shelters the supreme
court of the state and on modest cot
tages festoons of bunting, the stars
and stripes, pictures of the president
of today and of the martyred presi-
dent of half a century ago and other
decorations were flying.
Springfield was crowded as it has
been few times in it's history. The
estimate was made that more than
10000 strangers were in the city.
Governor Deneen, Lieutenant Gov
ernor Oglesby, the joint reception
committees of the legislature, the COM
mittees from the Springfield chamber
of commerce and the Lincoln centen-
NAL association and the legislative
newspaper correspondents left Spring
field at a. M, to meet the presiden-
tial party at Decatur and escort Mr..
Taft to the capital The return trip
was made by trolley, one of the few
occasions, if not the only one, when
national party of such prominence has
travelled across the country in an in
terurban car
All other service on the stretch of
the trolley system of Congressman
William B. Mckinley between Decatur
and Springfield was suspended while
the presidential party was speeding
west The ride took a little longer
than an hour, arrival in Springfield be-
ing at 1:50 p. m. Three trains of two
cars each made the run. The first. or
pilot train, contained the newspaper
men. The second train consisted Of
the private car of the president and
his suite and the car of Governor De-
neen and the official committees. JUS
tees of the supreme court, state Of
ficials and others had places on the
third train.
The Danville battery of state mill
tia had a place on the state, house
lawn and started firing the salute of
twenty-one guns, the worldwide token
of respect to a nations ruler the mo-
ment the president began to ascend
TIE broad steps Of the capitol. Along
the wide, curving walks OF the grounds
and the three blocks between the cap
itol and the executive mansion were
stretched solid lines of soldiers of the
First regiment from Chicago.
In his address to the legislature
President Taft made another plea to
the people to support the proposed rec
iprocity agreement with Canada. BY
citing the details of several of the
tariff schedules covered by the pend
ing agreement Mr.. Taft pointed out
the benefits that would come to Amer
lean agricultural and manufacturing
interests. He specified particularly
the benefits which would come to the
people of Illinois, but declared that
every state would be beneficially af-
fected by the pact.
A dash by automobile after the adj
dress in the legislature, first to the
old frame home of Lincoln and then
to the mansion, next TO the Lincoln
tomb and monument in Oak Ridge
cemetery, and then back to the ex-
ecutive mansion for the reception by
Governor and Mrs. Deneen at D. M,
was the program carried out. At the
tomb Robert T. Lincoln, son of Abra-
ham Lincoln, and president of the
Pullman Palace Car company, was a
spectator.
President Taft's official activity
ceased with the banquet at the state
arsenal There was no effort to con-
tinue the program longer, as he was
believed to be a man of abstemious
dining and early hours. From the
banquet the president was escorted
to his private car, and retired before
it left Springfield for Washington at
o'clock in the morning.