The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-09-10
TAFT PAYS TRIBUTE TO PERRY AS HE DEDlCATES SHAFT Towering White Marble Monu- ment Reared To Perpetuate
 HerO's Memory Governors Aud Other Distin- guished Guests Participate In Centennial Exercises
 At Put-In-Bay

] memoration of Commodore Oliver Per- | ry's victory in the battle of Lake Erie
 and the 100 years of peace between the
 United States and Great Britain, was l formally. dedicated, today, by former President William Howard Taft In- l augurating the dedication ceremonies, cannon boomed at the hour of the fir l ing of the opening gun of the famous battle, fought one hundred years ago, today, in view of Put Inlay shores A century ago today, this bay was
 made famous by a batt1e'' said Mr.
 Taft, and today we meet to dedicate a great and beautiful monument to those who took part
 ''In the retrospection of 100 years
 we can weigh it's significan nee. Moth Ing has developed in these years to
 diminish the courage, patriotism and
 skill of the commander and his men
 as they appeared to the contemporaries
 but the consequences of the battle and
 the war Of which it was one of the
 bright spots in a field of gloom were
 str1ktngly beneficent and promise to grow even more so in the second cen
 tury upon which we are now enter
 ing"
 MT. Taft then sIzetched the. bio-
 graphy of Commodore Perry from his E-birtaz1n RhodeAIsiand on the 23rd of
 August, 17S5 to the supreme moment
 of his career-the naval engagement
 off West Sister Island, 100 years ago
 and to his sudden death in Venezuela,
 on his 34th birthday.
 His youth, the difficulties encoun- tered in building, arming and manning
 his fleet and his courage in the crisis
 which turned the tide of victory, were
 the subjects of MT. Taft's eulogy.
 ''The event, in the light Of the diff faculties encountered in building, arm In fo
 show the greatne of the man.
 When we note the almost hand to hand fight in which he was engaged, the slaughter. upon the. deck of his flagship, his passage from one vessel to another in an open boat exposed to the direct fire of the enemy and then note how he took second flagship and bore down on his two formidable assaiIants and made them strike their colors in 10 minutes we see one worthy to rank with Lord Nelson and all the great naval commanders in history. When he fought the battle he was not yet 2S years of age, the age of Napo- leon at Lodi and of Nelson at Cape St. Vincent y .t We. lay down the record of his life and drop al tear upon its tragic clos ing and we can truly place him among the great heroes of our history and thank God for the beneffcence of his I great example. Throughout his short and brilliant career he maintained the highest level of equanfnity, patrio tism and devotion to duty.
 I've celebrate the centennial of this battle, not in the spirit of a triumphal victory of arms but in the deep grati- | tude that one hundred years has not seen it's repetition. No historical re- view can give as much sa,tisfa ction to him that hopes for permanent inter na tionaI peace as the contrast between the attitude of the two peoples then and now
 And so we are here, today, to mark the rearing of this beacon light Of perpetual peace. Little could Perry have thought in the struggle that he had in building his puny fleet in the stress he was under in the height Of l ba it Ie. in the victory that he announc- l ed : in fhis famous words to General Harrison, that his work would be re- nembered for one hundred years az the hamburger of perpetual peace; and while we venerate the energy, the in trepidity the patriotism that, brought him and his men their great triumph, today, we cherish not so much it's eVl- dence of American manhood and love of country as the teaching that its | memory brings to the world of the practical possibility of intending love and peace between international neigh | bors."
 The celebration of the centennial the Battle Of Lake EE1e, sept 4O' 1S13 and the comrnemoration of 100 wears of. peace between Great Br1- tain and the United States, under the auspices of the Interstate Board of the Perry's Victory Centennial Com | missioners, began here today. An elaborate banquet given by the Perry Interstate Board this evening in hon or of, distinguished guests represent iFaez-the.-.8J nited@Statesz government, the Dominion of Canada, and the ten 1 states participating in the erection or the Perry Memorial and in the cen tennial celebration will conclude the days program.
 Since yesterday morning, Sandusky | and Cedar Point have witnessed stir | ring scenes incident. to the arrival of Commodore Perry's restored flagship, Niagara the state naval ships join ing in the celebra ton and distinguish ed guests from all parts of the coun- trv. The guests of honor are former President William H. Taft, pr. John A. Macdonald of Toronto; the gov ernors of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Micffi- gan. Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Indiana and Minn esota, most of whom are accom- panied by their staff; Mrs. William G. SIade, president of the National Society Of the Daughters of the War of 1872; Lieutenant-General Nelson A. Miles: members of the Perry's Victory Centennial Commission, representing the national government, and the ten states, and a host Of state officials and prominent men.
 Governor. Cox of Ohio, arrived with members of his staff and state officials on board the Ohio Military Ship Dor othea,' Governor Ferris, of Michigan, with the Michigan Commissioners and staff, on board the t'Don Juan de Aus tria,'' Governor McGovern, of Wiscon- sin, with the Wisconsin commission CTS and a party of several hundred, on chartered steamship, and Cover Pn+hinr cf hndo Is1ana III. t1.l.