The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-08
J Whitcomb Riley's Birthday Is
 Happy Occasion In Indianapolis

Indianapolis. October James Whitcomb Riley. aided by the state and nation, today celebrated one of the happiest birthday anniversaries of his life. He was the honor guest at a the- atrical performance in the afternoon and tonight attended banquet in his honor.
 More than 20O0 of the poets friends greeted him at the theatre. number of his poems had been set to music and these were interpreted by dancers. Some of the most prominent men in the world of letters spoke at the ban quet.
 One of the unique presents received at the Riley home was a birthday cake shaped and colored like a pumpkin. Browning 1t was layer of frosting It typified MT. Rileys poem. "Th' Frost Is on tn Punkin.' A card bore the mes sage that the donor desired to be known only "old Aunt Mary
 a Two blacksmiths sent gifts. One was a handmade silver horseshoe. The oth- CT was tiny hammer to which a card was attached saying: "This is big enough for all the knocking you will eyer, want to do.' a. v
 A letter felicitating him Aon his birth day reached MT. Riley today from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the organization which three years ago acknowledged the Hoosier bard as the greatest living poet, and presented him with a gold medal in testimony of that fact. The letter reads:
 Hearty Felicitations "In behalf of your associates of the American Academy of Arts and Let ters, we send you our heartiest felic- itations on your birthday and on -the festival with which it, is celebrated by your native state The academy is deeply gratified by the honor thus ac- corded you and halls 1t as a .recogni- tion of the lasting worth of poetry as an influence in the national life. We wish you many happy and tranquil years"
 The letter. dated New York, was signed by William Dean Howells, pres ident of the academy; William M. Sloane, Robert Underwood Johnson Edwin Rowland Blashfield. William Crary Brownell, Thomas Hastings and William Rutherford Mead, directors of the academy.
 The poet also received cabled con- gratulations from Ambassador Page at Rome Minister Whitlock at Brussels and Minister Henry Van Dyke at The Hague. There also was a message of feiicitation from President Wilson MT. Riley's Speech At the banquet tonight MT. Riley said:
 "Everywhere the faces of friends, kindly generous faces, some marked with serious thought and retrospection, some simply glad in the spirit of the moment, but all. all. the faces of friends. friends proudly to be owned because they are old friends. or friends newly discovered, or Hoosier friends at home or from abroad-friends with kindly hearts, friends eminent in the nations love, friends no less dear because their worth Is more humbly known; a beautiful throng of friends, among which are to be missed only the faces of the women and the children. And yet, like them, friends greatly to be cherished-warm, tender, brave ana strong-and all smiling like very boy hood restored to us, gently smiling thoughtfully smiling. smiling wistfully, twinklingly, tenderly-a host of friend ly faces, uplifted and continuous, as the stars in truth, like Wordsworth's ten thousand daffodils, until even a pseudo poet
 "'Could not but be gay
 Tn such a Jocund company