The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-10-05

! the street. Old Glory flew from the top
of the building. This was brilliantly
illuminated by four large lights. The
whole building was Illuminated within.
Music could be heard and it was evil
dent that a general reception was TAX
ing place inside. Crowds thronged on
all sides.
The parade moved on up Front
street to Liberty, over to Second, down
Second to Spring, thence over to Front
and down towards Main. AS the parade
broke into it's several contingents and
dispersed, Companies H and c
marched up Main to Second and
thence to the armory.
In the mean time, the preparations
were rapidly being made to open the
speaking program in the Northwestern
railroad park. Here a speaking plat
form, suitably Illuminated and adorned,
massed around, all eager to get within
hearing distance. There were frequent
outbursts of applause as the speakers
made particularly telling hits.
The Speaking Program.
Mayor Lee Champlin was the chair
man of the evening. He spoke of that
evening as a proud one, and one on
which people could turn their thoughts
from war to what had been accOmp-
lished through peace. He spoke Of the
! success with which modern building
had been wrought out of the old one
that was so out of date that it could
scarcely be used. The mayor went into
history of the campaign that was
waged for the erection of the new
bridge, from the time the project was
set on foot in city official circles by
the late Mayor A. G. Meyer. He told of
the vast amount of work that had to
be done to bring Mankato, North Man
kato, BLUE Earth county, Nicollet
! county, the state highway commission
and other bodies into line for the new
| bridge Speaking what was done by the
! state highway commission he extended
particular thanks to Mr.. Nagel and to
| Commissioner Charles NJ. Babcock
| The mayor declared that Mankato and
| North Mankato possessed the most up
| to-date concrete bridge in the state Of
Minnesota. He spoke of that new
| bridge as a means of bringing the peO-
pie of Mankato and North MankatC
closer together. He spoke of the hun
dreds of people that came across tt
the city every day to their work il
| Mankato and still had no voice in the
government. He said if the new bridge
proved to be a means of uniting thu
two communities under one municipal
government it would be a consumma
ton devoutly to be wished. The mayor
said there were larger cities than Man
kato but he defied anybody to find ;
better city. An outburst of applause
followed this declaration.
Henry Robel, ST., of North Mankato
gave the report of the bridge com
!, mittee of the North Mankato Com
mercial club. He told of the six year
of that committees existence and tn
, hard struggling of that committee t
, create interest in the project. TIL
: report was in part as follows:
+ Thanks John Hohmann.
/ 1--WE especially wish to thank job
? Hohmann for his gallant and faithful
! service in assisting to pass a bill !
( the legislature, empowering the high
: way commission to appropriate none
4 to build this bridge, and for his valu
: able services before the highway com
+ mission in securing $4,000. Specif
4 credit is due to Mayor Robert LAM
5 for the rapid PROCESS he has made