PRESIDENT'S DAY.
October 12, 1898.
At an early hour before the gates of the exposition were opened,
thousands of visitors had made their way by every possible means of
conveyance to the exposition grounds. It was early seen that the admissions
department of the exposition would be put to the test to promptly pass
through the gates the immense throngs which would on this day attend. Street
cars, railway trains, carriages, and every possible means of conveyance were
taxed to their utmost to carry the crowds to the exposition grounds.
The 2nd Nebraska Regiment had been specially invited and were present
to assist the exposition guards in the preservation of order on the grounds.
This regiment was drawn up in two solid lines reaching from the entrance to
the Bluff Tract to the Grand Stand, forming a passage-way through the immense
crowds that filled the grounds. At 10:30 the distinguished guests in
carriages in the order of the evening before, arrived at the grounds and were
admitted and passed through the crowd between the lines of soldiers to the
grand stand on the plaza, where the exercises of the day were to be held. In
front of the grand stand, reaching westward to the viaduct, and on all sides
was gathered an audience such as will probably never again be seen within
this city. It has been estimated that this audience numbered 70,000 people.
The exercises of the day consisted of the following program:
Music . . . Innes Band.
Invocation . . . Rev. John McQuoid
Address . . . . President Gurdon W. Wattles
Address . . . . President William McKinley
Music . . . Innes Band
Address . . . . Post Master General
Charles Emory Smith
Music . . . Innes Band.
President Wattles spoke as follows:
"Our hearts are filled with gratitude and thanksgiving today because
of the welcome return of peace to our nation. We meet to celebrate the
victories of our arms and to rejoice that the clouds of war have passed and
that the sunbeams of peace again bathe our beloved land I voice the sentiment
of all the inhabitants of our country in expressions of welcome and heartfelt
greetings to our beloved President, our honored guest today. If I could
gather from the hearts of our people the love and adoration they feel for
him, and present it, like sweet flowers in tangible form, I might in a faint
degree offer a welcome worthy of the occasion. Words fail to express and
language cannot convey the joy and gratitude we feel that the President of
this great nation, accompanied by members of his cabinet, by representatives
of foreign countries, by great generals of the army and navy, and by many
others distinguished in the councils of the nations, have come to join with
us in this celebration.
At no more fitting place, than here in the center of our territory
surrounded by such magnificent evidences of the arts of peace, could this
celebration be held. No better illustration of the greatness and power of
our people can be found than the demonstration here made. During the
progress of our recent war we have been celebrating here the triumphs and
achievements of our people on the peaceful pursuits of the principal
industries of the nation.
Aided by generous legislation of Congress the departments of state and
the functions of our government have been illustrated in the beautiful
building which adorns the Court of Honor of this exposition. By the same
beneficent legislation a congress of the Indian tribes, which once inhabited
this region, has been assembled on these grounds. These representatives of a
fast-fading race, which for many years contested by war and massacre the
westward march of civilization, now dwell in peace and contentment and daily
celebrate their rites and victories, surrounded by the triumphs of
civilization.
The people of the North and the South have mingled here and have
pledged anew the patriotism and love which now binds with bonds of steel all
sections of their common country. With the inspiring music of "Dixie" and
"The Star-Spangled Banner" they have celebrated together under the stars and
stripes of the united nation each victory of her arms on land and sea.
With peace, prosperity, happiness and contentment throughout the land
we meet to rejoice and celebrate the triumphs of our arms in a war waged for
humanity. All honor to our soldiers and sailors, who, with bravery and valor
unknown to history, defeated with signal victories our foreign foe. All
praise to their gallant commanders, who led the way and planted the stars and
stripes on distant isles as a symbol of liberty and love, which will forever
guarantee the blessings of freedom of God. All Hail to the chief, who
inspired by God of pity, love and justice, proclaimed that cruelty and
oppression could no longer be tolerated and must forever be banished from the
isles along our shores. All Hail to the chief who sent to a suffering people
the aid of a mighty nation. All Hail to our President, our guest and our
ruler. Hail! Hail!
______________________
President McKinley spoke as follows:
Gentlemen of the Transmississippi Exposition and Fellow-Citizens: It
is with genuine pleasure that I meet once more the people of Omaha, whose
wealth of welcome is not altogether unfamiliar to me and whose warm hearts
have before touched and moved me. For this renewed manifestation of your
regard and for the cordial reception of today my heart responds with profound
gratitude and a deep appreciation which I cannot conceal, and which the
language of compliment is inadequate to convey. My greeting is not alone to
your city and the state of Nebraska but to the people of all the states of
the transmississippi group participating here, and I cannot withhold
congratulations on the evidences of their prosperity furnished by this great
exposition. If testimony were needed to establish the fact that their pluck
has not deserted them and that prosperity is again with them it is found
here. This picture dispels all doubt.
In an age of expositions they have added yet another magnificent
example. The historical celebrations at Philadelphia and Chicago, and the
splendid exhibits at New Orleans, Atlanta, and Nashville, are now a part of
the past, and yet in influence they still live, and their beneficent results
are closely interwoven with our national development. Similar rewards will
honor the authors and patrons of the Transmississippi and International
Exposition. Their contribution will mark another epoch in the nation's
material advancement.
One of the great laws of life is progress, and nowhere have the
principles of this law been so strikingly illustrated as in the United
States. A century and a decade of our national life have turned doubt into
conviction; changed experiment into demonstration; revolutionized old methods
and won new triumphs which have challenged the attention of the world. This
is true not only of the accumulation of material wealth and advance in
education, science, invention and manufactures, but above all in the
opportunities to the people for their own elevation which have been secured
by wise free government.
Hitherto, in peace and in war, with additions to our territory and
slight changes in our laws, we have steadily enforced the spirit of the
constitution secured to us by the noble self-sacrifice and far-seeing
sagacity of our ancestors. We have avoided the temptations of conquest in
the spirit of gain. With an increasing love for our institutions and an
abiding faith in their stability, we have made the triumphs of our system of
government in the progress and the prosperity of our people an inspiration to
the whole human race. Confronted at this moment by new and grave problems,
we must recognize that their solution will affect not ourselves alone but
others of the family of nations.
In this age of frequent interchange and mutual dependency, we cannot
shirk our international responsibilities if we would; they must be met with
courage and wisdom and we must follow duty even if desire opposes. No
deliberation can be too mature, or self-control too constant, in this solemn
hour of our history. We must avoid the temptation of undue aggression, and
aim to secure only such results as will promote our own and the general good.
It has been said by some one that the normal condition of nations is
war. That is not true of the United States. We never enter upon war until
every effort for peace without it has been exhausted. Ours has never been a
military government. Peace, with whose blessings we have been so singularly
favored, is the national desire, and the goal of every American aspiration.
On the 25th of April, for the first time for more than a generation,
the United States sounded the call to arms. The banners of war were
unfurled; the best and bravest from every section responded; a mighty army
was enrolled; the north and the south vied with each other in patriotic
devotion; science was invoked to furnish its most effective weapons;
factories were rushed to supply equipment; the youth and the veteran joined
in freely offering their services to their country; volunteers and regulars
and all the people rallied to the support of the republic. There was no
break in the line, no halt in the march, no fear in the heart. No resistance
to the patriotic impulse at home, no successful resistance to the patriotic
spirit of the troops fighting in distant waters or on a foreign shore!
What a wonderful experience it has been from the standpoint of
patriotism and achievement! The storm broke so suddenly that it was here
almost before we realized it. Our navy was too small, though forceful with
its modern equipment and most fortunate in its trained officers and sailors.
Our army had years ago been reduced to a peace footing. We had only 19,000
available troops when the war was declared, but the account which officers
and men gave of themselves on the battlefields has never been surpassed. The
manhood was there and everywhere. American patriotism was there and its
resources were limitless. The courageous and invincible spirit of the people
proved glorious, and those who a little more than a third of a third of a
century ago were divided and at war with each other were again united under
the holy standard of liberty. Patriotism banished party feeling; $50,000,000
for the national defense was appropriated without debate or division, as a
matter of course, and as only a mere indication of our mighty reserve power.
But if this is true of the beginning of the war, what shall we say of
it now, with hostilities suspended, and peace near at hand, as we fervently
hope? Matchless in its results! Unequaled in its completeness and the quick
succession with which victory follow victory! Attained earlier than it was
believed to be possible; so comprehensive in its sweep that every thoughtful
man feels the weight of responsibility which has been so suddenly thrust upon
us. And above all and beyond all, the valor of the American army and the
bravery of the American navy and the majesty of the American name stand forth
in unsullied glory, while the humanity of our purposes and the magnanimity of
our conduct have given to war, always horrible, touches of noble generosity,
Christian sympathy and charity, and examples of human grandeur which can
never be lost to mankind. Passion and bitterness formed no part of our
impelling motive, and it is gratifying to feel that humanity triumphed at
every step of the war's progress.
The heroes of Manila and Santiago and Porto Rico have made immortal
history. They are worthy successors and descendants of Washington, and
Greene; of Paul Jones, Decatur and Hull, and of Grant, Sherman, Sheridan and
Logan; of Farragut, Porter and Cushing, and of Lee, Jackson and Longstreet.
New names stand out on the honor roll of the nation's great men and
with them unnamed stand the heroes of the trenches and the forecastle,
invincible in battle and uncomplaining in death. The intelligent, loyal,
indomitable soldier and sailor and marine regular and volunteer, are entitled
to equal praise as having done their whole duty whether at home or under the
baptism of foreign fire.
Who will dim the splendor of their achievements? Who will withhold
from them their well-earned distinction! Who will intrude detraction at this
time to belittle the manly spirit of the American youth and impair the
usefulness of the American army? Who will embarrass the government by sowing
deeds of dissatisfaction among the brave men who stand ready to serve and
die, if need be, for their country! Who will darken the counsels of the
republic in this hour requiring the united wisdom of all!
Shall we deny to ourselves what the rest of the world so freely and so
justly accord to us? The men who endured in the short but decisive struggle
its hardships, its privations, whether in field or camp, on ship or in the
siege, and planned and achieved its victories, will never tolerate
impeachment, either direct or indirect, of those who won a peace whose great
gain to civilization is yet unknown and unwritten.
The faith of a Christian nation recognizes the hand of Almighty God in
the ordeal through which we have passed. Divine favor seemed manifest
everywhere. In fighting for humanity's sake we have been signally blessed.
We did not seek war. To avoid it if this could be done in justice and honor
to the rights of our neighbors and ourselves was our constant prayer. The
war was no more invited by us than were the questions which are laid at our
door by its results. Now, as then, we will do our duty. The problems will
not be solved in a day. patience will be required; patience combined with
sincerity of purpose and unshaken resolution to do right, seeking only the
highest good of the nation and recognizing no other obligation, pursuing no
other path but that of duty.
Right action follows right purpose. We may not at all times be able
to divine the future, the way may not always seem clear; but if our aims are
high and unselfish, somehow and in some way the right end will be reached.
The genius of the nation, its freedom, its wisdom, its humanity, its courage,
its justice, favored by Divine Providence, will make it equal to every task
and the master of every emergency."
____________________________
At the close of the speaking an informal reception was held and
congratulations were extended to the president by the exposition officials
and other prominent guests on the platform. A great cheer went up from the
immense audience but President McKinley, with his usual thoughtfulness for
others, suggested to President Wattles that the crowds were cheering for
General Miles and other distinguished officers who had not participated in
the program, and at his suggestion General Miles, the members of his cabinet,
and others, were called out and introduced to the enthusiastic throng, in
order that they, his associates, might share the honors that he said were due
to them as much as to himself.
His delicate thoughtfulness for the pleasure of others was again
illustrated when he handed to President Wattles the original manuscript from
which he had read his address, as a souvenir of the occasion.
After the general hand-shaking and cheering at the grand stand had
been concluded, the ladies were escorted to the carriages and departed at
once for the Omaha Club, where a formal luncheon had been prepared in
anticipation of the presence of Mrs. McKinley. Unfortunately she had been
detained at their home at Canton, Omaha, but the wives of members of his
cabinet and of other officials made up the party who, with the ladies of the
Bureau of Entertainment, were served at the Club. This luncheon was one of
unusual elegance. The rooms of the Club were filled with roses. The tables
in the dining-room were arranged in the form of a hollow square. The
luncheon card was printed on white satin ribbon attached to heavy cardboard,
and ornamented with handpainted sketches. The menu was as follows:
Grape Fruit
Consomme
Frogs' Legs a la Paulette
Breast of Chicken
Current Jelly
Waldorf Salad
Neapolitan Ice Cream
Assorted Cake
Small Coffee
Mrs. Clement Chase, chairman of the bureau of entertainment, presided.
At her right sat the wife of the Chinese Minister. At her left the wife of
the Corean Minister. Next in order at her right sat Mrs. H. T. Clark and
Mrs. Lyman Gage. Next to the wife of the Corean Minister sat Mrs. Wattles
and Mrs. Charles Emory Smith. Seated at the other tables were the following
ladies:
Mrs. Kirkendall, Miss Wilson, Mrs. Webster, Mrs. Miles, Mrs. Summers,
Mrs. Humphrey, Mrs. Manderson, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Babcock,
Miss Miles, Mrs. Cowin, Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Lindsey, Mrs. Richards, Mrs.
Mandelken, Mrs. A. Rosewater, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Saunders, Mrs. Wallace, Mrs.
Dandy, Mrs. Humphrey, Mrs. Kountze, Miss Greeley, Mrs. W. A. Mercer, Mrs. E.
Rosewater, Mrs. Bills, Mrs. Nash, Mrs. Orr, Mrs. Montgomery,
Mrs. Dickinson, Mrs. Redick, Mrs. W. V. Allen, Mrs. Hitchcock, Mrs.
Greeley, Mrs. Lyman, Mrs. Heistand, Mrs. Joslyn, Mrs. Harris, Mrs. Bruce,
Mrs. Holcomb, Mrs. McCord, Mrs. Trumbull, Mrs. Peck, Mrs. Ward, Mrs. Bidwell,
Mrs. Cox, Mrs. Creighton, Mrs. Reed, Mrs. Black, Mrs. Yates, Miss Carr, Mrs.
Dunn, Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Lininger, Miss Pierce, Mrs. Metcalf, Mrs. McKelway,
Mrs. Brady, Mrs. Newman, Mrs. Wakefield, Mrs. Baldwin, Mrs. Harrison, Mrs.
Shiverick, Mrs. W. F. Allen, Mrs. Colpetzer, Mrs. Offutt, Mrs. Reynolds, Mrs.
Mackay, Mrs. Carter, Mrs. George Mercer, Mrs. Remington, Mrs. Wharton, Mrs.
Connell, Mrs. Broatch, Mrs. Cox,
Mrs. Charlton, Mrs. Bierbower, Mrs. Wilhelm, Mrs. Brandeis, Mrs. Poppleton,
Mrs. Dietz, Mrs. Baum, Mrs. Squires, Mrs. Rogers.
The gentlemen of the party retired to the Markel Cafe, where a formal
luncheon was served to them. At this luncheon no toasts were given except
that the health of the president was pledged by all present.
The program of the day had been arranged with the special plan of
allowing as many of those on the grounds as possible the privilege of seeing
the president at short range. The soldiers of the 2nd Regiment were formed
in two lines around the grand court, through the center aisle of each of the
main buildings, and after the luncheon was over the President, escorted by
President Wattles and followed by the other officials in their order, marched
between these lines of soldiers completely around the grand court, stopping
at the government building in which it had been planned to hold a public
reception. The government commission had admitted several hundred prominent
officials and citizens by card, and after these had been presented to the
president soon became evident that it would be impracticable to admit the
general public to this reception, as the president was already weary with
hand-shaking. This feature of the program was therefore abandoned and the
party proceeded on their way to the rooms of the bureau of entertainment in
the mines and mining building where a short rest was enjoyed while they
awaited the arrival of the ladies from the Club.
Thousands of women delegates to the Transmississippi Congress of the
Federation of Women's Clubs had congregated and by special appointment
President McKinley and President Wattles visited for a few moments this
gathering of the representative women of the west. President McKinley was
introduced and spoke a few words of encouragement to this audience.
Carriages were then taken and the guests were conveyed through the Midway and
over the North Viaduct to the Indian Encampment. Here the Great Father was
welcomed by the Indian Tribe with an enthusiasm and in a manner never to be
forgotten. A grand parade of the many tribes bedecked in costumes peculiar
to their customs was lead past the reviewing stand by Captain Mercer, who had
charge of the Indian Congress.
Next a sham battle of Indian braves was enacted, which was made so
realistic that it almost seemed to be a re-enactment of one of the bloody
battles which had taken place in earlier times. This display of savage life
was much enjoyed by the President and all who witnessed it, and at its
conclusion many of the Indians gathered near the exit of the reviewing stand
to see and if might be, speak with the Great Father, who they regarded with
awe, as he came among them. The President insisted on discharging the
carriages and walking back to the Cafe where dinner was to be served. The
way led past the live stock exhibits, and many of the finest animals of this
exhibit were displayed with great pride by their owners to the President as
he passed. The gay throngs on the Midway cheered him, the old soldiers
called his name in endearing terms, and the journey was one of interest and
pleasure, with no single word of discourtesy to mar a day filled with many
pleasant events.
The dinner at the Cafe had been planned with great care and to it had
been invited all of the officers of the exposition, the executive commission,
and the full board of directors. Also members of the government exposition
commission, members of the state commissions and numerous prominent citizens.
The long tables entirely filled the north cafe, and were beautifully
decorated with flowers. The menu was one of special elegance in design. A
reproduction of the Government Building appeared on the first page. On the
second page was lithographed
__________________________
PEACE JUBILEE DINNER
in honor of
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
The Trans-Mississippi
and International Exposition,
Omaha.
Wednesday, October twelfth, 1898.
The menu proper was lithographed over a scene on the Exposition
grounds, which formed the background, and was as follows:
Blue Points.
Celery.
Clear Green Turtle.
Olives. Radishes.
Planked Whitefish, with fine Herbs.
Dressed Cucumbers.
Braised Lamb Chops.
French Peas. Sauterne
Presidential Punch.
Roast Canvasback Duck, with cresses.
Hominy. Champagne.
Lettuce Salad.
Ice Cream in Forms.
Cakes. Fruits.
Brie Cheese. Crackers.
Coffee.
President Wattles sat at the head of the table with President McKinley
at his right. The members of the president's cabinet and foreign ministers
were seated on either side according to rank. The dinner was faultlessly
served. No formal toasts had been planned for this dinner but as the evening
was too disagreeable to carry out the original plan of a boat-ride on the
lagoon, it was suggested that an hour be spent listening to impromptu
speeches. Toasts were assigned by President Wattles at President McKinley's
suggestion, as follows:
"Our Country", St. Clair McKelway, Editor of the Brooklyn Eagle.
"From War to Peace", General Nelson A. Miles. "Humanity", Senator John M.
Thurston. "The Exposition", General Charles F. Manderson. "The New West",
Governor Alva Adams of Colorado.
After the responses, which were exceptionally interesting, the guests
repaired to their carriages and were driven around the court of honor and to
the grounds set aside for fireworks on the north tract. A magnificent
display had been specially prepared for this occasion, and it was greatly
enjoyed by the tens of thousands who witnessed it. The carriages then
conveyed the distinguished guests to the Omaha Club and thus closed
President's Day at the Exposition.
The President had planned to leave the city for St. Louis, early the
next morning, and without ceremony he was escorted to the depot. A large
number had gathered there to see him once more and say "Goodby". Before
leaving the Club he had written General Manderson a note as follows:
"Dear General Manderson:
Before I go, permit me to thank you. My visit to Omaha has been
of uncommon interest and pleasure.
Goodbye,
Oct. 13, 1898. William McKinley."
The President expressed to President Wattles his appreciation of the
splendid manner in which he had been entertained. He said:
"I want to congratulate Omaha on the splendid management of every
detail of my reception, which was carried out most satisfactorily and in the
best way possible."
As the train was about to start, he responded to the cheers of the
crowds gathered about his car as follows:
"I thank you more than words can tell for your many kindnesses to me
during my visit to your city and your magnificent exposition. My visit to
Omaha and to the Transmississippi is one that I shall long remember with the
kindliest recollections. What has pleased me more than anything else on my
entire trip is to witness the exhibitions of patriotism throughout the
country. I am glad to see that in Nebraska, as through the whole land, the
people ever love good government and dearly/love the old flag. It is very
hard for me to say goodby to Omaha; you have all made my trip so delightful.
But I must say goodby now, as the train is about to leave. Again I thank
you."