Chapter XI: Part 11

During the stay of the President and his family at Cresson Springs in September, 1890, they made an excursion through the celebrated Clearfield coal regions, under the guidance of Frank L. Sheppard, General Superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Geo. W. Boyd, Ass't Gen'l Passenger Agent, Gen. D. H. Hastings, and S. S. Blair. The party comprised the President and Mrs. Harrison, Mr. and Mrs. J. R. McKee, Mrs. Dimmick, and Miss Alice Sanger, accompanied by Hon. John Patton, of Curwensville, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Dill, of Clearfield, and F. N. Barksdale.

The first point visited was Osceola, where 5,000 people tendered the President a rousing reception. The Committee of Reception were Geo. M. Brisbin, D. R. Good, R. J. Walker, T. C. Heims, and J. R. Paisley. The veterans of McLarren Post, G. A. R., acted as an escort through the town from one depot to the other. The President briefly thanked the veterans and citizens for extending him such a cordial reception.

HOUTZDALE, PENNSYLVANIA, SEPTEMBER 20.

Arrived at Houtzdale, about noon Saturday, the President and his party were welcomed by an assemblage numbering fully 10,000. They were met at Osceola by an escort committee consisting of G. W. Dickey, Abe Feldman, Julius Viebahn, Thos. Rolands, B. W. Hess, W. E. Meek, W. C. Davis, W. B. Hamilton, J. V. Henderson, J. B. McGrath, James White, D. W. Smith, John Charlton, W. H. Patterson, and Thomas Byers.

All work in the mines and stores was suspended for the day, and the visit of the Chief Magistrate was celebrated with a grand parade and demonstration directed by Chief Burgess John Argyle, aided by the G. A. R. veterans. The President was received by the following committee of prominent citizens: W. Irvin Shaw, Esq., of the Clearfield County Bar; W. C. Langsford, Alex. Monteith, John F. Farrell, Geo. P. Jones, Joseph Delehunt, Harry Roach, Ad. Hanson, S. T. Henderson, R. R. Fleming, and E. J. Duffy. The veterans of Wm. H. Kinkead Post acted as a guard of honor to the President during the parade.

A notable incident of the demonstration was the reception by the children of the parochial school. After the parade the formal reception of the distinguished visitors took place in the presence of the great assemblage. John F. Farrell presided, and introduced Chairman W. I. Shaw, who delivered an eloquent address of welcome on behalf of the citizens.

President Harrison responded as follows:

_My Fellow-citizens_--I beg to assure you that I very highly
appreciate your cordial welcome. I did not need the assurance of
him who has spoken in your name that we are welcome in this home of
profit and industry. As I have passed along the streets, and as I
now look into your eyes, I have read welcome in every face. I do not
regard this greeting as personal. How can it be, since you look into
my face as I into yours for the first time? I assume that in this
demonstration you are evidencing your loyalty and fidelity to the
Government of which we are all citizens.

You welcome me as one who, for the time being by your choice, is
charged with the execution of the law. It is a great thing to be a
citizen of this country, and the privilege has its corresponding
obligations. This Government can never be wrecked by the treason or
fault of those who for the time are placed in public position so
long as the people are true to the principles of the Government and
to the flag. [Applause.] Set your love upon the flag and that which
it represents. Be ready, if occasion should call, to defend it, as
my brave comrades did in the time of its greatest peril. Honor it
in peace, cherish your loyal institutions, civil and educational;
maintain social order in your community, let every one have respect
for the rights and privileges of others while asserting his own.

These are the springs of our national and social life. If these
springs are kept pure and strong the great river they form will ever
flow on in purity and majesty. If local interests are carefully
preserved the general good is secured, and all our people, each in his
own place--the place where he labors, the place where he lives, the
roof under which his family is sheltered--will continue to enjoy the
benison of liberty in the fear of God.

To every one of you, those who come from the village shops, those
who come from the mines and every vocation of life to join in this
welcome, let me declare that I have no other purpose as President of
the United States than to so administer my office as to promote the
general good of all our people. [Great applause.]

PHILIPSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, SEPTEMBER 20.

Other points visited were Clearfield, where the veterans of Lamar Post and Colonel Barrett at the head of a committee received the distinguished excursionists. At Curwensville the party became the guests of A. E. Patton, and the President shook hands with 1,500 residents.

Philipsburg was reached at 3 P.M. The entire population of the town welcomed the President. The Reception Committee comprised Major H. C. Warfel, Hon. Chester Munson, J. B. Childs, O. P. Jones, S. S. Crissman, W. E. Irwin, Dr. T. B. Potter, Capt. J. H. Boring, M. G. Lewis, Henry Lehman, H. K. Grant, Al. Jones, W. T. Bair, Geo. W. Wythes, A. B. Herd, John Nuttall, and A. J. Graham. The President and Mrs. Harrison were driven through the city, which was elaborately decorated.

Returning to the station Mayor Warfel introduced the President, who said:

_Citizens of Philipsburg_--I thank you for this very cordial
expression of your esteem. You must excuse my not addressing you at
any length because of the very limited time at our disposal. I again
thank you.

WESTERN TOUR, OCTOBER, 1890.

On the morning of October 6, 1890, President Harrison left Washington to attend the reunion of the First Brigade, Twentieth Army Corps, at Galesburg, Ill., and to visit points in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana. He was accompanied by Secretary Tracy, Gen. Charles H. Grosvenor, Private Secretary Halford, Marshal Daniel M. Ransdell, Capt. Wm. M. Meredith, Gen. T. J. Morgan, and E. F. Tibbott, stenographer.

CLIFTON FORGE, VIRGINIA, OCTOBER 6.

The trip through Virginia was uneventful. At Staunton the President was serenaded, and among those who met him were ex-Congressman Desendorf, of Virginia, and David Stewart, of Indianapolis. Clifton Forge was reached at twilight, and nearly 1,000 residents heartily cheered the President and called for a speech. In response he said:

_My Friends_--I hope you will excuse me from making a speech. I have
travelled for the first time over the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad,
and I have noticed with great interest and pleasure the development
which is being made along the road of the mineral resources of the
State of Virginia. What I have seen moves me to offer my sincere
congratulations on what you have already accomplished, and what is
surely in store for you if you but make use of your resources and
opportunities. [Cheers.]

LAWRENCEBURG, INDIANA, OCTOBER 7.

At Cincinnati, Tuesday morning, the party was joined by Archibald Eaton, the President's nephew; Col. W. B. Shattuc, Col. John C. New, and a committee of escort from Lawrenceburg, comprising Gen. Thomas J. Lucas, Archibald Shaw, John O. Cravens, John K. Thompson, and Valentine J. Koehler. Near North Bend, Ohio, the old Harrison homestead was reached, and the train came to a stop just abreast the house in which Benjamin Harrison was born, and but a few yards from the white shaft that marks the tomb of his illustrious ancestor, President William Henry Harrison. The occasion was not for words, and as the President passed to the rear platform he was unaccompanied by the rest of the party, who left him to the memories that the scenes of his childhood and youth called forth.

Arrived at Lawrenceburg the President was visibly affected at meeting many old friends and neighbors of years ago. Among the leading citizens who welcomed him were: John Isherwood, Z. Heustes, Peter Braun, Dr. J. D. Gatch, Frank R. Dorman, D. W. C. Fitch, J. H. Burkham, W. H. Rucker, Wm. Probasco, Louis Adler, H. G. Kidd, John S. Dorman, John B. Garnier, A. D. Cook, Chas. Decker, John F. Cook, Dr. T. C. Craig, C. J. B. Ragin, J. E. Larimer, D. E. Sparks, and Capt. John Shaw; also, M. C. Garber, of Madison, Robert Cain, of Brookville, and Alfred Shaw, of Vevay, Ind.

The President addressed the large assembly in a voice heavy with emotion. He said:

_My Friends_--I want to thank you very cordially for this greeting.
All the scenes about here are very familiar to me. This town of
Lawrenceburg is the first village of my childish recollections,
and as I approached it this morning, past the earliest home of my
recollections, the home in which my childhood and early manhood were
spent, memories crowded in upon me that were very full of interest,
very full of pleasure, and yet full of sadness. They bring back to me
those who once made the old home very dear, the most precious spot
on earth. I have passed with bowed head the place where they rest.
We are here in our generation, with the work of those who have gone
before upon us. Let us see, each of us, that in the family, in the
neighborhood, and in the State, we do at least with equal courage,
and grace, and kindness, the work which was so bravely, kindly, and
graciously done by those who filled our places fifty years ago. Now,
for I must hurry on, to these old friends, and to these new friends
who have come in since Lawrenceburg was familiar to me, I extend again
my hearty thanks for this welcome, and beg, in parting, to introduce
the only member of my Cabinet who accompanies me, General Tracy,
Secretary of the Navy.

NORTH VERNON, INDIANA, OCTOBER 7.

At North Vernon, Jennings County, many old acquaintances greeted the President, among them J. C. Cope, John Fable, P. C. McGannon, and others. Acknowledging the repeated cheers of the assembly, the President said:

_My Friends_--I am very glad to see you, and very much obliged to
you for your pleasurable greeting. It is always a pleasure to see my
old Indiana friends. We have had this morning a delightful ride across
the southern part of the State, one that has given me a great deal of
refreshment and pleasure. [Cheers.] Let me again assure you that I am
very much obliged to you for this evidence of your friendship. I hope
you will excuse me from further speech on this occasion. It gives me
pleasure now, my fellow-citizens, to introduce to you General Tracy,
of New York, the Secretary of the Navy, who accompanies me on this
trip. [Cheers.]

SEYMOUR, INDIANA, OCTOBER 7.

At Seymour, Jackson County, 2,000 citizens gave evidence of General Harrison's popularity in that town. Among the prominent residents who welcomed him were Hon. W. K. Marshall, Louis Schneck, Travis Carter, Ph. Wilhelm, W. F. Peters, J. B. Morrison, R. F. White, S. E. Carter, John A. Ross, John A. Weaver, L. M. Mains, John A. Goodale, Theo. B. Ridlen, and V. H. Monroe.

After he had introduced Secretary Tracy, the President said:

_My Friends_--I feel that I ought to thank you for your friendly
greeting this beautiful morning. It is a pleasure indeed to me to
greet so many of you. Again I thank you for this welcome. A request
has just been handed me that I speak a few minutes to the school
children here assembled. I scarcely know what to say to them, except
that I have a great interest in them, and the country has a great
interest in them. Those who, like myself, have passed the meridian
of life realize more than younger men that the places we now hold
and the responsibilities we now carry in society and in all social
and business relations must devolve upon those who are now in the
school. Our State has magnificently provided for their education, so
that none of them need be ignorant, and I am sure that in these happy
homes the fathers and mothers are not neglecting their duties, but are
instilling into these young minds morality and respect for the law
which must crown intelligence in order to make them.

SHOALS, INDIANA, OCTOBER 7.

The citizens of Shoals, the county seat of Martin County, gave the President a most cordial reception. Prominent among those friends who welcomed him were R. E. Hunt, J. A. Chenoweth, J. P. Albaugh, J. B. Freeman, J. T. Rogers, M. Shirey, S. P. Yeune, H. Q. Houghton, James Mahany, C. H. Mohr, S. N. Gwin, F. J. Masten, C. S. Dobbins, and N. H. Matsinger.

Responding to their cheers and calls the President said:

_My Fellow-citizens_--I am very glad to see you. My trip this
morning is more like a holiday than I have had for a long time. I am
glad to see the cordiality of your welcome. It makes me feel that I am
still held somewhat in the esteem of the people whose friendship I so
very much covet and desire to retain. [Cheers.]

SULLIVAN, INDIANA, OCTOBER 7.

It was an agreeable surprise to the President to find several thousand people awaiting an opportunity to greet him at the town of Sullivan. Of prominent townsmen there were present J. H. Clugage, G. W. Buff, Rob't H. Crowder, John T. Hays, C. P. Lacey, C. F. Briggs, O. H. Crowder, S. Goodman, R. B. Mason, W. A. Bell, Joseph Hayden, John H. Dickerson, and R. F. Knotts.

In answer to repeated calls for a speech the President said:

_My Friends_--Some of you have requested that I would give you a
little talk. The range of things that I can say on an occasion like
this is very limited, but one thing, though it seems to involve
repetition, I can say to you very heartily and very sincerely: I am
very glad to again look into the faces of my Indiana friends. I trust
I have friends that are not in Indiana, but my earliest and my best
are here. Again I thank you. [Cheers.]

TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA, OCTOBER 7.

The principal demonstration of the day was at Terre Haute, where fully 10,000 people greeted the President. The following Reception Committee escorted the party from Vincennes: Hon. W. R. McKeen, H. Hulman, Sr., Judge C. F. McNutt, George W. Faris, Samuel Huston, A. Herz, W. C. Isbell, R. A. Campbell, Dr. Rob't Van Valzah, Jacob D. Early, George E. Pugh, A. G. Austin, F. E. Benjamin, and B. G. Hudnut. _En route_ to the speaker's stand every bell and steam whistle in the city added its tribute to the enthusiasm of the occasion. This unique Hoosier welcome was arranged by D. C. Greiner. Other leading citizens participating prominently in the reception were: D. W. Minshall, N. Filbeck, Judge B. E. Rhoades, S. C. Beach, J. S. Tally, Senator Bischawsky, G. W. Bement, Jay Cummings, Geo. M. Allen, and P. S. Westfall.

Mayor Frank C. Danaldson made the welcoming address, and concluded by introducing President Harrison, who said:

_Mr. Mayor, Fellow-citizens of Indiana, Ladies and Gentlemen_--I
very heartily appreciate this large gathering assembled to greet me.
I very heartily appreciate the welcome which your kind and animated
faces, as well as the spoken words of the chief officer of your city,
have extended to me. I have known this pretty city for more than
thirty years, and have watched its progress and growth. It has always
been the home of some of my most cherished personal friends, and I am
glad to know that your city is in an increasing degree prosperous,
and your people contented and happy. I am glad to know that the local
industries which have been established in your midst are to-day busy
in producing their varied products, and that these find a ready market
at remunerative prices. I was told as we approached your city that
there was not an idle wheel in Terre Haute. It is very pleasant to
know that this prosperity is so generally shared by all our people.
Hopefulness, and cheer, and courage tend to bring and maintain good
times.

We differ widely in our views of public politics, but I trust every
one of us is devoted to the flag which represents the unity and
power of our country and to the best interests of the people, as we
are given to see and understand those interests. [Applause.] We are
in the enjoyment of the most perfect system of government that has
ever been devised for the use of men. We are under fewer restraints;
the individual faculties and liberties have wider range here than in
any other land. Here a sky of hope is arched over the head of every
ambitious, industrious, and aspiring young man. There are no social
conditions; there are no unneeded legal restrictions. Let us continue
to cherish these institutions and to maintain them in their best
development. Let us see that as far as our influence can bring it to
pass they are conducted for the general good. [Applause.]

It gives me pleasure to bring into your city to-day one who is the
successor as the head of the Navy Department of that distinguished
citizen of Indiana who is especially revered and loved by all the
people of Terre Haute, but is also embraced in the wider love of all
the citizens of Indiana--Col. Richard W. Thompson. Let me present to
you Gen. Benjamin F. Tracy, of New York, the Secretary of the Navy.
[Cheers.]

DANVILLE, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 7.

Danville was reached at 6 P.M. The roar of cannon sounded a hearty welcome to the Prairie State. Fully 10,000 people were assembled around the pavilion erected near the station. Among the prominent residents who received the President on the part of the citizens were: Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, Mayor W. R. Lawrence, Justice J. W. Wilkin, of the Supreme Court of Illinois, Col. Samuel Stansbury, H. P. Blackburn, W. R. Jewell, M. J. Barger, W. C. Tuttle, Henry Brand, and Capt. J. G. Hull.

Congressman Cannon introduced the President, who said:

_My Fellow-citizens_--I regret that the time of our arrival and the
brief time we can give you should make it so inconvenient for you
who have assembled here to greet us. Yet, though the darkness shuts
out your faces, I cannot omit to acknowledge with the most heartfelt
gratitude the enthusiastic greeting of this large assembly of my
fellow-citizens. It is quite worth while, I think, for those who are
charged with great public affairs now and then to turn aside from
the routine of official duties to look into the faces of the people.
[Applause.] It is well enough that all public officers should be
reminded that under our republican institutions the repository of
all power, the originator of all policy, is the people of the United
States. [Great applause.] I have had the pleasure of visiting this
rich and prosperous section of your great State before, and am glad
to notice that, if the last year has not yielded an average return to
your farms, already the promise of the coming year is seen in your
well-tilled fields. Let me thank you again and bid you good-night.
[Great applause.]

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 7.

At Urbana, Ill., Secretary Tracy addressed several thousand residents. At Champaign the citizens were attended by the students of the University of Illinois, who received the President with their college cheer. Among the leading citizens who participated in welcoming the Chief Executive were Dr. L. S. Wilcox, John W. Spalding, F. K. Robinson, P. W. Woody, H. H. Harris, J. L. Ray, T. J. Smith, H. Swannell, Ozias Riley, A. P. Cunningham, J. B. Harris, Edward Bailey, Solon Philbrick, C. J. Sabin, W. S. Maxwell, L. W. Faulkner, J. W. Mulliken, Judge C. B. Smith, W. P. Lockwood, W. A. Heath, Geo. F. Beardsley, Hon. Abel Harwood, W. H. Munhall, A. W. Spalding, and C. M. Sherfey.

President Harrison said:

_My Good Friends_--It is very evident that there is a large
representation here of the Greek societies. [Cheers.] I thank you
for this greeting. We are on our way to Galesburg to unite with
my old comrades in arms of the First Brigade, Third Division,
Twentieth Army Corps, in a reunion. I had not expected here, or at
any other intermediate point on the journey, to make addresses, but
I cannot fail to thank these young gentlemen from the University of
Illinois for the interest their presence gives to this meeting. Your
professors, no doubt, give you all needed admonition and advice,
and you will, I am sure, thank me for not adding to your burdens.
Good-night. [Cheers.]

PEORIA, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 8.

The third day of the President's journey found him in Peoria, where he was warmly welcomed by Mayor Charles C. Clarke at the head of the following committee of prominent citizens: Alexander G. Tyng, Jr., President Board of Trade; John D. Soules, President Travelling Men's Association; editor Eugene Baldwin, and Hon. Julius S. Starr. Miss Elsie Leslie Lyde, the child actress, on behalf of the citizens and the Grand Army, presented the President with a beautiful bouquet, which the Chief Magistrate acknowledged by kissing the little orator in the presence of the great assemblage.

Mayor Clarke introduced the President, who spoke as follows:

_My Fellow-citizens_--It is not possible that I should introduce
this morning any serious theme. I have greatly enjoyed this trip
through my own State and yours, sisters in loyalty and sacrifice for
the Union, sisters also in prosperity and honor. I find myself simply
saying thank you, but with an increasing sense of the kindness of the
people. If anything could add to the solemn sense of responsibility
which my official oath places upon me, it would be these evidences
of friendliness and confidence. The great mass of the people of this
country are loyal, loving, dutiful citizens, ready to support every
faithful officer in the discharge of his duties and to applaud every
honest effort for their good. It is a source of great strength to know
this, and this morning, not less from this bright sunshine and this
crisp Illinois air than from these kindly faces, I draw an inspiration
to do what I can, the very best I can, to promote the good of the
people of the United States. I go to-day to meet with some comrades
of your State who stood with me in the army of the great Union for
the defence of the flag. I beg now to thank these comrades of Peoria
and this company of National Guards and all these friends, and you,
Mr. Mayor and gentlemen of the Reception Committee, for this kindly
greeting, and to say that I have great satisfaction in knowing the
people of this community are very prosperous. May that prosperity
increase until every citizen, even the humblest, shares it. May peace,
social order, and the blessing of God abide in every house is my
parting wish for you. [Cheers.]

GALESBURG, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 8.

_The Public Reception._

During the trip from Peoria the President and Secretary Tracy rode a goodly portion of the distance on the locomotive with Engineer Frank Hilton, a veteran who served in the President's old command. Galesburg, the principal objective point of the journey, was reached at noon on October 8, where 10,000 patriotic citizens greeted their arrival. Mayor Loren Stevens, at the head of the following committee, received and welcomed the President: Forrest F. Cooke, President of the Day, Judge A. A. Smith, Hon. H. M. Sisson, Hon. O. F. Price, Maj. H. H. Clay, Z. Beatty, Henry Emerich, James M. Ayres, Francis A. Free, Gersh Martin, F. C. Rice, C. D. Hendryx, Gen. F. C. Smith, John Bassett, R. W. Sweeney, Sam'l D. Harsh, Colonel Phelps, Hon. Philip S. Post, Rev. John Hood, Rev. G. J. Luckey, H. A. Drake, Matthias O'Brien, K. Johnson, C. P. Curtis, H. C. Miles, Capt. E. O. Atchinson, and Mr. Weeks. Fully 2,000 veterans participated in the parade; also the local militia, commanded by Captain Elder and Lieutenants Ridgley and Tompkins; Company D, Fifth Regiment, from Quincy, Capt. F. B. Nichols, Lieutenants Treet and Whipple; Company H, Sixth Regiment, Monmouth, Capt. D. E. Clarke, Lieutenants Shields and Turnbull; Company I, Sixth Regiment, Morrison, Capt. W. F. Colebaugh, Lieutenants Griffin and Baker.

Arriving at the Court-House Park, Mayor Stevens delivered the address of welcome. President Harrison responded as follows:

_Mr. Mayor and Fellow-citizens_--The magnitude of this vast
assemblage to-day fills me with surprise and with consternation as I
am called to make this speech to you. I came here to meet with the
survivors of my old brigade. I came here with the expectation that the
day would chiefly be spent in their companionship and in the exchange
of those cordial greetings which express the fondness and love which
we bear to each other; but to my surprise I have found that here
to-day the First Brigade, for the first time in its history, has been
captured. One or two of them I have been able to take by the hand, a
few more of them I have seen as they marched by the reviewing stand,
but they seemed to have been swallowed up in this vast concourse of
their associate comrades and their fellow-citizens of Illinois. I hope
there may yet be a time during the day when I shall be able to take
each by the hand, and to assure them that in the years of separation
since muster-out day I have borne them all sacredly in my affectionate
remembrance. They were a body of representative soldiers, coming from
these great central States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and as the
borders of those States touch in friendly exchange, so the elbows of
these great heroes and patriots touched in the great struggle for the
Union. Who shall say who was chiefest? Who shall assign honors where
all were brave? The distinction that Illinois may claim in connection
with this organization is that, given equal courage, fidelity, and
loyalty to every man, Illinois furnished three-fifths of the brigade.
But possibly I should withhold here those suggestions which come to
me, and which will be more appropriate when I meet them in a separate
organization.

I have been greatly impressed with this assemblage to-day in this
beautiful city, in this rich and prosperous State. The thought had
occurred to me, and the more I thought of it the more sure I was
of the conclusion, that nowhere on the face of the earth except in
the United States of America, under no flag that kisses any breeze,
could such an assemblage as this have been gathered. Who are these?
Look into these faces; see the evidences of contentment, thrift,
prosperity, and intelligence that we read in all these faces. They
have come by general summons from all these homes, of village,
city, and farm, and here they are to-day the strength and rock of
our security as a Nation; the people who furnished an invincible
army when its flag was in danger; the people upon whose enlightened
consciences and God-fearing hearts this country may rest with
unguarded hope. Where is the ultimate distribution of governmental
powers? How can all the efforts of President, cabinet and judges,
and armies, even, serve to maintain this country, to continue it in
its great career of prosperity, if there were lacking this great
law-abiding, liberty-loving people by whom they are chosen to these
important offices? It is the great thought of our country that men
shall be governed as little as possible, but full liberty shall be
given to individual effort, and that the restraints of law shall be
reserved for the turbulent and disorderly. What is it that makes our
communities peaceful? What is it that makes these farm-houses safe?
It is not the policemen. It is not the soldiers. It is this great and
all-pervading American sentiment that exalts the law, that stands with
threatening warning to the law-breaker, and, above all, that pervading
thought that gives to every man what is his and claims only what is
our own. The war was only fought that the law might not lose its
sanction and its sanctity. If we had suffered that loss, dismemberment
would have been a lesser one. But we taught those who resisted law and
taught the world that the great sentiment of loyalty to our written
laws was so strong in this country that no associations, combinations,
or conspiracies could overturn it. Our Government will not fail to go
on in this increased career of development, in population, in wealth,
in intelligence, in morality, so long as we hold up everywhere in the
local communities and in the Nation this great thought that every man
shall keep the law which secures him in his own rights, and shall not
trample upon the rights of another. Let us divide upon tariff and
finance, but let there never be a division among the American people
upon this question, that nowhere shall the law be overturned in the
interests of anybody. If it fails of beneficent purpose, which should
be the object of all law, then let us modify it, but while it is a
law let us insist that it shall be obeyed. When we turn from that
and allow any other standard of living to be set up, where is your
security, where is mine, when some one else makes convenience more
sacred, more powerful than the law of the land?

I believe to-day that the great rock of our security is this deeply
imbedded thought in the American heart that does not, as in many of
our Spanish-American countries, give its devotion to the man, but to
the law, the Constitution, and to the flag. So that in that hour of
gloom, when that richest contribution of all gems that Illinois has
ever set in our Nation's diadem, Abraham Lincoln, and in that hour
of the consummation of his work, dies by the hand of the assassin,
Garfield, who was to meet a like fate, might say to the trembling and
dismayed people: "Lincoln is dead, but the Government at Washington
still lives."

My fellow-citizens, to all those who, through your Mayor, have
extended me their greeting, to all who are here assembled, I return
my most sincere thanks. I do not look upon such assemblages without
profound emotion. They touch me, and I believe they teach me, and
I am sure that the lessons are wholesome lessons. We have had here
to-day this procession of veterans, aged and feeble many of them.
That is retrospective. That is part of the great story of the past,
written in glorious letters on the firmament that is spread above
the world. And in these sweet children who have followed we read the
future. How sweet it was to see them bearing in their infant hands
these same banners that those veterans carried amid the shot and
battle and dying of men! I had occasion at the centennial celebration
of the inauguration of Washington in New York, being impressed by the
great display of national colors, to make a suggestion that the flag
should be taken into the schoolhouses, and I am glad to know that in
that State there is daily a little drill of the children that pays
honor to the flag. But, my friends, the Constitution provides that
I shall annually give information to Congress of the state of the
Union and make such recommendations as I may think wise, and it has
generally been understood, I think, that this affirmative provision
contains a negative and implies that the President is to give no one
except Congress any information as to the state of the Union, and
that he shall especially make no suggestions that can be in any shape
misconstrued.

I confess that it would give me great pleasure, if the occasion were
proper, to give you some information as to the state of the Union as I
see it, and to make some suggestions as to what I think would be wise
as affecting the state of the Union. But I would not on an occasion
like this, when I am greeted here by friends, fellow-citizens of all
shades of thought in politics and in the Church, say a word that could
mar the harmony of this great occasion. I trust we are all met here
together to-day as loyal-loving American citizens, and that over all
our divisions and differences there is this great arch of love and
loyalty binding us together.

And now you will excuse me from further speech when I have said
again that I am profoundly grateful to the people of Galesburg and
this vicinity, and to these, my comrades in arms, who have so warmly
opened their arms to welcome me to-day. [Cheers.]

_Reunion First Brigade, Third Division, Twentieth Army Corps._

In the afternoon General Harrison attended the reunion of the First Brigade Association, of which he is President. This brigade was the General's command in the late war, and comprised the Seventieth Indiana Regiment, Seventy-ninth Ohio, One Hundred and Second, One Hundred and Fifth, and One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Illinois. Many veterans were present from these regiments. Among the prominent participants were: Generals Daniel Dustin and E. F. Dutton, Sycamore, Ill.; Gen. F. C. Smith, Galesburg; Gen. A. W. Doane, Wilmington, Ohio; General Miles, Col. H. C. Corbin, H. H. Carr, N. E. Gray, Dr. P. L. McKinnie, and Colonel Sexton, Chicago; H. H. McDowell, Pontiac; Capt. Edward L. Patterson, Cleveland; Capt. F. E. Scott, Brokenbow, Neb.; Capt. J. T. Merritt, Aledo; Major M. G. McLain, Indianapolis; Capt. J. E. Huston, Clearfield, Iowa; James M. Ayers, R. M. Smock, Colonel Mannon, Major Jack Burst, Wm. Eddleman, C. D. Braidemeyer, Capt. T. U. Scott, Capt. T. S. Rogers, C. P. Curtis, Captain Bodkins, and others. Congressman Thos. J. Henderson and many of the above-mentioned officers made brief speeches during the reunion. General Dustin occupied the chair pending the election of officers for the ensuing year. General Harrison's re-election as President of the Association was carried amid cheers, and as he appeared to assume the presiding chair the veterans gave him a rousing reception.

The President then addressed the brigade as follows:

_Comrades_--The object of my visit to Galesburg was this meeting
which we are to have now. I should not, I think, have been persuaded
to make this trip except for the pleasure which I expected to find
in meeting the men of the old brigade, from most of whom I have been
separated since the muster-out day. We have had a great demonstration,
one very full of interest, on the streets and in the park, but I think
we are drawn a little closer in this meeting and understand each other
a little better than in the larger assemblages of which we have made a
part. It is very pleasant for me to see so many here. I cannot recall
the names of all of you. Time has wrought its changes upon the faces
of us all. You recognize me because there were not so many colonels
as there were soldiers--fortunately, perhaps, for the country.
[Laughter.] I saw you as individuals in the brigade line when it was
drawn up either for parade or battle. It is quite natural, therefore,
and I trust it will not be held against me, that you should have a
better recollection of my features than I can possibly have of yours.
And yet some of you I recall and all of you I love. [Applause.] When
you were associated in a brigade in 1862 we were all somewhat new to
military duties and life. The officers as well as the men had come
together animated by a common purpose from every pursuit in life. We
were not so early in the field as some of our comrades. We yield them
the honor of longer service, but I think we may claim for ourselves
that when our hands were lifted to take the enlistment oath there was
no inducement for any man to go into the army under any expectation
that he was entering on a holiday. In the early days of the war men
thought or hoped it would be brief. They did not measure its extent or
duration. They did not at all rightly estimate the awful sacrifices
that were to be made before peace with honor was assured.

I well remember an incident of the early days of volunteering at
Indianapolis, when the first companies in response to the first call
of President Lincoln came hurrying to the capital. Among the first
to arrive was one from Lafayette, under the command of Capt. Chris.
Miller. They came in tumultuously and enthusiastic for the fight.
These companies were organized into regiments, which one by one were
sent into West Virginia or other fields of service. It happened that
the regiment to which my friend Miller was assigned was the last to
leave the State. I met him one day on the street, and a more mad and
despondent soldier I never saw. He was not absolutely choice in the
use of his language--all soldiers were not. I think the First Brigade
was an exception. [Laughter.] He was swearing like a pirate over the
disgrace that had befallen him and his associates, growing out of the
fact that he was absolutely certain that the war would be over before
they got into the field, and left in camp a stranded regiment, having
no part in putting down the rebellion.

Well, his day came presently, and he was ordered to West Virginia,
and among the first of those who, under the fire of the enemy at Rich
Mountain, received a bullet through his body was Capt. Chris. Miller.
When these regiments of ours were enlisted we were not apprehensive
that the war would be over before we had an adequate share of it. We
were pretty certain we would all have enough before we were through.
The clouds were dark in those days of '62. McClellan was shut up
in the Peninsula; Buell was coming back from Alabama; Kirby Smith
was entering through Cumberland Gap, and everything seemed to be
discouraging. I think I may claim for these men of Illinois, and these
men of Indiana and of Ohio--if some of them are here to meet with us
to-day--that when they enlisted there was no other motive than pure,
downright patriotism, and there was no misunderstanding of the serious
import of the work on which they entered. [Applause.]

Those early days in which we were being transformed from civilians
into soldiers were full of trial and hardship. The officers were
sometimes bumptious and unduly severe--I am entering a plea in my own
behalf now. [Laughter.] The soldiers had not yet got to understand
why a camp guard should be established, why they should not be at
perfect liberty to go to town as they were when on the farm and the
day's work was over. It was supposed that an army was composed of so
many men, but we had not learned at that time that it was absolutely
necessary that all those men should be at the same place at the same
time, and that they could not be scattered over the neighborhood.
There were a good many trials of that sort while the men were being
made soldiers and the officers were learning their duties, and to know
the proper margin between the due liberty of the individual and the
necessary restraint of discipline. But those days were passed soon,
and they passed the sooner when the men went into active duties. Camp
duties were always irksome and troublesome, but when they were changed
for the active duties of the march and field there was less need of
restraint.

I always noticed there was no great need of a camp guard after
the boys had marched twenty-five miles. They did not need so much
watching at night. Then the serious time came when sickness devastated
us and disease swept its dread swath, and that dreadful progress of
making soldiers was passed through when diseases which should have
characterized childhood prostrated and destroyed men. Then there came
out of all this, after the sifting out of those who were weak and
incapable, of those who could not stand this acclimating process, that
body of tough, strong men, ready for the march and fight, that made up
the great armies which under Grant and Sherman and Sheridan carried
the flag to triumph.

The survivors of some of them are here to-day, and whatever else has
come to us in life, whether honor or disappointment, I do not think
there are any of us--not me, I am sure--who would to-day exchange the
satisfaction, the heart comfort we have in having been a part of the
great army that subdued the rebellion, that saved the country, the
Constitution, and the flag. [Applause.] If I were asked to exchange it
for any honor that has come to me, I would lay down any civil office
rather than surrender the satisfaction I have in having been an humble
partaker with you in that great war. [Applause.] Who shall measure it?
Well, generations hence, when this country, which had 30,000,000, now
64,000,000, has become 100,000,000, when these institutions of ours
grow and develop and spread, and homes in which happiness and comfort
have their abiding place, then we may begin to realize, North and
South, what this work was. We but imperfectly see it now, yet we have
seen enough of the glory of the Lord to fill our souls full of a quiet
enthusiasm. [Applause.]

Here we are pursuing our different works in life to-day just as when
we stood on picket or on guard, just as in the front rank of battle
facing the foe--trying to do our part for the country. I hope there
is not a soldier here in whom the love of the flag has died out. I
believe there is not one in whose heart it is not a growing passion.
I think a great deal of the interest of the flag we see among the
children is because you have taught them what the flag means. No one
knows how beautiful it is when we see it displayed here on this quiet
October day, amid these quiet autumnal scenes, who has not seen it
when there was no other beautiful thing to look upon. [Applause.] And
in those long, tiresome marches, in those hours of smoke and battle
and darkness, what was there that was beautiful except the starry
banner that floated over us? [Applause.]

Our country has grown and developed and increased in riches until
it is to-day marvellous among the nations of the earth, sweeping from
sea to sea, embracing almost every climate, touching the tropics and
the arctic, covering every form of product of the soil, developing in
skill in the mechanical arts, developing, I trust and believe, not
only in these material things which are great, but not the greatest,
but developing also in those qualities of mind and heart, in morality,
in the love of order, in sobriety, in respect for the law, in a
God-fearing disposition among the people, in love for our country, in
all these high and spiritual things. I believe the soldiers in their
places have made a large contribution to all these things.

The assembling of our great army was hardly so marvellous as
its disbanding. In the olden time it was expected that a soldier
would be a brawler when the campaign was over. He was too often a
disturber. Those habits of violence which he had learned in the field
followed him to his home. But how different it was in this war of
ours. The army sprang into life as if by magic, on the call of the
martyred President--Illinois' greatest gift, as I have said, to the
Nation. They fought through the war, and they came out of it without
demoralization. They returned to the very pursuits from which they had
come. It seemed to one that it was like the wrapping of snow which
nature sometimes puts over the earth in the winter season to protect
and keep warm the vegetation which is hidden under it, and which
under the warm days of spring melts and disappears, and settles into
the earth to clothe it with verdure and beauty and harvest. [Great
cheering.]

_Alumni Hall, Knox College._

After the public reception was concluded the President and party participated in the laying of the corner-stone of the Alumni Hall on the campus of Knox College. Dr. Newton Bateman, president of the college, conducted the exercises. Prof. Milton L. Comstock read a brief history of Knox College, at the conclusion of which Dr. Adams introduced President Harrison, who spoke as follows:

_My Fellow-citizens_--Speaking this morning in the open air, which
since my official isolation from campaigning has made my voice
unaccustomed to it, will make it impossible for me to speak further
at this time. I do not deem this ceremony at all out of accord with
the patriotic impulses which have stirred our hearts to-day. Education
was early in the thought of the framers of our Constitution as one of
the best, if not the only guarantee of their perpetuation. Washington,
as well as the founders of the venerable and useful institution,
appreciated and expressed his interest in the establishment of
institutions of learning. How shall one be a safe citizen when
citizens are rulers who are not intelligent? How shall he understand
those great questions which his suffrage must adjudge without thorough
intellectual culture in his youth? We are here, then, to-day engaged
in a patriotic work as we lay this corner-stone of an institution that
has had a great career of usefulness in the past and is now entering
upon a field of enlarged usefulness. We lay this corner-stone and
rededicate this institution to truth, purity, loyalty, and a love of
God.

_Phi Delta Theta Banquet._

In the evening the President attended a banquet tendered him by Lombard and Knox chapters of Phi Delta Theta, of which college fraternity General Harrison was a member in his student days. At the President's table sat Toastmaster Lester L. Silliman, of Lombard Chapter, with General Miles, Generals Grosvenor, Morgan, and Post, Mayor Stevens, Dr. Ayres, and Rev. Dr. Hood. Brother Geo. W. Prince delivered the welcoming address on behalf of the local chapters, to which the distinguished Phi brother, President Harrison, arising amid great applause, responded. After a few pleasant remarks regarding his recollections of college life and his pleasure at meeting again with the members of the Phi Delta Theta, he said:

My college associations were broken early in life, partly by
necessity and partly by choice; by necessity so far as the compulsion
to work for a living was upon me, and by choice in that I added to my
responsibility at an early date, so that it has not been my pleasure
often to meet with or sit about the banquet board with members of this
society. It gives me pleasure to meet with you to-night. I feel the
greatest sympathy with these young men who are now disciplining their
minds for the work of life. I would not have them make these days too
serious, and yet they are very full of portent and promise. It is not
inconsistent, I think, with the joyfulness and gladness which pertains
to youth that they shall have some sense of the value of these golden
days. They are days that are to affect the whole future. If I were to
select a watchword that I would have every young man write above his
door and on his heart, it would be that good word "Fidelity." I know
of no better. The man who meets every obligation to the family, to
society, to the State, to his country, and his God, to the very best
measure of his strength and ability, cannot fail of that assurance and
quietness that comes of a good conscience, and will seldom fail of the
approval of his fellow-men, and will never fail of the reward which is
promised to faithfulness. Unfaithfulness and lack of fidelity to duty,
to work, and to obligation is the open door to all that is disgraceful
and degrading.

I want to thank you again, gentlemen, for this pleasant greeting,
and to ask you, after the rather exhaustive duties of this day, to
excuse me from further address and accept the best wishes of a brother
in the Phi Delta Theta organization. [Cheers.]

_The Brigade Banquet._

Later in the evening the President and party attended a banquet given by the citizens in honor of the First Brigade. It was a brilliant affair, conducted by the ladies of the city, active among whom were Mrs. Geo. Lescher, Miss Tillie Weeks, Miss Maude Stewart, Miss Winnie Hoover, and Mrs. Whiffen. Mrs. George Gale had charge of the table of honor, assisted by Mrs. Otto M. Smith and Miss Louise Tryon. Gen. Philip S. Post was Master of Ceremonies and presented General Harrison.

The President prologued his parting words with an incident of a visit he made to a small town down the Potomac. Although he was introduced as President all over the town, no special attention was paid to him, and when the local paper came out with a column and a half report of the visit of the Chief Executive, the good people of the town were astonished, but explained their lack of attention by saying they thought Mr. Harrison was president of some fishing club. Aside from jokes, said the President:

One serious word in leaving. This day in Galesburg I shall long
remember. The enthusiasm and the cordiality of the citizens, the
delicacy and kindness of their attention, have impressed me deeply.
I shall ever gratefully recollect Galesburg as a spot of especial
interest, as the place of the meeting of the old brigade. Comrades,
I hope to meet you again when my time is more my own, and on several
occasions like this to speak to you more familiarly, and to recall
this time. I have tried not to be stinted in my intercourse with you,
for I have wanted you to feel me warm and sincere. I have expressed
myself, but not as freely as I would if by ourselves, or if I were
but a private citizen or member of the brigade. But I would say to
you and all your families, to the wives that sit here, to the wives
and children that are at home, to those who have gone out from your
roof-tree to prepare homes, to your grand-children--and I hope all of
you have them--to one and all, I extend the hearty sympathy and best
wishes of the "old-timer" you served so faithfully.

OTTUMWA, IOWA, OCTOBER 9.

The President's party left Galesburg the night of the 8th, arriving at Burlington at 10 o'clock, where about 8,000 people greeted them. The President was escorted to the Commercial Club rooms, where Mayor Duncan, on behalf of the city of Burlington, and P. M. Crapo, president of the club, made addresses of welcome. A reception of one hour's duration followed, during which President Harrison shook hands with 3,000 callers. Ottumwa was reached at 8 o'clock Thursday morning. A committee of citizens, headed by Hon. J. G. Hutchison, met the President at Galesburg. On arrival the President and his brother, John Scott Harrison, were immediately driven to the residence of their sister, Mrs. T. J. Devin, where they passed the morning.