with the comrades from all the other States to hold up the banner of
the Union and to maintain peace and to perpetuate it at all times. You
went out to maintain peace, and you have established in the affections
of all of us the flag of our faith, and the question of submission to
the Constitution and the law in all States has been settled to the
contentment of all.
I appreciate most highly this welcome, and I take part in these
exercises with a sense of their fitness and a sense of the greatness
of the event which they commemorate.
I have never been able to think that this day is one for mourning,
but think that instead of the flag being at half mast it should be at
the peak. I feel that the comrades whose graves we honor to-day would
rejoice if they could see where their valor has placed us. I feel that
the glory of their dying and the glory of their achievement covers all
grief and has put them on an imperishable roll of honor.
_At General Meade's Grave._
At the conclusion of the public reception at Independence Hall the
President and his party were escorted to Laurel Hill Cemetery, where
they took part in the ceremonies over the grave of Gen. George G. Meade,
the hero of Gettysburg.
Along the entire line of march to the stand were immense crowds, who
greeted the President with silent demonstrations of respect.
The usual Memorial Day exercises were held, and at their conclusion
Commander Langer said: "I wish to introduce to you the honored guest of
the day, Comrade Harrison, the Chief Magistrate of the Nation."
As the President stepped forward he was heartily cheered. He said:
_Commander, Comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic, and
Fellow-citizens_--I have neither the strength nor the voice adequate
to any extended speech to-day. I come to you as a comrade to take
part in the interesting exercises of this Memorial Day. It gives me
special pleasure to combine with that tribute which I have usually
been able to pay since this day was instituted to the dead of all
our armies a special mark of respect to that great soldier who won
Gettysburg. It is impossible to separate some impressions of sorrow
from these exercises, for they bring to memory comrades who have gone
from us. How vividly there comes to my memory many battle scenes; not
the impetuous rush of conflict, but the hour of sadness that followed
victory. Then it was our sad duty to gather from the field the bodies
of those who had given the last pledge of loyalty.
There is open to my vision more than one yawning trench in which we
laid the dead of the old brigade. We laid them, elbow touching elbow,
in the order in which they had stood in the line of battle. We left
them in the hasty sepulchre and marched on. Now we rejoice that a
grateful Government has gathered together the scattered dust of all
these comrades and placed them in beautiful and safe places of honor
and repose. I cannot but feel that if they could speak to us to-day
they would say put the flag at the top of the mast.
I have recently returned from an extended tour of the States, and
nothing so impressed and refreshed me as the universal display of
this banner of beauty and glory. It waved over every school-house, it
was in the hands of the school children. As we sped across the sandy
wastes at some solitary house a man, a woman, a child would come to
the door and wave it in loyal greeting. Two years ago I saw a sight
that has ever been present in my memory. As we were going out of the
harbor of Newport about midnight on a dark night some of the officers
of the torpedo station had prepared for us a beautiful surprise. The
flag at the top of the station was unseen in the darkness of the
night, when suddenly electric search-lights were turned on it, bathing
it in a flood of light.
All below the flag was hidden, and it seemed to have no touch with
earth, but to hang from the battlements of heaven. It was as if Heaven
was approving the human liberty and human equality typified by that
flag.
Let us take on this occasion a new draught of courage, make new
vows of consecration, for, my countrymen, it was not because it was
inconvenient that the rebel States should go, not that it spoiled the
autonomy of the country, but because it was unlawful that all this
sacrifice had to be made, to bring them back to their allegiance.
Let us not forget that as good citizens and good patriots it is our
duty always to obey the law and to give it our loyal support and
insist that every one else shall do so. There is no more mischievous
suggestion made than that the soldiers of the Union Army desire to lay
any yoke on those who fought against us other than the yoke of the
law. We cannot ask less than that in all relations they shall obey
the law, and that they shall yield to every other man his full rights
under the law.
I thank you for the pleasure of participating in these exercises
with you to-day, and give you a comrade's best wishes and a comrade's
good-by.
THE BENNINGTON TRIP, AUGUST, 1891.
On Tuesday, August 18, President Harrison left Cape May Point on a
journey to Bennington, to participate in the dedication of Bennington
Battle Monument. He was accompanied by Private Secretary Halford,
Russell B. Harrison, Mr. Howard Cale, of Indianapolis, and George W.
Boyd, of the Pennsylvania Company. The trip through New Jersey was
uneventful. At Vineland, Glassboro, Camden, Trenton, and Burlington
crowds greeted the President, but as it was raining there was no
speech-making. At Jersey City the party was joined by John A. Sleicher,
W. J. Arkell, and E. F. Tibbott, the President's stenographer.
Leaving New York at noon the first stop was at Cornwall, where the
President was heartily welcomed by a large crowd and bowed his
acknowledgments.
NEWBURGH, NEW YORK, AUGUST 18.
The weather cleared as the party reached historic Newburgh, where 3,000
people gave the Chief Executive a rousing welcome. Hon. M. Doyle, Mayor
of Newburgh, and the following representative citizens received the
President: Ex-Mayor B. B. Odell, Hon. A. S. Cassedy, Hon. B. B. Odell,
Jr., William G. Taggart, Daniel S. Waring, William Chambers, Charles H.
Hasbrouck, J. M. Dickey, Henry B. Lawson, James G. Graham, Thomas R.
Spier, A. E. Layman, George Hasting, Maj. E. C. Boynton, A. Woolsey,
John F. Tucker, William Lynn, George Brown, Dr. D. L. Kidd, H. C. Smith,
Augustus Denniston, E. M. Murtfeldt, and John J. Nutt.
Colonel Sleicher introduced President Harrison, who said:
_My Fellow-citizens_--I am very much obliged to you for this
friendly greeting. It is pleasant to run out of the rain and mist
that have hung about our train for an hour or two into this bright
sunshine and into the gladness of the pleasant welcome which you have
extended to us. You are situated here in a region full of historic
interest. Every child learns early here the story of the sacrifice and
courage of those who laid the foundation of this Government, which
has grown beyond the conception of even the wisest of our fathers. I
am sure that in these things you must all find inspiration to good
citizenship, and it is pleasant to know that you rejoice that it has
left its impress upon the hearts of all our people; that upon the
Sacramento as well as upon the Hudson men love the old memories and
the old flag. [Applause.]
I am glad to pause with you a moment in passing to the observance
in Vermont of one of those great battle events which led to the
independence of our country. We have great common interests as a
people, and, while we divide as to the method by which we would
promote the national prosperity, I am sure we are all devoted in heart
to the country and the institutions that have done so much for us. In
the interest of good government we are one; we all believe that the
Government should be so administered that all the people shall share
equally in its benefits; that there shall be no favored class. I thank
you again, and bid you good-by. [Applause.]
KINGSTON, NEW YORK, AUGUST 18.
At Kingston fully 2,000 people were assembled. Prominent among those who
welcomed the President were Hon. James G. Linsley, Hon. Geo. M. Brink,
H. W. Baldwin, William D. Brinnier, D. C. Overbaugh, S. B. Sharpe, B. J.
Winnie, Charles B. Safford, George B. Merritt, O. P. Carpenter, James E.
Phinney, and Noah Wolven.
After shaking hands for several minutes, Hon. William H. Turner
introduced President Harrison, who said:
_My Fellow-citizens_--Perhaps I had better spend the moment or two
that remains in saying a word to all of you than in shaking hands
with the few that can gather about the car. You ask for a speech. It
is not very easy to know what one can talk about on such an occasion
as this. Those topics that are most familiar to me, because I am
brought in daily contact with them, namely, public affairs, are in
some measure prohibited to me, and I must speak therefore only of
those things upon which we agree; for I have no doubt, if we were
closely interrogated, some differences would develop in the views
of those assembled here. That is one of the things we are proud of
and that tend to the perpetuity and purity of our institutions--that
we are permitted to differ in our views, to be independent in our
opinions, and to be answerable to our consciences and to God only for
the convictions we entertain. I am sure, however, we all rejoice in
the evidences of prosperity which are spread over this good land of
ours. We rejoice in the freedom and happiness and contentment that are
in our communities and in our homes. We rejoice to know that no cloud
is over our horizon; that we are at peace with the world and at peace
among ourselves. I think the world has come to understand that it is
well to be at peace with us [applause], and I am sure we have come
to understand that it is very well to be at peace among our selves.
[Applause.]
Our situation is one of great favor. We are pretty widely separated
from those who would hurt us, if there are any such. We are secure
in our great isolation, and we are secure, too, in our great and
patriotic people. [Applause.] We do not maintain armies; we do not
need to extend the conscription list until it takes old age and youth.
We maintain only the merest skeleton of an army, but we have already
seen how speedily it may develop into gigantic proportions, and how,
in a few months, it may take on the discipline that makes it the equal
of any of the great armies of the world. [Applause.] We have this year
a season of unusual productiveness. The orchards are laden with fruit,
the gardens yield their abundant supplies to the table, and the fields
have produced crops that are too great for our storehouses.
God has greatly blessed us, and it happens that this season of our
abundance is not only good for us, but for the world; for again, as
many times before, the nations of Europe, by reason of crop failures,
must look to us to feed their people. We have a great surplus and an
assorted market for it. Our riches must be greatly increased as the
result of two magnificent harvests. Their good effects will be felt
in every home, contentment upon the farm, and well-paid labor in all
our cities and centres of manufacture. Thus it should be. Thus, I am
sure, we all rejoice that it is, because these institutions of ours
can have no danger except in a discontented citizenship. As long as
men have a free and equal chance, as long as the labor of their hands
may bring the needed supplies into the household, as long as there are
open avenues of hope and advancement to the children they love, men
are contented--they are good, loyal, American citizens. [Applause.]
And now I thank you again for your kindness. [Cheers.]
ALBANY, NEW YORK, AUGUST 18.
It was 6 o'clock in the afternoon when the President arrived at Albany,
during a heavy rain. In anticipation of this visit from the head of the
Nation, the following telegraphic correspondence had passed between the
courteous Governor of New York and President Harrison:
ALBANY, August 12.
HON. BENJAMIN HARRISON, _Cape May, N. J._:
I learn for the first time to-day that you have accepted the
invitation of Mayor Manning to stop at Albany on your way to Vermont.
If the plan of your journey will enable you to pass a night in Albany,
as I hope it may, I shall be pleased to have yourself and party become
my guests at the Executive Mansion. Personally, as well as officially,
I assure you it gives me great pleasure to extend this invitation, and
I sincerely trust that you will so arrange your plans as to give me
the opportunity of entertaining you. The Executive Mansion is ample
for the accommodation of such members of your Cabinet or friends as
may accompany you. On behalf of the people of the State, also, I shall
be pleased to tender you a public reception at the State Capitol.
DAVID B. HILL.
STOCKTON HOUSE, CAPE MAY, August 12.
GOV. D. B. HILL, _Albany_:
I am very much obliged for your very cordial invitation, but it
will be only possible for me to make a brief stay at Albany. How
long depends upon the railroad schedule, not yet communicated to me.
As soon as details are arranged will advise you. For such time as
I can spare I will place myself in the hands of the city and State
authorities.
BENJAMIN HARRISON.
The following prominent citizens of Albany met the President at Selkirk
and escorted him to the city: James Ten Eyck, Chairman; Col. A. E.
Mather, John G. Myers, James M. Warner, Henry C. Nevitt, and William
Barnes. Among others who greeted the President on his arrival were
Capt. John Palmer, Commander-in-Chief of the G. A. R., Hon. Simon W.
Rosendale, Deputy Controller Westbrook, H. N. Fuller, C. B. Templeton,
William H. Cull, and Oscar Smith.
The reception was held in City Hall Square, where many thousand
Albanians assembled. On the platform Governor Hill, Mayor Manning, with
the Common Council, Secretary of State Rice, State Treasurer Danforth,
and other State and municipal officers were gathered. The President
received an ovation as he approached the stand. Mayor Manning welcomed
him in the name of the city and presented Governor Hill, who extended to
the Chief Magistrate a broader welcome in the name of the people of the
Empire State.
Responding to these hospitable addresses, the President said:
_Governor Hill, Mr. Mayor, and Fellow-citizens_--The conditions
of the evening, these threatening and even dripping clouds, are not
favorable to any extended speech. I receive with great gratification
the very cordial expressions which have fallen from the lips of his
excellency, the Governor of this great State, and of his honor,
the Mayor of this great municipality. It is very gratifying to me
to be thus assured that as American citizens, as public officers
administering each different functions in connection with the
government of the Nation, of the State, and of the municipality, we,
in common with this great body of citizens, whose servants we all
are, have that common love for our institutions, and that common
respect for those who, by the appointed constitutional methods, have
been chosen to administer them, as on such occasions as this entirely
obliterates all differences and brings us together in the great and
enduring brotherhood of American citizens. [Prolonged cheering.]
This great capital of a great State I have had the pleasure of
visiting once or twice before. I have many times visited your
commercial capital, and have traversed in many directions the great
and prosperous Empire State. You have concentrated here great wealth
and great productive capacity for increased wealth, great financial
institutions that reach out in their influences and effects over
the whole land. You have great prosperity and great responsibility.
The general Government is charged with certain great functions in
which the people have a general interest. Among these is the duty
of providing for our people the money with which its business
transactions are conducted. There has sometimes been in some regions
of the great West a thought that New York, being largely a creditor
State, was disposed to be a little hard with the debtor communities
of the great West; but, my fellow-citizens, narrow views ought not to
prevail with them or with you and will not in the light of friendly
discussion. The law of commerce may be selfishness, but the law of
statesmanship should be broader and more liberal. I do not intend to
enter upon any subject that can excite division; but I do believe that
the general Government is solemnly charged with the duty of seeing
that the money issued by it is always and everywhere maintained at
par. I believe that I speak that which is the common thought of us all
when I say that every dollar, whether paper or coin, issued or stamped
by the general Government should always and everywhere be as good as
any other dollar. I am sure that we would all shun that condition of
things into which many peoples of the past have drifted, and of which
we have had in one of the great South American countries a recent
example--the distressed and hopeless condition into which all business
enterprise falls, when a nation issues an irredeemable or depreciated
money. The necessities of a great war can excuse that.
I am one of those that believe that these men from your shops, these
farmers remote from money centres, have the largest interest of all
people in the world in having a dollar that is worth one hundred cents
every day in the year, and only such. If by any chance we should fall
into a condition where one dollar is not so good as another I venture
the assertion that that poorer dollar will do its first errand in
paying some poor laborer for his work. Therefore, in the conduct of
our public affairs I feel pledged, for one, that all the influences of
the Government should be on the side of giving the people only good
money and just as much of that kind as we can get. [Cheers.]
Now, my fellow-citizens, we have this year a most abundant, yes,
extraordinary, grain crop. All of the great staples have been yielded
to the labor of the farmer in a larger measure than ever before. A
leading agricultural paper estimated that the produce of our farms
will be worth $1,000,000,000 more this year than ever before, and
it happens that just with this great surplus in our barns we find
a scarcity in all the countries of Europe. Russia has recently
prohibited the export of rye, because she needs her crop to feed her
own people. The demands in France and in England and Germany will
absorb every bushel of the great surplus we shall have after our
people are fed, and, whatever complaints there may have been in the
past, I believe this year will spread a smile of gladness over the
entire agricultural population of our country.
This is our opportunity, and I cannot see how it shall be possible
but that these exports of grain, now reaching the limit of the
capacity of our railroads and of our ships, shall soon bring back to
us the lost gold we sent to Europe and more that we did not lose. I
was told by an officer of the West Shore road to-day that that road
alone was carrying 100,000 bushels of wheat every day into New York,
and that it scarcely stopped an hour in the elevator, but was run
immediately into the bottom of a steam vessel that was to carry it
abroad. [Cheers.]
This is only an illustration of what is going on. As the result
of it our people must be greatly enriched. Where there has been
complaint, where there has been poverty, there must come this year
plenty, for the gardens have loaded the table, the orchards cannot
bear the burdens that hang upon their reddening limbs, and the
granaries are not equal to the product of our fields. We ought,
then, this day to be a happy people. We ought to be grateful for
these conditions and careful everywhere to add to them the virtue
of patience, frugality, love of order, and, to crown all, a great
patriotism and devotion to the Constitution and the law--always our
rule of conduct as citizens. [Cheers.]
My fellow-citizens, it is very difficult to speak in this heavy
atmosphere. I beg, therefore, that you will allow me to thank you for
your friendly demonstration, and bid you good-night.
TROY, NEW YORK, AUGUST 18.
When the special train reached Troy in the evening an immense throng
greeted the President. It was the noisiest demonstration of the day.
General Harrison shook hands with hundreds, many of them working men
just from the shops. The following prominent Trojans composed the
Committee of Reception and escorted the party from Albany: Gen. Joseph
B. Carr, Charles W. Tillinghast, William Kemp, Thomas Dickson, F. N.
Mann, William H. Hollister Jr., Col. Lee Chamberlin, John I. Thompson,
Col. Arthur MacArthur, D. S. Hasbrouck, Samuel Morris, James H. Potts,
J. F. Bridgeman, C. L. Fuller, T. J. O'Sullivan, Cornelius Hannan,
Henry McMillen, H. M. Reynolds, George H. Mead, Dr. C. B. Herrick, and
William Kemp, Jr. The veterans of Willard Post G. A. R., under Commander
Leet, participated in the reception.
Ex-Mayor Wm. Kemp made the address of welcome in the unavoidable
absence of Mayor Whelan. Midst great enthusiasm and cheers General Carr
introduced the President, who spoke as follows:
_My Friends_--I attempted a little while ago to speak in Albany in
this damp atmosphere, and find my voice is so much roughened by the
effort that I can hardly hope to make myself heard by you. I am glad
to have the opportunity to pause some moments in the city of Troy,
to look into the faces of its industrious and thrifty population.
I have long known of your city as a city of industry--as a great
manufacturing city--sending out its products to all the land, and by
the skill of its workmen and the integrity of its merchants finding
everywhere a market for wares kept up to the standard. [Applause.]
The President was here interrupted by the blowing of steam-whistles, and
continued, smiling:
I am quite used to having my speeches punctuated by steam-whistles.
I am sure that you realize here in a large degree the benefit of
a policy that keeps the American market for the American workmen.
[Cries of "Good!" and applause.] I try to be broadly philanthropic in
my thoughts about the human race, but cannot help thinking that an
American workman has a stronger claim on my sympathy and help than any
other workman. [Applause.]
I believe that our institutions are only safe while we have
intelligent and contented working classes. I would adopt
constitutional methods--any administrative method--that would
preserve this country from the condition into which some others
have unfortunately fallen, where a hard day's work does not bring
sustenance for the workman and his family. [Applause.] I would be glad
if there were not a home in Troy--not a home in the United States of
America--where there was not plenty for man and wife and child; where
there was not only sustenance, but a margin of saving that might make
the old age of the husband and wife and the life of the children
easier than this generation has been. [Cheers.]
BENNINGTON, VERMONT, AUGUST 19.
_Dedication of the Battle Monument._
President Harrison and his party reached North Bennington at 8 o'clock
on the night of the eighteenth. He was met by the following Committee of
Reception on the part of the city of Bennington: Gen. J. G. McCullough,
M. S. Colburn, J. V. Carney, S. B. Hall, and A. P. Childs; also, Dr.
William Seward Webb, and Col. Geo. W. Hooker, representing the State
Entertainment Committee. As the President appeared he was greeted with
rousing cheers by the large crowd and escorted to the residence of
General McCullough, whose guest he was.