Leading the procession was a Spanish cavalcade commanded by Carlos de la Guerra. The President's escort was a cavalcade of children marshalled by Mrs. Schermerhorn, with flower-decked saddles and bridles; then followed over 100 flower-trimmed equipages, each displaying a different design and flower and bespeaking the marvellous flora of Santa Barbara in the month of April. The stand from whence the President reviewed the procession and witnessed the Battle of Flowers was a floral triumph; 20,000 calla-lilies were used in its decoration and as many bright-colored flowers. The battle scene occurred on the grand stand, immediately opposite the reviewing stand, between several hundred ladies and gentlemen. The whole was a spectacle to be witnessed but once in a lifetime. The parade was under the direction of Grand Marshal D. W. Thompson, assisted by special aids George Culbertson, Dr. H. L. Stambach, T. R. Moore, Samuel Stanwood, Paschal Hocker, and C. A. Fernald. The Committee of Reception comprised Mayor P. J. Barber, C. F. Eaton, W. W. Burton, W. C. Clerk, I. G. Waterman, D. Baxter, E. P. Roe, Jr., C. E. Bigelow, Alston Hayne, Frank Stoddard, L. P. Lincoln, W. N. Hawley, J. W. Calkins, Geo. A. Edwards, C. C. Hunt, Edward M. Hoit, Hon. E. H. Heacock, Dr. J. M. McNulta, W. B. Cope, C. F. Swan, W. M. Eddy, J. C. Wilson, R. B. Canfield; also, Joseph Sexton, of Goleta; E. J. Knapp, of Carpinteria; T. R. Bard, of Hueneme; R. E. Jack and E. W. Steele, of San Luis Obispo; H. H. Poland, of Lompoc, and Dr. W. T. Lucas and Thomas Boyd, of Santa Maria. Starr King Post, G. A. R., C. A. Storke, Commander, participated in the reception.
After witnessing the parade the entire party, including the ladies, visited the ancient Mission of Santa Barbara and were taken within its sacred precincts, it being the second occasion on which any woman was admitted. At night they witnessed a Spanish dance, conducted by many ladies and gentlemen, under the direction of F. M. Whitney, Mrs. Bell, and Mrs. Dibblee. The eventful day closed with a public reception, participated in by 15,000 people.
Gen. Wm. Vandever delivered an address of welcome, to which the President, responding, said:
General Vandever, Gentlemen of the Committee and Friends—If I have been in any doubt as to the fact of the perfect identity of your people with the American Nation, that doubt has been displaced by one incident which has been prominent in all this trip, and that is that the great and predominant and all-pervading American habit of demanding a speech on every occasion has been characteristically prominent in California. [Laughter.] I am more than delighted by this visit to your city. It has been made brilliant with the display of banners and flowers—one the emblem of our national greatness and prowess, the other the adornment which God has given to beautify nature. With all this I am sure I have read in the faces of the men, women and children who have greeted me that these things—these flowers of the field and this flag, representing organized government—typify what is to be found in the homes of California. The expression of your welcome to-day has been unique and tasteful beyond description. I have not the words to express the high sense of appreciation and the amazement that filled the minds of all our party as we looked upon this display which you have improvised for our reception. No element of beauty, no element of taste, no element of gracious kindness has been lacking in it, and for that we tender you all our most hearty thanks. We shall keep this visit a bright spot in our memories. [Applause.]
[BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA, APRIL 25.]
The first stop of the presidential train on Friday, April 25, was at Bakersfield, the gateway of the famous San Joaquin Valley, which was reached at 8:30 in the morning. Fifteen hundred residents greeted the President, who was met by W. E. Houghton, W. H. Scribner, W. Canfield, and C. E. Sherman, constituting a special Committee of Reception. The general committee for the occasion comprised the following prominent citizens: N. R. Packard, E. M. Roberts, John J. Morrison, Emil Dinkelspiel, H. L. Borgwardt, Jr., J. Neideraur, P. Galtes, O. D. Fish, H. A. Jastro, Geo. K. Ober, Dr. Helm, J. J. Mack, E. A. Pueschel, S. N. Reed, H. A. Blodget, C. A. Maul, Chas. E. Jewett, A. Harrell, G. W. Wear, Wm. Montgomery, John Barker, H. P. Olds, E. Willow, B. Brundage, B. A. Hayden, F. H. Colton, W. H. Cook, B. Ardizzi, C. C. Cowgill, L. S. Rogers, John O. Miller, Geo. G. Carr, N. R. Wilkinson, A. Weill, H. C. Lechner, S. W. Wible, Dr. John Snook, L. McKelvy, A. Morgan, E. C. Palmes, John S. Drury, W. A. Howell, A. C. Maude, Chas. Vandever, Alonzo Coons, T. A. Metcalf, R. M. Walker, Richard Hudnut, Sol. Jewett, J. C. Smith, S. A. Burnap, H. H. Fish, S. W. Fergusson, J. W. Mahon, A. Fay, Chas. Bickirdike, H. F. Condict, H. C. Park, and I. L. Miller.
A large number of beautiful bouquets were showered upon the party here. Judge A. R. Conklin made the welcoming address. President Harrison spoke as follows:
My Friends—I am very much obliged to you for your friendly greeting and for these bouquets. You must excuse me if I seem a little shy of the bouquets. I received one in my eye the other day which gave me a good deal of trouble. You are very kind to meet us here so early in the morning with this cordial demonstration. It has been a very long journey, and has been accompanied with some fatigue of travel, but we feel this morning, in this exhilarating air and this sweet sunshine, and refreshed with your kind greeting, as bright and more happy than when we left the national capital.
I am glad to feel that here, on the western edge of the continent, in this Pacific State, there is that same enthusiastic love for the flag, that same veneration and respect for American institutions, for the one Union and the one Constitution, that is found in the heart of the country. We are one people absolutely. We follow not men, but institutions. We are happy in the fact that though men may live or die, come or go, we still have that toward which the American citizen turns with confidence and veneration—this great Union of the States devised so happily by our fathers. General Garfield, when Mr. Lincoln was stricken down by the foul hand of an assassin, and when that great wave of dismay and grief swept over the land, standing in a busy thoroughfare of New York, could say: "The Government at Washington still lives." It is dependent upon no man. It is lodged safely in the affections of the people, and having its impregnable defence and its assured perpetuity in their love and veneration for law. [Cheers.]