It has been a most happy sight to see the same old banner that we bore into the smoke of battle and carried over dying comrades to place it in triumph on the ramparts of the enemy now in the hands of the children of Colorado. [Cheers.] Proof has been made a thousand times—proof will be made whenever the occasion requires—that, as much as we pursue gain and personal ends, we have nothing—property or life—that we do not freely lay down upon the altar of our country for the general good. [Cheers.] But, my fellow-citizens, this assemblage is too vast, and the demand upon my time for public speech has been too protracted, to enable me to pursue these remarks further.
Comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic, survivors of the great war whose success preserved all that our fathers had devised and established, whose success brought back this flag in honor and established it again the undisputed emblem of an indissoluble Union [cheers], God has bountifully lengthened out your days that you might catch some glimpse of the glory that has come from the achievements in which you bore an honorable part. But only the vision of the prophet reaching out over centuries to come can catch the full glory of what your deeds have wrought. I give you to-day a most affectionate greeting [cheers]; I give you a regretful good-by. May you hold in the community where you live that respect and honor to which you are entitled. Let no Grand Army man ever dishonor in civil life the noble record he made in war. May every blessing follow you, and if it shall not be in God's dispensation to give you riches, at least, comrades, you shall die with the glorious satisfaction of having contributed to the greatest work that man ever wrought for humanity and good; and, wrapped in the flag you followed, your comrades will, one by one, see that in honored graves your bodies rest until the resurrection, and that on each returning day of decoration flowers are strewn upon your graves.
Citizens of Denver, I cannot close without expressing the great satisfaction and surprise with which I have witnessed this morning the magnificent commercial developments which have been made here. These streets, these towering, substantial, and stately houses in which your commerce is transacted, place you in the front rank of enterprise. I do not think any city so young can claim so high a place. [Cheers.] I thank you very sincerely for a demonstration which I cannot accept as personal—all this is too great for any man—but as a spontaneous tribute to our free institutions. I accept this as an evidence that in all essential things we are one people. The fuller revelation of that fact to us all has been worth all the labor and time we have mutually expended in this long journey. In all essential things we are one; we divide and strive and debate, but we are patriotic American citizens, having a love for the Constitution and the flag that brings us all at last to submit our opinion to the lawfully expressed wish of the majority. [Cheers.]
And now again good-by. I shall leave behind me every good wish for your prosperity, individually as a municipality and as a State. [Cheers.]
After a drive over Capitol Hill the President and the gentlemen of his party were the guests of W. H. Bush at the Hotel Metropole. Senator Teller presided at luncheon.
Responding to a toast in honor of the President of the United States, General Harrison said:
Gentlemen—I cannot fail to respond to such a toast. Indeed, I should be unkind to you and to myself as well if I did not. However, I cannot speak at length in thanking you for the gracious hospitality I have received in Denver. I can truly say my visit has culminated in Denver. For pleasure during my stay here, for perfection in arrangement, for cordiality, and all things which go to make a stop pleasant, Denver has given a climax of enjoyment.
It has given me great pleasure to take note of some of the things which have made this beautiful city here and its recent and massive developments a wonder to the civilization of to-day. I am apt to judge the city by the home. That is with me the test, more than the business buildings, the manufactories, etc. It gives me great pleasure to state that in all my travels, and they have included all the States but two, I have never seen a city with such elegant homes as here. [Cheers.] I am sure, when you have worked out your silver mines and the more common products, stone and granite, you will have that which will last you for an indefinite time, and which will also add to the beauty of your already beautiful city. [Cheers.]
I have the pleasure of testifying to the satisfaction with which the party has spent these few days in the Centennial State. I hope I may have the pleasure of being with you again at some near future time.
I say good-by, and again express our thanks for your hospitality, which has been excelled nowhere on our journey. [Cheers.]