Spokane Prepares to Welcome the Northern Pacific’s Last-Spike Excursion

Preparing to Receive the Guests.

It is customary at the completion of any great work in which the entire public are more or less interested to celebrate the occasion with a demonstration of some character. Therefore it is but right that the finish of the great trans-continental railroad, that is opening up to the world the glorious Northwest, should be recognized with fit and becoming ceremony. In this instance it takes the shape of a mechanical operation of sinking the last spike connecting the eastern and western divisions of the line. The driving of this metallic plug is merely a matter of parade and show, and the article to be used is of gold and holds its position merely temporarily, the more businesslike form of pinning the rails down having been accomplished several days ago. This event is to take place next Saturday, September 8th, and will be witnessed by a large gathering of the representative men of this country and a large delegation of German stockholders. Besides these invited guests, no doubt there will be an immense concourse of people collected from all parts of the Northwest and from along the line of the road. Such prominent men as Grant, Lincoln, Evarts and others will take part in the proceedings. Wm. M. Evans, one of the most eloquent masters of the city, is to make the congratulatory address, and it is to be presumed other able talkers will have a great deal to say, as it opens up a field upon which rhetoric may be drawn without stint.

The party will occupy thirty-five Pullman palace cars, with dining cars attached, and the cars are divided into four trains. Invited guests are not expected to spend a dollar on the route for board or lodging. The trains have already left New York, and will give the tourists ample opportunity of reviewing the country east of the mountains before reaching the spike-driving scene. Immediately after the ceremonies, the guests start on an excursion through to the Sound. According to the programme laid out, President Villard and his English and German guests will lay over Sunday on Pend d’Oreille Lake, while the American excursionists, including the editorial crew, will spend Sunday, September 9th, in Spokane Falls. The editorial party is under the supervision of that well-known author and newspaper correspondent, E. V. Bradley. Sunday night the trains continue west, passing Tuesday in Portland. From thence they go to the Sound, and returning will pay Walla Walla a visit, stopping there on the 16th. The programme has been laid out to take up every hour of the time at the excursionists’ disposal from the start to the finish, and it is not likely change will be made, as this is one day, so a single change would twist the entire plans out of shape.

As might be expected, and which would be singular if otherwise, the towns along the route are preparing to give the excursionists a hearty welcome, combining the reception in the estimation of the outside world. The citizens have by no means been delinquent in their efforts to further the object, and all have shown a disposition to advance assistance. It has been already stated in these columns how the City Council and the public, in mass meeting, had taken up the matter, and since then those most deeply interested have been indefatigable in their efforts. The Committee of Arrangements, consisting of Mayor Glover, Professor Tiernan, A. M. Cannon, J. J. Browne, William Gray, Dr. B. F. Burch, Dr. G. S. Allison, P. Denher and F. M. Dallum, has not been idle. Prior to the publication of the proposed programme, J. J. Browne telegraphed as follows:

SPOKANE FALLS, Aug. 24. HON. HENRY VILLARD, New York City: I am authorized and hereby extend to you the hospitality of our city. Please let us know when you will reach here and how long you will remain. J. BROWNE.

In response Mr. Browne received the following telegram, Tuesday evening:

NEW YORK, Aug. 28. To J. J. BROWNE: I am hereby obliged for the honor you propose to show us, but must refer you to Mr. Buckley, who has charge of the arrangements on the west end. H. VILLARD.

Tuesday evening six of the nine committeemen met in Browne’s law office for the purpose of considering the subject uppermost in the minds of our citizens. J. N. Glover was called to the chair. Prof. J. M. Tiernan submitted a programme, together with written suggestions, that were, with slight change, accepted. The groundwork of the preparations and the reception were about as follows:

1. Streets to be cleaned and sprinkled. 2. Street arches with appropriate mottoes to be erected. One at Cannon’s bank, one at the intersection of Main and Howard streets, and one in front of the First National Bank building. 3. Request citizens to decorate their business houses and residences; also churches. Also decorate the spans and arches of bridges. 4. Congratulatory speeches and addresses either from the awning of the California House or the new mill. 5. A deputation of the committee to meet the guests at some point on the road east of the city, with an invitation from the citizens and notification of arrangements made. 6. On arrival of the train in the morning, bells to be rung, national salute fired, and band to perform. 7. Deputation of citizens with carriages to convey guests to view the city and falls. 8. Return to cars in time for lunch. 9. In the afternoon, procession and opening.

A general invitation is extended to all our inhabitants, including the clergy, civic societies, Gesang Verein and the choirs belonging to the different churches, to participate in the afternoon reception. A special invitation is extended to the commanding and other officers of Forts Coeur d’Alene and Spokane.

We wish, on behalf of the committee, to extend a special invitation to the citizens of Marshall, Cheney, Sprague, Ainsworth, Medical Lake, Rathdrum, Rockford, Spangle and the surrounding farming communities to aid in the demonstration by their presence.

The following committees were appointed, and it is to be hoped that those named will take an active interest in the duties to be performed:

FINANCE: Wm. Gray, Dr. B. F. Burch, A. M. Cannon. ON MUSIC: Dr. C. S. Penfield, J. E. Roe, P. Lynn, Mrs. B. F. Burch, Mrs. Geo. Brandt. ON INVITATION: J. J. Browne, Dr. G. H. Allison, Wm. Kaiser. ON PAINTING AND DECORATIONS: E. E. Hyde, E. Hayward, B. F. Bennett, S. Gilliam, J. L. Bally.

Mr. Browne was requested to forward written invitations to Col. Merriam, of Fort Spokane, and Gen. Wheaton, of Fort Coeur d’Alene.

Our townsman, J. J. Browne, was invited by a vote of the committee to deliver the welcoming address, and we feel that the choice was well made, and that Mr. B. will be ready with a stirring oration.

The committee will meet from time to time until every arrangement has been perfected, and are ready to act upon any suggestion that any individual member of the community may offer. It is their desire to make this a spontaneous outburst in which everybody is expected to lend their hearty assistance. Whatever changes that may be decided upon will be made public in the local papers next week.

It is not necessary for us at this time to go into lengthy dissertation upon the completion of the stupendous undertaking that girdles with ribbons of iron the waters of the great ocean with those of the equally great inland sea. Every resident of the territory with sufficient intelligence to think is aware of the great advantages that the Northwest is to derive from the road that brings it into direct communication with the crowded thoroughfares of the older states. It will be the means of throwing thousands of immigrants into the present almost unknown territories, and will be the chief factor in the development of our industrial resources. Situated as Spokane Falls is near the eastern boundary line of the vast Territory of Washington, it is placed in a position to entitle her to the proud privilege of giving President Villard and his distinguished retinue of guests their first welcome to the coast. And for that reason, if none else, it is the duty of every single member of the population to cheerfully lend assistance in preparing a reception that will surprise the strangers and give them some idea of the energy and push of the people of this comparatively new land. We would most cordially invite the people of our neighboring and sister towns, and the large number of farmers in the vicinity, to come in and aid in making the affair a success. There will be many prominent people on the excursion whom every man, woman and child must have some desire to see, and as the trains remain here the entire day the chance that may never occur again is thus presented. The visitors arrive one week from to-morrow, Sunday, September 9th, a day that will not interfere with the business and pursuits of men. There is a great deal to do to prepare for the grand event, but we feel that nothing will be left undone that can in any manner tend to make the celebration and reception a glorious success. We want to see an outpouring of the people as an indication that the event is duly appreciated by this community.