The Ottawa Free Trader

Running Long Jump—First prize, Geo. Sunleiter, 19 feet 6 inches, Vorwaerts, Chicago; second, Edwin Schaeffer, 19 feet 1 inch, Chicago Turngemeinde.

Running High Jump—First prize, Hans Kuhn, Chicago Turngemeinde; second, Amus Carr, Chicago Turngemeinde.

The Fest closed with two balls—at Turner Hall and at Willis's, neither of which could alone have accommodated the crowd. There was splendid music at either and dancing was kept up until a late hour.

The only thing that marred the pleasure of the occasion or at all showed Ottawa's lack of good breeding and hospitality was a beastly attempt at smartness on the part of the Journal paper. In spite of the fact that the editor has no more wit and even less sense of humor than a horse, the paper has an overwhelming ambition to play the role of a "funny" paper. It made a desperate attempt at that sort of thing at the expense of the Turners on Monday.

In 1866, when the then Fest was held here, a certain lawyer wrote for a Chicago paper a burlesque speech of welcome which was put in the mouth of the then Mayor, Chas. Delano. It was a very low thing to come from a city acting as host, being a direct insult both to the Turners and to Mayor Delano himself, that caused the bitterest feeling among both Turners and citizens. It had long since been forgotten, but on Monday some one brought to light a copy, and handed it to the Journal man. An alleged speech by an alleged drunken man is sometimes funny. The Journal man conceived this one to be surpassingly so, and he let it out. It looked like a direct insult. It was an insult, and a specially aggravating one under the circumstances. The Turners were mad, of course and the Ottawa Society especially so, as they had reason to be: and at the concert hunted Mr. Kendig up and expelled him from the hall. On Tuesday morning a meeting of the Turnbezirks was held at which the following card was penned:

TO THE PUBLIC.

Fully appreciating the kind reception and noble hospitality extended to us by the citizens of the city of Ottawa, we regret that one single narrow-minded individual, who, by mere chance, has the privilege to misuse one of the fundamental elements of political liberty, the free press, could not abstain from giving vent to his personal ire, and thereby tried to insult men who, at the darkest hours of our Republic, offered life and blood for the maintenance of the most noble structure of political and personal liberty.

We are convinced that the insults heaped upon the guests of the city of Ottawa in yesterday's issue of the Journal are, by the best citizens of the town, recognized as the effusion of a small brain, and discountenanced as coming from an irresponsible person.

CHICAGO TURNBEZIRK,
H. BELLINGHAUSEN,
H. HAHN,
E. HOECHSTER,
C. PLUM,
J. STROBEL,
H. KAISER,
C. RUDDY,
Committee.

To this Mr. Purrucker, on behalf of the Ottawa Society, adds:

To THE CITIZENS OF OTTAWA.—On behalf of the Ottawa Turner Society I desire to protest against the low and abusive assault contained in the columns of the Ottawa Journal of last evening. While we do not object to wit or decent humor, in this case our nationality has been burlesqued, our society impugned, the virtue of our wives and daughters derided, and our patriotism ridiculed. Indecent as is the article how leprously vile must be its author. It bears the earmarks of a bummer whose last respectable tie to common humanity has been severed. As for the medium of this meanness it is too puerile and irresponsible for notice.

For twenty-six years our society has stood among you. Daily we have pursued our vocations by your side. Of our industry and good citizenship, our love of intellectual and physical education, you shall be the judges. During the war but five of our members remained at home to look after our wives and children while we were at the front.

Our friends from Chicago, Joliet, Aurora, Peru, La Salle, Mendota and Davenport are our guests. Welcomed on the part of the city by its leading executive officer, on behalf of the fair fame and good name of Ottawa, remembering the meaning of the word "guests," we ask you to assist us in making the friends under our roofs today appreciate how you despise the author and the carrier of this open breach of your hospitality.

Respectfully,
J. M. PURRUCKER,
President Ottawa Turner Society.

OTTAWA, Aug. 2, 1882.