JAMES GIBBONS 191 celebration held in his honor on the occasion of his golden jubilee as priest and silver jubilee as cardinal in June, 1911. Most of those who had part in arranging the event were non- Catholics, headed by Governor Crothers of Maryland, Mayor Preston of Baltimore, and Bishop Murray of the Episcopal diocese of Maryland. President Taft, Vice-President Sher- man, Chief Justice White of the Supreme Court, ex-President Boosevelt, Speaker Clark, ex-Speaker Cannon, Ambassador Bryce of Great Britain, the senators and representatives of Maryland with many other prominent members from both houses of Congress left their duties and went to Baltimore to pay tribute by their presence and their words to the great churchman who as private citizen has done so much public service. The big Fifth Regiment Armory where the address- es were delivered could accommodate only twenty thousand of the Cardinal's friends and admirers. A few sentences from the speeches of the day will show better than anything else the regard which the Cardinal enjoys in the public mind. Gov- ernor Crothers, who presided over the meeting, said in con- clusion of the opening speech :
- * We salute you. Cardinal Gibbons, as a torch-bearer in our
midst of religion, justice and patriotism. We acknowledge and celebrate before the country and the world your lofty de- votion to religious faith and purposes, your unfailing and ceaseless activities in behalf of this State and Union and of all their spiritual and material interests, your encouragement and help in all good aspirations, your wise and beneficent counsels in times of difficulty and doubt, your elevating influ- ence upon all the movements and concerns of this your native land.*'
- What we are especially delighted to see confirmed in him,*'
said President Taft, **is the entire consistency which he has demonstrated between earnest and single-minded patriotism on the one hand and sincere devotion to his Church on the other. ' '
- The Cardinal,'^ declared Mr. Boosevelt, ** throughout his
life has devoted himself to the service of the American peo- ple. . . I am honored — we are all honored — that the op-
