Captain Hobson U.S.N.

              CAPTAIN HOBSON U.S.N.
Subjects: 
America, Mistress of the Sea.
United States as a   World Power.
The Navy and the Nation.
America s Mighty Mission in the   World.
A Message from the Sea.
CAPTAIN   HOBSON
HERO    OF   THE   MERRIMAC
FROM THE ROCKFORD (ILL.) STAR. August 21, 1902.
CAPT.   KlCHMOND   PEARSON   HOBSON is one of the brilliant lights of the American Navy.     No history of naval warfare will be written in the future that does not devote space to Captain Hobson.     At Santiago he won imperishable renown.
When it was known that Cervera's fleet was in the harbor the late Hear-Admiral Sampson conceived the idea of effectually sealing it up and thus prevent any pos¬sibility of escape. Volunteers were called for to lead the daring expedition and the first to respond was Lieutenant Hobson. It was not necessary to tell the young lieutenant that he took his life in his hands, and that whether the plan failed or not he probably would not return alive. He knew that, and knowing, was willing to offer his young life as a sacrifice on the altar of his country.
It is not necessary to recount that thrill¬ing feat; it is not necessary to tell how Hobson steered the collier Merrimac into the mouth of the harbor at dead of night, sunk it to the bottom and with his com¬rades jumped into the stream. His capture,   imprisonment   and    subsequent iberation are too well known to need recounting.
Nor is it necessary to say that it was one of the bravest deeds ever recorded.
The world has applauded Hobson and his place is secure among those who offered up their lives at the call of duty. That hour in Santiago harbor forms one of the bright pages in the brilliant annals of the American Navy.
Captain Hobson is the son of a Con¬federate veteran. The presence of the son at Santiago typified the perfect unity that exists between North and South. It signalled the reunion of all sections and the indestructibility of the States. North and South not only won honors side by side in the war with Spain, but the war served to show to the world that only patriots, admirers and defenders of the Union live beneath the folds of the Stars and Stripes.
The story he has to tell is well worth hearing. " The American Navy, Its Tra¬ditions and Victories," recounted by a man who is a brilliant part of that navy, a part of its traditions, and who aided in winning one of its greatest victories.
Captain Hobson should have great audi¬ences wherever he goes. The man is worthy the theme; the theme worthy the man.
The following description of Captain Hobson as he appeared before six thou¬sand people at the Rockford (III.) Assembly last August, is but an index to his receptions before thirty-three like gatherings during the past summer. Everywhere he went last summer great throngs were in waiting to receive and welcome him.
FROM THE ROCKFORD  (ILL.) DAILY STAR.
August 21, 1902. THOUSANDS CHEER ADDRESS OF HOBSON.
NAVAL HERO   WINS   ALL   HEARTS AT ASSEMBLY.
MASTERLY EFFORT BY ENTHUSIAST. Captain Richmond Pearson Hobson surprised the nearly 6,000 people who heard him yesterday. The impression obtained that he was appearing before Chautauquas because his daring feat in Santiago harbor made him a drawing card.
He was known to be the bravest of the brave, but it was not known or even
CAPTAIN
RICHMOND PEARSON HOBSON
AT    THE    CHAUTAUQUAS
AT    THE    CHAUTAUQUAS
The following description of Captain Hobson as he appeared before six thousand people at the Rockford (Ill.) Assembly is but an index to his receptions before thirty-three like gatherings during the past summer. Everywhere he went last summer great throngs were in waiting to  receive and welcome him.
Captain Richmond Pearson Hobson surprised the nearly six thousand people who heard him yester¬day. The impression obtained that he was appear¬ing before Chautauquas because his daring feat in Santiago harbor made him a drawing card.
He was known to be the bravest of the brave, but it was not known or even suspected that he is a man of such high order of ability.
He had hardly spoken five minutes, however, before it became apparent that he is not only an orator and thinker, but that he is a mature student of international affairs. Well educated to begin with, this sea rover has been an observer and has picked up facts at every port and moulded them into great lessons.
He stands a full six feet, has a large, well-shaped head, broad shoulders, big chest, speaking eyes and a face not unlike Richard Mansfield.
His voice is round, full and sonorous. It is almost a bass and is pleasantly modulated.
His language is beautiful, always well chosen and he never lacks for a word, and it is always the right word in the right place.
The effect of his address upon the great audi¬ence was electrical.
It was a consistent, logically constructed, bril¬liant plea for world domination, not for conquest, but to give them the benefit of civil and religious liberty and the building up of the brotherhood of man.
The great Assembly room was filled and scores standing in the rear formed a human fringe.
The great throng was attentive and appreciative and frequently punctuated the address with applause.
The man had won a great triumph and those who heard him became better Americans, for his address was intensely patriotic.
(Here follows a three-column verbatim report of the lecture.)
The famous hero of a naval climax walked off the platform at the Chautauqua Assembly last Satur¬day afternoon wrapt in the halo of statesman and philosopher. While all of the four thousand auditors came to pay their respects to a nation's hero and see in person one of the most renowned youths of the age, none came expecting to be held in the grasp of a physical and mental giant and tossed upon the billows of oratorical delight and historical ecstasy.
Captain Hobson's superb personality is equal to the full measure of the ideal hero. His discourse on "The Navy, Its Achievements and Importance," broke upon his mid-continent audience with the force and surprise of a tidal wave. The hero be¬came the oracle and orator, the statesman and statis¬tician, the historian and patriot. Metaphorically standing with one foot upon the land and one upon the sea, he traced with finger-mind the commercial pathways of the watery universe; designated the limpid mausoleums of the battle-wrecked navies of the centuries, and lined with prophetic eye the story of their future; his country's flag leading the float¬ing squadrons as the world's peacemaker.
His silent and sympathetic audience mentally rose and fell as the ocean tide responds to nature's mystic forces.
His opulent utterance, culture, breadth of thought and comprehension of world-wide questions bore the charm of revelation. His resurrection of naval conflicts in which his own country was a vic¬torious participant confounded the historical student. We warn future assemblies not to look upon Captain Hobson as a heroic freak for exhibition purposes. He is food for men—not babes.— Winfeld {Kas.) Courier.
PRESS ECHOES FROM MANY STATES
Captain Hobson ranks in the hearts of the American people as one of the greatest heroes of the century and not only has he gained fame by an exploit of true heroism but he, even though a young man, ranks with the finest orators of the day, while to those who have met him in a social way he combines the highest attributes of true manhood, character, courtesy and nobility, typical of a gentleman.
No speaker has ever appeared before an audience in Kalamazoo who made a more favorable impression on his auditors than did Captain Hobson.    For his subjects he chooses the grandest themes of modern times, of vital in¬terest to the American people and topics of which he is thoroughly familiar. He presents every phase of the topic in such an earnest manner, reinforcing his assertions with convincing arguments, and yet presenting with such graphic force and enthusiasm that he holds his audience spellbound and throughout his entire discourse true patriotism rings with such intense emotion that his lecture becomes an in¬spiration to better manhood, truer fraternity and more earnest citizenship.—Kalamazoo {Mich.) Gazette-News.
CAPTAIN
RICHMOND PEARSON HOBSON
PRESS ECHOES FROM MANY STATES
He is a magnificent orator and his remarks from beginning to end did not produce one sentence which savored of the stale or unprofitable.—Benton Harbor, {Mich.) News.
The opera house was filled with the county's most prominent citizens, and they listened with rapt attention throughout the entire discourse, which lasted one hour and forty-five minutes and produced a pro¬found impression.—Birmingham, ( Ala.) Age-Herald.
The discourse was replete with most interesting information, dealing with world questions with a directness and simplicity that put them clearly within the reach of all who heard him. The personality of the young orator aids to hold attention.—Ft. Wayne, (Ind.) Daily News.
That he is a most ardent advocate of a great navy goes without saying and he sustains his position in language ardent, convincing and laden with facts. He has a powerful voice, a fervid delivery and his enunciation is very distinct. He talked for two hours and did not utter an uninteresting word—San Fran¬cisco, (Cal.) Examiner.
Notwithstanding the inclement weather of last evening there was an excellent attendance at the State University auditorium to greet Captain Rich¬mond Pearson Hobson of Merrimac fame in his lecture on "The Navy." That all were fully repaid for braving the elements was evidenced by the interest manifested and approval accorded by the audience. He has a pleasing address and an exceed¬ingly well modulated voice. His lecture gave evi¬dence of a careful study of the resources, history, potentialities and duty of the United States as compared to Europe.—Austin, (Texas) Statesman.
He is a man with a message, framed in lan¬guage of pristine beauty, abounding in logic and indisputable fact.—Dixon, (III.) Eve?iing Telegram.
Captain Hobson is a forceful and impressive speaker, who steers clear of all trivial matters and confines his appeal to the people to the high level of patriotic pride and duty.—Tacoma, (Wash.) Ledger.
That a man so thorough, so strong, so sincere should have been traduced by the miserable petti-foggers of yellow journalism seems fairly pitiful. The Herald is more than glad Captain Hobson came to Reading, to forever dispel from our people the absurd fancy that he is but a conceited flirt.—Read¬ing, (Pa.) Herald.
A splendid specimen of physical, mental and moral manhood; a man of rare eloquence, keen logic, exalted patriotism; a man combining thorough manhood with perfect gentleness; a man of splendid mental gifts, who has put them to the very best use ; and a man, moreover, who does not find bravery and brilliance incompatible with the highest moral stand¬ards.—Buffalo, (N. Y.) Courier.
Nature made Captain Hobson just like a story¬book hero, for his personality is certainly one in many. He has a figure like a Grecian god, with the broad, sloping shoulders, denoting great strength, and the clean-cut limbs of the athlete.
The surprise last night was in his speaking, for Captain Hobson is both eloquent and magnetic. His toast was " America's Supremacy," and his ringing utterances aroused the assemblage to the highest pitches of patriotic enthusiasm. —Los Angeles, (Cal.) Daily Times.
THREE PERSONAL LETTERS FROM WELL KNOWN MEN
WATERLOO, IOWA, June 28, 1902. CAPTAIN RICHMOND PEARSON HOBSON, U. S. NAVY. My Dear Captain :   I wish to extend to you my personal thanks for your magnificent address from our Chautauqua platform June  25,  1902.     In my eleven years' experience as superintendent of this assembly we have never had any speaker that has given our people the universal satisfaction that you did.    In the eleven years we have had many of the nation's most distinguished gentlemen, orators and lecturers.    You have a message for the people— the whole people—and they hear it gladly.
Yours sincerely, F. J. SESSIONS.

WASHINGTON, D. C, October 28, 1902. Dear Major Fond: I don't wonder that you have been attracted by Captain Richmond Pearson Hobson's splendid work, and I congratulate you on securing him. Yellow journals of the country tried to ruin him, and the people in many sections came to look upon him as a freak, but he has demonstrated everywhere he has been the fact that he is a modest Christian gentleman and a lecturer of much more than ordinary ability. I gave him his first Chautauqua engagement, and last summer controlled his time absolutely. I gave him thirty-four Chautauqua en¬gagements in two months at #200 a lecture. This leads all records on the lyceum platform.
Yours very truly, W. L. DAVIDSON.

CAPTAIN RICHMOND PEARSON HOBSON,                                BATON ROUGE, LA., November 17, 1904.
Dear Sir: For years past I have heard very many eloquent discourses within the precincts of the Louisiana State University by able men; but a sense of obligation constrains me to say that for objective motive, eloquent diction, oratorical effect, magnetic personal enthusiasm, compass of information, and above all, heart-enkindling, soul-inspiring, real, thorough, patriotic Americanism, your lecture last night on the American Navy surpasses all. I shall hereafter have a higher regard for Garig Hall, that I have heard you speak from its rostrum.
Very respectfully yours,            G. W. BURGESS.