The whole afternoon was spent in watching the panorama of cities and towns, farms and ranches, creeks and rivers, as we rushed by them. For nearly the whole distance between Topeka and Emporia we passed through one of the great coal-fields of Kansas. After leaving Emporia and the noted limestone quarries of Strong City, our path lay through an almost continuous field of corn, until we reached the thriving city of Newton. After a moment’s stop we rushed on through wheat, corn, and oats until the famous Arkansas Valley was reached, and Hutchinson loomed in view. Our car was soon on the _house_ track, and we found a large company awaiting to welcome us, among whom were: S. W. Campbell, Esq., President First National Bank; John Lowry, Esq., President Iowa Town Company; George S. Bourne, Esq., Treasurer Empire Loan and Trust Company; J. R. Pope, Esq., Cashier Valley State Bank; F. R. Chrisman, Esq., Cashier People’s State Bank; Samuel Matthews, Esq.; Miles Taylor, Editor _Daily News_; E. L. Meyer, Esq., Cashier First National Bank; W. T. Atkinson, Esq., Cashier National Bank of Commerce; James McKinstry, Esq., Attorney at Law; A. J. Lusk, Esq., President Hutchinson National Bank; W. R. Bennett, Esq., Vice-President Empire Loan and Trust Company, and many others. They crowded our spacious hotel car, and introductions followed. At the request of the party, presented by a committee of ladies, Mr. Knox consented to deliver to us the address which he had prepared for response to the toast, “The East,” at the “Bankers’ Banquet,” of the American Bankers’ Association, at Kansas City. Did orator ever have a more unique auditorium or attentive and appreciative audience? He said: “No American, returning home, can sail through the beautiful harbor and bay of New York without experiencing a thrill of joy and pride at the unequalled location of this great Eastern city and the rapid strides with which it attracts and combines all the elements which have heretofore formed the largest cities of the world! The Germans drink their bumpers, at home and abroad, to the river Rhine. The river Hudson was the first link of communication between the East and the West. Eighty years or more ago our fathers celebrated the opening of the Erie Canal with a joy unequalled by any of our modern celebrations. They felt that the East and the West were brought more closely together by adding this second link to the methods of transportation.