Orrin Hatch: “100 years ago today, January 4, 1896, President Grover Cleveland signed a proclamation admitting Utah as the 45th State…”

“100 years ago today, January 4, 1896, President Grover Cleveland signed a proclamation admitting Utah as the 45th State of the Union. I rise in recognition of this event and to join with Utahns everywhere to celebrate the centennial of the State of Utah. Prior to President Cleveland's action, Utahns had diligently battled for more than half a century to attain this goal. The telegram announcing Utah's statehood arrived at 9:13 a.m. on that winter morning in January at the Western Union office located on Main Street in Salt Lake City. As gunshots rang out the news, hundreds of people began shouting with joy, ``Statehood has been proclaimed.'' Bells and whistles reverberated throughout the valley, and one-by-one, 100 American flags were hoisted. Let me emphatically state 100 years later than President Cleveland's act was not just routine business--this was the birth of a truly remarkable State. Utah is great because its people make it so.”