Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1866-11-14


j. fellow citizens, eouli not help but ra
member how much quieter all thes
1. fellows were in 1864 Icbeers an,
groans, when, instead Of having
h traitor at the head of this government
p we had an honest, true patriot, anC
:. when this city was under the rule Of
e chief officer who could control it,
The noise and confusion which here
e took place is indescribable, and Gener
e al Butler retired further back on tn,
> platform and consulted with hi,
e friends. A man on the City hall stepi
), was seen violently gesticulating snC
= addressing the crowd. Advancing
] again, General Butler said Oh, no
/ fellow citizens. there is no use-there
e is no reason why l should play the
= blackguard. | am not a President nol
5 Vice President. | will not go into
any controversy with an angry crowd.
: Confusion worse confounded again
! reigned, and blackguard epithets came
J up from the crowd, which are not fit
for publication. Cries of "Put him
out" ''Go on, General" alternated,
aud a gentleman near the stand re-
marked, Free speech is hardly in or
der here; we are too ne Ir the City Hall
Three cheers for General Butler were
succeeded by groans and yells The
proceedings thus briefly noticed occu
pied about half an hour.
GENERAL WALBRIDGE-FELLow CITI-
zENs: Cheers, groans and cries of
Butler" Butler" n The city of New
York viii surely uphold a free press
and free speech. Will you allow this
meeting to be interrupted ICries of
NO" and groans. Those who are in
favor of free speech and of listening to
General Butler will say aye. loud
cries of aye amid the shouting of the
mob). Those opposed will say mo- 1t
is unanimous. General Butler will
proceed. Laughter and cheers.
GENERAL BUTLER-I say the nation
might we'll have hoped. Groans and
yells. But although the rebellion was
overcome the rebsllious spirit was not
subdued. The men of the South,
though conquered, had fed, many of
them, to the North, and there, in ALI
ance with those who throughout the
war were in league with them, under
took to put up rebellion here and to
accomplish by other means what they
had failed to secure by open war. The
consequence was that when the rebel
army surrendered the Republican par
ty had to impress its force upon the
The General proceeded his remarks
thus far, not needing the tumult of the
crowd, hisvoice at times scarcely reach.
ing those around him on the stand, the
noise was so great. Those of the mob
who were near enough to catch the
tenor of his remarks became furious,
and every few minutes the police were
obliged to collar and remove some de-
monstratiVe rowdy who was trying to
incite the rioters to violent measures.
At this time fight seemed inevitable,
but the police behaved nobly, and by
their determined and prompt interfer-
ence preserved the peace, if they did
not secure order
General Butler continued amidst al
ternate cheers and groans: And per-
haps no better exempli6cation Of such
q spirit could be furnished than in the
scene before US, where a few men,
merely by the force of noise, are trying
to stifie free speech, under the eye of
their leader, whom by such arguments
they hope to elect as Governor, and |
who has now the power by word to |
still the mob which disgraces the city
of New York (cheers from the citizens)
over which he presides. (Cheers from |
the mob If he were fit to rule he
would see that he is merely following
in the footsteps of him, who, from the !
steps of that building, addressed muir
derous mob of orphan killers. [Cheers
from the citizens. One Democratic |
Governor of the State of New York, by
his completely with the mob spirit, has
forever doomed himself to that infamy
which mobocracy must ever find in this
country. Cheers from the citizens. y
Another would-be Governor, the May
or, in the precincts and purlieus of his
own Office sets his hired retainers at so
much week to put down free speech
and free discussion. loud applause
from the citizens and three groans for
1t has been said that this
matter. this disturbance is personal to
myself. l ask no higher compliment
than that which my fellow citizens
would pay me after comparing this
spectacle on the third day before the
with the state of things which
existed here on the third day before
the election in November, 1864, when
l had command of the City of New
York. Immense applause from the
and groans and hootings from
the mob) No cur dared yelp, laugh
ter and cheers, but with 'bated breath
and whispering humbleness' they took
off their hats as passed. Cheers from
the citizens.) fthere is any argument
in favor Of despotic rule and against ;
the rule of the majority in a republi-
can country, it is such scenes as this,
and l warn all these men that it will :
take but few more such scenes to de
termine the great national Republican
party OF the Union to see to it that
there is peace in New York at every
election as there was in 1864. The
police here captured and marched off
another rioter. The question has more
than once been asked, is il possible
that New York shall be governed by
the majority of its citizens? 1t will de-
pend alone upon the conduct of its cit
izens. If its leading men form rings.
if its officers are unfaithful to their
trust, if men who ought to know better !
encourage mob spirit, if it cannot be :
controlled by other means, then the :
good people of the State of New York =
will see to it that their voice is not
stihed by theaets of mobs of New York.
Cheers from the citizens and loud
howls from the mob.) And those men
who are willing. for the AXE of mere
temporary triumph, to set law and
order at defiance and assume that they
can safely interfere with the rights of
.he American citizen, will find that
hey have made mistake. as all sach
short sighted men do Reason will
come back to all the true men of the ,
country, and while in a given space the
7oice of reason may be stiHed yet the
great heart of the country viii prove
true to liberty, anG not only liberty,
but liberty governed by Law. Cheers
from the citizens.
It was this spirit of unreason and mis-
rule, that which has been introduced into
The community of New York from the {
South, ard it has produced all these out |
RACES upon the liberty of the citizen and {
upon freedom of speech. There are, l