Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1872-09-03

him. (Applause) And | see you all
seem to share in the same want of
appetite for Greeley. Now | will
not presume to say that he couldn't
possibly make good President. No
one who is not endowed with omnis-
cience can say that. But | must say
that, Judging from his past career,
only Omniscience itself could foretell
What sort he tOOuld make (Great
applause.) You are all asked TO
turn your backs upon the man you
know, and vote for one you don't
know. What, don't know Horace
/, Greeley ? some one may say. No,
gentlemen; although he has been be-
fore the people SO many years, we
only know him well enough to feel
sure that he has developed more po-
litical eccentricities than any other
man you can name. We do nor know
him yet; tor no man living can mag
inc what he will do next.
But, according to some of our Lib
eral trieads, these two men are both
Republicans. We have two Repub-
lican parties in the field. Woll, |
long have declared in my speeches
that everybody ought to belong to
our party, and now | begin to feel
that my efforts are crowned with
success. But | really do not expect
the millennium to begin just yet. But
since we have two Republican candi-
dates, We can only take our choice
between men. Well now, 20 for
Grant Because | feel that he is
the best Of the two;aside from all con-
ventions and platforms he is yet the
best mar, oh, beyond all my powers
of comparison. There is not a man
now within the sound of my voice,
who, if he had been asked to choose
between them four years ago, would
not have said that Grant was the best
man f any civil position or employ
mont except, perhaps, editing a pa
GER, which we all know cannot be
called civil employment Then,
there was not a man in our party
who said that Greeley ought to be
President instead of Grant and if |
recollect right, there were not many
Democrats that hankered after him.
A great change has taken place.
Where is lit? Has Greeley become
great deal better man? Has Grant
become demoralized, incompetent, or
unfit -? Or are yOu changed, my Lib
eral friends Let us see.
Greeley does not show much change
outwardly, does he I? If there is any
improvement in him it must be in his
heart, his acts or his associations.
Wherein has Grant grown worse !?
What has he done or omitted to do,
that can have changed your judy
ment of him? Taken gifts, has be !?
Not in four years though-no, no
There is no proof that he ever has
taken one since his nomination for
the Presidency. All, my loving Lib
eral friends you think you are crawl
ing toward Heaven or victory very
fast, prating of the Great Gift-Taker
Why, you looked on and saw him
while he took those gifts, and you
were proud Of him. You knew there
were But few men in the worlds his
tory that have achieved anything
worthy Of such tokens from vast
and grateful people. Washington
was one Of those men, Lincoln was
ono of those men, Bismark, Bright,
Gladstone, Wellington-such are the
men who, like Grant, have earned
gifts He has taken gitts, but what
was their paltry sum to the gifts be
has brought to us? A re united
country, peaceful land, reign OF
industry,a restored currency. Look
back 10 1865. See him restoring to
your homes million or so of blood
stained, Scared soldiers. men who
had given themselves into his hand
TO stand or fall with the country !;
see him then giving them back to us.
not beaten and disgraced, but victu-
rious and proud and then whine at
these tokens Of our gratitude to
Grant
He restored them to their homes,
but had no home of his own to re-
turn to. The most ilIustrous man of
the world, whom two continents
were straining their eyes TO got a
look at, came out of the war without
fortune or a fireside for his wife
and family. Though he was wei
coined everywhere, yet there were
men who felt that home suited to
his needs would be priced by him as
dearly as by the humblest man before
me. There were rich men in Bos-
ton, New York and Chicago-milion-
aires whose wealth loaded them
down-men who felt as if they owed
their all to the man who came back
silently and quietly, without a roof
to cover his head And you thought
so too; you were very grateful then,
before you became Liberals So
they agreed to buy him a house
worth 100000; and, to give more
people chance to contribute, no
man should give over $1,000. But
the list sweled above $4,000 and
then they said, well since they l0W
give, let us furnish the house too
and if there is any surplus then, let's
put it in the bank to his credit.
Money in bank won't hurt him any
more than it will you or me-"
So they 2aised $4,000, for him
you knew all about it, all was public
before your very eyes. Not whine
or grosn from a single Liberal Re-
publican was heard. Hardly a DEM
ocrat dared sneer at the act. And |
am proud 10 believe you were hearts
lily glad he got these gifts. Had
there been a man mean enough to
malign the fame of Grant for taking
those gifts, it would have been an in.
suit to his Creator to have called him
a Republican. Two years later,
when called on to choose President,
when all this was fresh in your
minds, you never once cried for Hor-
ace Greeley. No, you cried out to
US to give you Grant, even with all
his gifts upon his soul All, where