The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-05-27
First Rally of the Illinois
Republicans.
SPEECH BY GOVERNOR 0GLESBY.
The Liberals and Their
Reforms.
"lhe Democracy Struggling to the Grave with
an Old, Greasy White Hat ON

State Convention at Springfield on Monday last, q
mass meeting was held In the Opera House In the
evening. Governor Oglesby, nominated for re-elec-
ton, WAS among the speakers. In the course Of HIS
remarks he paid his respects to the liberals and
their reforms In the following spirited manner
You liberals say that you are for reform. Did you
expect II to be put IN your Cincinnati platformY
said 50. when 1t said that It was opposed to
human slavery, II said So and everybody un.
sa ths se coored nam should 90 an@
isration when ' il said the coiored man
should vote, the whole land know what II meant.
You say you are In favor Of civil service reform. SO
IL everybody. But what do you mean by 1t "A
loaves and fshesy think that is it, II is well
enough to say that you are In favor OF civil service
reform, but you undertake definition, and you
land where Washington and Jefferson began. You
have not added the breadth OF one hair to what we
have always said. Honesty, fidelity and capacity
You say II the American people will just elect
Greeley tor four years you will promise never to
propose to change the Constitution Of the United
States In that respect. You have not the courage
to assert solitary principle that you have learned
outside OF the republican party. You simply reaflrm
the doctrines of the republican party. You have be-
haved very well, and feel pretty kindly toward
you; For the last twelve years You have done
well with us. l give you all thanks for that but
tell you when you attempt to set up a concern OF
this Question Of civil Service CO reform charge Il
upon you tnat you are playing false. don't want
to make you mad for want you all to vote for me.
This last Is the best thing you can do. You start
out for civil service reform, but, when we read
your PLATFORM we find that you omitted 1t. You
are In favor OF civil service reform. What of itY
Everybody else has been You say, Go listen to
the speeches. OF our great men for our meaning. l
read Senator Trumbnli's bill, introduced year ago.
That makes it penal offence for q member OF Con-
gress to recommend any person In the United
TO Of 59 sne ANY nn1 or 70 be the
ever 80 decent or honest. And this Is Judge Trum-
bulls definition OF his civil service reform. Now
you understand it,
The other day another distinguished leader or
the liberal republican column went through Kansas,
and for the first time in American politics intro
Topeka, took up the spectrOscope to scan civil SER
vice REFORM He made long and erudite speech.
IL fell like dead weight upon the people. do not
know anybody who can understand it, unless 1t be
the worthless in that county In Missouri where in
wolves and thirty-nine wild cats. Qaughter)
So, looking through the lens, we see the light
reflected thus varionsly. They believe that their
Senators have the right to make recommendations
to the President for Offices and they glad when
they do make recommendations. Now there is a
candidate for Vice President who gives q spec
which 1t seems that Judge Trumbull comes In
direct opposition to his analysis and interpre-
agree how do you expect the American people to
understand it ? Judge Trumbu says 1t should be
penal offence to recommend. have personal feel
ing against him. and nave always respected him. and
believed him to be man OF great purity of charac-
ter. AND 30 lar as MI. Brown concerned l have
no rthson to believe that he is not the OF
man. Whether they would say as much OF me or
not cannot tell. am to look into their platform,
and 1nd In this important particular Judge
Trumbull gives one construction ana Mr. Brown
dlsagress with him and gives another. Then who
There seems to be no sense or honesty of purpose
in 1t. So far as know, there has always been
more civil service reform about the republican party
Judge Trumbull permitted himself to say that all
the eminent men In the republican party were 60
at nm otV fhn ind FL hat
went from Springfield, Bloomington and Chicago,
and while will do them the credit to say that
Will leave you to judge whether they are
any better than other people. They went there
Grant was tho first President who ever offered
to give up all his patronage as Executive, fby that
means the civil service could be purified. Great
himself In direct antagOnism with the leading men
OF his party on that account. He said: I'll do sim
cerely desire civil service reform, and will cordially
cooperate with Congress In order to attain this
suit" Now, when Grant went further than any
other man In the United states and further than any
other President went before in this direction
why is It that these liberals cannot be satisfed3
These fellows who went from Springfield and
the United States to Cincinnati, put their own con-
structon upon civil service reform. do not blame
gentlemen on the outside to do otherwise than
quarrel when two OF their great leaders differ SOY
Governor Brown said 1t was the best thing to re-
bull said 1t was the meanest OF all things to do
and these other fellows concluded That the
fairest exposition OF the doctrine would be to
turn us all out and turn them all In Now that can
be understood; 1t means something. There is not
democrat in the State Of illinois that cannot ap-
The next thing was another reform They must
have have amnesty for every rebel In the United
these gentlemen that before we can grant
amnesty to the rebels 1t will become our bounden
s8 to hs rebels
mere act OF charity; q mere question |
of propriety, OF expedency, fully covered by the
made plain by the Illinois platform of 1872 In this
city to-day. You call 1t principle. Why organize
soe pth e o Of or
1t Is a mere question OF expediency, and to be |
granted to every man In the South when he shall be
willing to come back and behave.
This Cincinnati Convention deliberately deter |
mined to have revenue reform, charging upon you |
the interests Of mpnoposts with the crV Of yob.
bert" ''robberl" from morning until night; and so
they went to Cincinnati to bring the tariff to free
terrible monopoly; and so they met In convention,
and, to show the American people that they were |
In dead earnest in this matter, they nominated |
Horace Greeley. They said they were opposed |
to the Ku Klux laws, which were crushing out the
Liberties Of t9e Southern states and their papers
They were determined to abolish the Ku Klux laws,
and were willing to fight, II needs be, TO make them
Horace Geecey, who strcnlously advocated every
Ku Klux law, and growled, and growled continu.
ally because President Grant did not kill more and
more OF those people down there who so much
needed killing.
There had been much corruption in New York,
and Congress was compelled to pass law protect
Ing the rights OF American citizens. They took that
law as an outrage. They say IL tramples down the
rights OF the people. What did they dor They
nominated Horace Greeley, who demands not only
the enforcement OF the act, but growled for six
months because Congress did not pass q more
stringent law. Could any party be moro con.
sistent ? Could any one expect to get votes from
this partyr
This movement has been frightful disappoint T.
ment; 1t Is q deusion. No republican has gone to
who was not cheated i'm the expectation
he had OF breaking our own party up. They found
It impossible to break up the old party They are
dissatisfied and unhappy because we are going
along smooth and nice. They wanted something
new. The masses OF the men who went there have |
ready to-day to turn their backs on the
chief and come back into the old party where they
belong. I would not feel to-day as they feel for
anything. have no unkindness toward them. I
have no malignant feeling for them. am sorry,