The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-09-13
MERCER CORRESPONDENTS.
MoElherne's speech--Politics in Mer
Ger County--New Buildings in
Aledo-- Other News
Items.
HAMLET. Sept. 11th, 1876

gard to the political meeting held here by
the friends OF reform, on Sept. I'd inst,
if intended as legitimate caricature, was
a mournful failure, and If designed as
mere matter of news, was entirely barren |
of truthfulness. 1t is not my intention to
particularize the errors, tor not single
statement in the Union letter but was
manufactured tout of whole cloth, and
my only object in calling attention to the
letter is to vindicate Mr.. McEiherne from
the utterly groundlesss charges against
him, and make "a few comm ents thereon,
No vlndication rs necessary to the people
here who heard him, and who are aston.
ished at the baseness OF the accusations.
which have their foundation only in dis
ordered imagination, but the people OF
Rock Island, the home of Mr.. McElherne,
who read the Union, might give some
credence to pretended report Of a meet
ine, without having knowledge of the
antDtLs of the writer. L scarcely deem 1t
worth the trouble, but l believe that can
procure the signatures of every person
present in The hall at the time Of McE-
bernes speech, Republicans as we'll AS
Democrats, to a sworn statement that the
Union account of the Hamlet Democratic
meeting, was made up OF deliberate false.
hoods from beginning to end.
Now for little light on this matter.
At private caucus, some days before the
Democratic meeting, a junto of Republl-
cans resolved that in retaliation for the &C
count which appeared in THE ARGUS, ex-
posing the out-and-out failure of the at
tempt In this place to organize Republi-
can club, to malign and misrepresent the
Democratic meeting. 1t can be proven on
them that they had a regular consultation
together at which certain parties were des
iguated to be on hand to take notes of the
doings at the Democratic meeting, and to
write up the same for publication, in which
the understanding was mutual that exag-
Grafton and fabrication were to be used to
caricature and bring ridicule upon it by
fair means or by foul. To what extent
they have succeeded | submit to jury
composed Of al honest and intelligent
public.
Here in this community, the idea that
one-half OF the audience at the Democratic
meeting were Republicans, is so ridiculous.
ly absurd as to cause smile. When it is
recollected that at their first meeting,
which they admitted failure by a post.
ponement, they had less than twenty voters
and at the second only seven voters, the
claim to one-half of the audi.
ence at the Democratic meeting is
the quintesence of radical presump
ton. There were present at
the Democratic meeting quite a
respectable number of former Republicans,
not one half, probably one tenth of the
audience, but almost to man they have
abandoned the Republican party, and are
nowin the ranks Of the party ofreform. The
truth Of it is, that the few Republicans
who are active in keeping up the party
organization are amazingly ignorant OF
the change going among the masses. They
seem to take it for granted that all who
ever voted with them in the past are with
them in this campaign, consequently where
they announce Republican meeting for q
certain time, and can get no audience. they
attribute the cause TO some imaginary
drawback. If they were not so blinded
with craftsmanship, they could not fail to
see the change that is being effected in the
minds of the masses, and that the FIRST
symptom Of this change is manifested in
lukewarmness. When men are under
going a change of political views, they are
not apt to be noisy about it. They gener.
ally have but little to say, but they keep
up tremendous thinking. Now, have
noticed in this campaign, not alone here.
but all over the country, that all Demo
cratic meetings are we'll attended. Not so
with the Republican meetings. l am
speaking more especially OF the country,
and the smaller towns. In the cities, and
the larger towns, there are always enough
of the bread and butter brigade" who
by liberal use Of money can get up a
demonstration that looks imposing, il it
is not enthusiastic. | know | am within
the bounds of truth when | saw that fully
one tenth OF those who voted for Grant in
70 will vote Cor Tildeu and Hendricks in
November.
The Union correspondent tries hard to
create the impression that Mr.. McElherDe s
speech was vulgar and indicate" Not
one word Of truth in the accusation. 1t
is true, he was not very delicate about
charging corruption and tEeiving tn
Grants administration, nor was he very
delicate about censuring those Republicans
who make pretense OF iavoring reform,
when ut the same time they are uphold
ing the rascalities Of the various rings that
have been robbing the government. 1t
was this that hurt the tender sensibilities
of the intelligent farmer who furnished
the Union with its fabricated report OF
the Hamlet Democratic meeting. During,
and Immediately after the war, Mr.. Ell
herne's offense would have been pro-
nounced "disloyalty." Now, it is char
actenged as ''indelicacy." Why did nj
the Intelligent farmer" inform his read
ers In exact language what Mr.. McElherne
did say, and then epdeayor To answer the