Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1876-11-03
Ingersoll.
Inter Ocean.

| lulcT OCeuL.
In all the marts of trade, on the
exchange, on the streets, in the Of
fees of lawyers and doctors, in the
studies of clergymen, in the closets
of students, there were visible on
Saturday last, in Chicago, signs of
almost feverish expectation. There
was haste to "fnish" work, haste to
get home, and haste to get back in
the evening. And when the shad-
ows of night fell upon the city they
fell upon vast concourse of people
standing in front of the Exposition
building eager for the doors to open.
They were waiting impatiently to
greet and listen to the great and pop
ular orator of Illinois-Robert G. In
gersoll. The vast throng that final
ly assembled in the grandest audi
ence room in the country, is as i'm
possible of description as the Won
derful speeches of the orator OF the
occasion. 1t was 4 well-dressed au.
dience. 1t was an intelligent audi
cnce. 1t was an audience composed
of men and women-men and wo-
men who had read of Ingersoll; men
and women whose hearts have al
ready been deeply stirred by his fer
vid appeals in behalf of justice and
the Union, and reused to indigna-
ton against the crimes of the Demo
cratic party as depicted by a master.
They came to see and hear the man
who paints the hideous features of
modern Democracy in words as Mast
limns them with the pencil. The
name of Ingersoll was on every
tongue, linked with hopes for the
triumph of the Republican party,
and associated with bitter words
against it's opponents. Here and
there were little knots of scowling
Democrats, regarding with fierce
disgust the abundant evidence of en-
thusiasm for the man and the cause,
and with lll-concealed depression
the grandeur Of the monster demon
stration. A less respectable class
of Democrats was also present, made
up of pickpockets and thieves. They
Piled their trade briskly until about
dozen of them fell into the hands of
the police and were marched away
to Jail. Long before o'clock every
available inch of standing space was
filled, and the audience listened to,
and joined in patriotic songs while
they waited tor the coming man.
When he came, wave on wave of
cheers welled up from forty thousand
throats, swelling into q grand diapa-
son, rising and falling, end finally
dying away in the lofty arches Of the
building. There never was grand
cr reception. 1t was fit for an en-
peror, and yet it was accorded to an
humble individual who cares to boast
no prouder title than that he is an
American citizen. To elevate the
character of that citizenship; to rem
der 1t, in fact as broad and impartial
as it is in theory; to establish it in
the hearts of the whole people as the
thing above all things of priceless
value; to make it the boast of the
humblest colored man in the future,
rs it has been the boast of the white
man for one hundred years in the
past-this is the mission to which
Robert G. Ingersoll devotes his won
derful powers of heart and mind.
1t is through this championship of a
principle to which all other princi-
Piles Of Government are subordinate,
a principle which must be maintain
ed here and now if liberty and equal
ity are not to perish from the face of
the earth-it is through this cham
pionship that Colonel Ingersoll has
touched the hearts of the people with
the wand of a magician. 1t is idle to
attempt to describe the effect of his
speech. 1t was electrical; it appeal
ed to the reason; 1t stirred the depths
of feeling; it aroused sentiments OF
patriotism; it evoked resentment
and scorn of treason and trcachery
and of the lowness and meanness
and guiltiness which threaten to nat
ionally cnvelop and fetter us. Only
those who saw and heard can know
the tull force Of Ingersoll's indescrib-
able oratory. But it fell on an audi
cnce fit to grace such an occasion.
1t was listened to by the largest con-
course of people ever assembled un-
der one roof on the American CONT
nent. The demonstration was an
honor to the city, fitting testimon-