Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1879-08-21
REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
Enthusiastic Gathering!
And Harmonious Action I!
HON. L. DANFORD,
Temporary Chairman, Makes a
Rousing Speech
A TICKET TO WIN


ating candidate for the General As
sembly and for nominating County
officers, met at Commercial Hall, Mar.
tins Ferry, on last Friday. The Hall
under the direction of the Executive
Committee of the Foster Club, was
handsomely decorated with flags and
flowers, and over the stage, neatly
wrought in evergreen, was the name OF
our gallant standard bearer, Foster,
the work of the Misses Todd, of Bridge
port On the chairman's table was a
number of large, beautiful boquets, pre-
sented by some patriotic young ladies
whose names we did learn.
Full delegations were present from all
: points of the county, and in addition to
the excellent class of men present as
delegates, whose names were published
last week, there were a number of repre-
sentative men from different sections,
who came to witness the proceedings of
the convention and to encourage the
4 cause. Representatives of the press were
out in full force; among them we noticed
VIM. NJ. Lupton, for the st. Clairsville
Gazette; C. l.. PoOrman of Tribune, j. +.
Anderson of Independent and John Z.
Cow of Leader, Bellaire; S. F. Dean and
Johnny Day of the Intelligencer, and W..
S. Faris and DR.. Blackford of Register,
and Mr.. Truman, Saturday Evening
Journal, Wheeling.
The Convention convened at IL o'clock
and was called to order by c. w. CARROLL
Esq, Chairman of the County Executive
Committee, who nominated the Hon
Lorenzo Danford, of st. Clairsville, for
temporary chairman. Mr.. Danford, on
taking the chair, addressed the Conven-
tion as follows:
Mr.. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN OF
THE CoNvENTION-Ife feel it a cOmpH-
ment to be called upon to act as tempo
rary presiding officer of the Belmont
County Republican Convention. Espe-
cially so at this time. There has not
been time since 1865, when the Repub-
licans of Ohio, and indeed of the whole
country, were in so close a union as they
are now. l want to call your attention
to the reasons for the enthusiasm that
possesses the Republicans of the coun-
try. | have been in political life for
some years, and think l can tell when
THE TIDE Is WITH Us,
and know can feel it when it is against
US. There is something i'll the face of
every man you meet which a politician
will note better perhaps, than those
who are not engaged in politics, and
which tells you when your party is in
line and in good earnest working order,
and | repeat that there has not been
time since 1865, when the Republicans
were in as good working order as they
are now. One reason for this state of
things is, we have been brought to
realization of the situation of our coun-
try as it is to be affected in the future
of the solid South. l don't believe that
the people of the United States realized
two years ago even, that there was dam
ger that in so short time this great
government of ours was to be handed
over into the keeping of the men who
from 1861 to 1865, attempted to destroy |
it-but if you will look to-day through |
the Congressional directory you will |
find one hundred and fOrty-siX members |
of the Democratic party in the House
of Representatives and one hundred of
them comes from the South, including |
Maryland, Delaware. Kentucky and Mis-
souri, as part of the South. Of the
members of the Senate and House of |
Representatives, eighty-tliree record |
themselves as having been in active
sympathy with the rebellion. How
many more there are who do not make
that record of themselves in the Con-
gressional directory, l am at loss to
know. And there is not one of the eigh-
ty-three that has word of apology for
his record. Alexander H. Stephens
alone, of the entire number, explains
that he voted against the ordinance of
secession because he thought 1t was bad
policy, and that is the only word of eX-
PLANTATION from the eighty-three men
now in Congress who attempted to over
throw your Government. l think the
people Of this country are beginning to
---se REALIZE THE FACT
that these men have the same feeling to-
ward the United States and the National
authority that they had prior to the rebel
bellion; as soon as they come fully into
power in the legislative branch of the
government, they announce through Mr..
Blackburn, that they had come at last
into full possession of the legislative
branch of the government for the first
time in. eighteen years, and that they
proposed to signaliZe their return to
power by
A T A
They began that work, and it is evident
to every one that the work of the extra
session was aimed at the overthrow of
the National authority. 1t was not that
the national supervision of elections in
the South amounted to very much, for
the 18th Amendment has been practi-
cally stamped out in that section of the
country, and these people have their own
way there, but they were determined to
wipe out, and to wipe off of the statute
books of the Nation all pretence on the
part of the General Government to su-
pervise the elections for members of
Congress and for President of the Uni
ted States, in those States, Gen, Ewing,
in his Lancaster speech, declares that
they have succeeded in OverthrOwing
the infamous system of packing juries
in vogue under Republican rule.
Gentlemen, the S2Oth and S21st sec
tions of the Revised Statutes will show
you the animus of the war that was
made upon the jury system. So far as
the manner of drawing jurors in the
United States Courts is concerned it has
not been materially changed since the
beginning of the present century, but in
1862 Congress passed a law by which any
person engaged in rebellion, or in giving
AID AND COMFORT TO REBELLION
against the government of the United
States, was disqualified from acting as a
juror in the Federal Courts. The s2lst
section enacted the iron-clad oath. And
this is the legislation that Gen, Ewing
denounces as an infamous system for
oil i,,,.ias.