The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-07-29
gn1ittea1.
MCSVEENEY'S SPEECH,
AT CLEVELAND, FROM THE BAL
CONY OF THE WEDDELL HOUSE.


Early in the evening of Wednesday Of
last week after a few airs by a Band,
Hon. W. w. Armstrang made a few in.
troduCtory remarks and then presented
Hon. John McSweeney as the first
speaker.
Mr.. M'swEENEY's SPEECH.
FELLOW CITIzENs-Although unexpect'
eddy called upon by my friend Arm
strong, l can respond a moment to the
generous aud hearty welcome extended
to the delegates to this convention. He
has embraced them all in his welcome.
We and our house are from the wheat
belt-our region of grain, Ashland, Rich.
land, and all beyond to the HOosier line,
form a sort of healthy break. water
against some surging waves, which are
occasionally a little too dark, that flow
down our way. Laughter And we
stand between you and Holmes, and
that is the reason Holmes is so straight
and square. And we of our region are
not far from you. We are neighbors to
Cleveland and her people. Cleveland
hospitality l have ever recognized as
being bounded by no party lines, 1t has
always been generous, open, noble, and
free, and it is a pleasure to the fellows
from the southern part of our State,
with the thermometer up at 80 in the
shade, to come up on such an eve as this
on the shores of the blue Lake Erie to
watch the growth of this magnificent
city, alike famed for its culture, the
splendor of it's homes, and the beauty of
all its surroundings: Rus in urbd, a
beauteous country in a city land.
We are here, to be sure, to attend a
political convention. We do not expect
TO meet all Democrats up here. We come
TO what is known as a Republican city,
out should a convention Of gentlemen
assembled, Of either party or on either
party's side, apologize to their oppo.
nents for assemblies like this? These
conventions held by either or both pr.
ties are the symbols in a Republic of
freedom and its eternal existence. Away
with this puny, nsmby.pamby talk that
pretends to regret the existence of par
ties. Woe unto that land-woe unto the
land of the free, when it may be said
there is but one party in all our broad
domain. The independence of thought,
the dash and conflict of voters with each
other is far healthier than that non-in.
quiring spirit that simply takes its
thought and line of action from one
eternal dominant party, And although
occasional party exCitations may go
what we call too far, still better that
than no party at all. Better the storm,
better the wave, better the winds that
ELL the sails of commerce and wait your
ships across the dashing deep than the
calm and quiet which would permit
those ships to rot in their harbor. And
so with human thought. Better the
storm and tempest than the dead calm,
that waveless Calm-that slumber of the
dead that evidence of despotism where
there is no party spirit, like that dead
sea on whose bosom walks no living
thing; on whose briny, barren shores no
fowerets blossom and no green thing
grows. Better the excess than the less,
and | never fear in a land of freemen
with meeting the intellectual conflict of
party with party. Woe unto US when
there are no more "outs" to watch the
Gins" woe unto us when the ms cease to
feel that they are watched by the outs.
Applause. 1t is occasionally good. es.
pecially after about twenty years of one
party being in pOWer-it is no imputa-
ton to our n%eighbors on the other side
it is not claiming that humanity ia total.
ly depraved to merely say to you, "Gen-
tlemen, there is danger in long Contin-
ued power" 1t don't mean that you are
depraved more than anybody else; but
1t is simply claiming that there is a little
bit Of the trail of the original serpent
over you as we'll as everybody else Tap-
plause and we think it is better to look
over the books a little and just exactly
see how things stand.
You reColleCt that up there at Chica.
go, while Conkling-there is much rich
reading in the presentation speeches of
those gentlemen out there-there was a
lot of candidates badly C~hiCagoed up at
that place in the game. Applause.
Now, Brother Conkling, before he knew
how his candidate would be defeated,
mark how he roared in the index! 0,
what disaster he pictured-he pictured
Now, l am like Carl SChurz tonight
upon that subject, SChurz says he don't
think there is any danger ofthe country
going to the bow-woWs if the able man
upon whom he has delivered the best
eulogy should happen to be elected
Applause. But up at Chicago Conkling,
with solemn tone, rose and said that the
nan he represented was from Appomat-
tox. 1t seemed afterward he went on to
Antietam and said: "This is the most
terrible year." Fellow.Citizens this is
the Austerliiz Of America. 1t is to be
determined this fall whether we are TO
be Republican or Cossack. Lord"
thinks |, "Now, l don't know exactly
what Cossack is, but l do know that for
twenty years Republicanism has been,
so for me aud my house you may put a
little Cossack in mine if you will" Ap. :
plause. am going to try some Cos
sack, But Mr.. Conkling said that it is to I
be an Austerlitz, and it is to be deter .
mined whether we are to be Republican {
or CossaCk, and then stood up, he and !
his three hundred. You know there was '
some classical illusions somewhat E
mixed, out there made of t%hermopyl@. 1
Poor Garfield did not know that he was
picturing out Grant and his three hun. i
bred, and with Byron, Conkling may {
say, "0f three hundred Grant but three, |
that is, Logan, Cameron, Conkling, and {
we will make a new ~thermopy'a." Well,
they slaughtered, they tomahawked,
they put down the great chieftain. But
suddenly Brother Conkling has lost ev. {
cry interest in the campaign and don't ]
care now whether it is Austerlitz, or Cos.
sack, or Hancock. Laughter For .
mark, l read in yesterdays Leader ,
"Conkling went down and oped not his f,
mouth, but, after the manner of the {
apostles Of old, he said: Master, / also I
go with thee and they straightway en-.
tered and AVE left the ahnraU fLannh.