The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1880-06-10
THE CONVENTION.


/ the country use all their powers OF in
trigue, eloquence and leadership, natur-
ally create a desire to make these leaders
topic for discourse. The republican
convention was a contest Of genius
against numbers, and no republican
( whose predictions are not so strong rs
to supplant reason could attend the con
vention, without feeling admiration for
+ the splendid array Of talent in the third
term ranks, and a corresponding feeling
Of detestation for the Blaine mob. Such
rampant blackguardism was never before
enlisted in the interests Of candidate
Such scenes were never before tolerated
! in convention, and such means were
never before employed as a path to sue
cess. Cat calls, hoots, Kisses, groans
and insulting epithets constituted the
weapons of attack used by the Blaineites
in assailing Grant. s democrat can see
nothing to admire in that department Of
! Grants administration which was parts
m. His southern policy was designed
to mnintain the supremacy Of the repub-
liean party at the cost Of justice and pros
| peTity. A democrat cannot forget that
Grant while president wrote of his party
as ''the enemy" He cannot forget that
Grant stood ready by the means of his
authority as executive to make effective
any plans which might be devised to in
augurate Hayes, regardless of the ez
pressed viii Of the people. But neither
could he hear without indignation, a for
mer conmander-in-chief and president
of the United States, assailed by low vul-
gar abuse drawn from the Blaine arsenal.
1t was disgusting to man OF deceney
aud Illuminating to an American citizen.
The Manitowoc crowd were cared for
by Joseph Rankin and VIM Hemshe-
meyer. Any man from Manitowoc who
has travelled with Rankin and not been
treated like q prince, must believe that
| Webster's dictionary is infallibe, an Of
| Tense that Joe can never forgive. He
reached Chicago when portion of the
Manitowoc crowd were in the dumps Oh
! account of failure to receive tickets. Joe
made a short excursion and returned
with his pockets full. No third rate
tickets either, but those designed for
distinguished guests, placing the hold
er cheek by jowl with Phil. Sheridan,
Prince Leopold and Bob IngersolI. The
delegates from the southern states, (as
scrawny and ignorant lot of looking
men as could be drawn together if pre-
MUM were offered for the minimum Of
intelligence and the maximum of Ill
Iooks,) put lot of tickets ''on the mark
ct, and good seats sold as high as $50.
1t is said that Saturday night, tickets in
surfing good seats brought $50 each. The
southern fellows struck bonanza, and
must have had pleasing visions of Ne
turn of the era of carpet-bagism. The
negro delegates from the south are much
more intelligent than their ,Iite breth-
rem, and have a mania for speech making.
The headquarters for most Of the states
were located at the Grand Pacific and
Palmer House. The Pacific had pre-
ponderance of Blaineites and it was the
arena OF saturnalian scenes, of acts as
wild, as boisterous and grotesquo as the
war dance of savages. All the parlors
were unexpected and occupied by the
delegates. The wide corridors were
.hrouged with excited men gesticulating
deEcely and damning Grant. 1t was
Pandemonium broke loose. Here a knot
Of about one hundred men were piled III
one dense mass, like molecules held to-
gether by the power OF cohesion, push
ing, swearing and making violent efforts
to lay hands on some person in the cen
ter. Here and there, in every hall, on
stairways, wherever there was room for q
crowd Of one hundred or more, were
three or four orators, haranguing the
crowd, their arms, with rigid muscles
and swollen veins, waving fiercely in the
air while the hats of their audience were
dying in all directions. Every means
employed by humanity to express ap-
prevail or disapproval swelled the din.
Men became so accustomed to groanir g
that they passed from one room to anoth-
er giving constant utterance to a cultural
sound that may be represented by boo
ee." Some person With more temeritv
than sense would attempt to say few
words in favor of Grant He would in
stantly be interrupted by proposal to
give three cheers for Blaine. Those
would be followed by groans for Grant.
This would stimulate the fellows afflicted
with "boo-ee" and the peculiar notes
would float far out in the carbonized air
of the garden city. The stairways lead
ing up from the office to the parlor floors
were iammed SO tight that in order to
make the ascent you had but to wedge
yourself into crevice, give no attention
t. locomotion, make the most strenuous
effort to keep little breath in your body,
aud in half an hour you were landed on
the upper floor. Ifyour auricular nerves
are sensitive your first impulse would be
to search for cotton or some other sub
stance that would deadeu sound. and If
you are of defiant disposition your
next step would be to hurrah for Grant
aud swear at the other fellow. Having
personal courage and failing to do either
or both of those, can only be explained
by your not having sufficient breath left.
The main hall in the Grand Pacific ex-
tends from LaSalle to Clark street. At
intervals OF about 80 feet this is crossed
by halls at right angles. This hall is
about 20 feet wide. Tt was the good for
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