The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1880-06-24
SPEECH OF GEN. GARFIELD,
IN PRESENTING THE NAME OF
JOHN SHERMAN.

JOHN SHERMAN.
Mr.. PREsDENT:-I have witnessed
the extraordinary scenes Of the Con
YentiOn with deep solieitude. No
emotion touches my heart more
quickly than a sentiment in honor Of
q great and noble character, but as
sat on these seats and Witnessed
these demonstrations, it seemed to
me you were a human ocean in a
tempest,
I have seen the sea lashed into fu-
| ~ and tossed into spray, and its
/ grandeur moves the soul of the dull
est man; but I remember that it is
not the pillows, but the calm level OF
| the sea, from which all heights and
depths are measured. Applause. I
| When the storm has passed, and the
hour of calm settles on the ocean,
when the sunlight bathes its smooth
surface, then the astronomer Rndsur-
veyor takes the level from which he
measures all terrestrial heights and
depths. Applause.
Gentlemen of the Convention,
your present temper may not mark
the healthful pulse of the people.
When our enthusiasm has passed,
when the emotions Of this hour have
subsidized, we shall find that calm
level of the public opinion below the
storm, from which the thoughts Of
a mighty people are to be measured,
and by which final action will be de-
termined. Applause. Not here
in this brilliant circle, where $4,000
men and women are assembled, is
the destiny Of the Republican party
to be decreed. ''That is so"
Not here, where I see the enthu-
siastie faces Of seven hundred and
tifty-six delegates, waiting to cast
their votes into the urn and to de-
termine the choice of the Repubi-
cans, [applause, but by four million
Republican fresides, where the
thoughtful voters, with their wives
and children about them; with the
calm thoughts inspired by love Of
home and love of country; with the
history Of the past, the hopes Of the
future and the knowledge Of the
great men who have adorned and
blessed our Nation in days gone by;
there God prepares the verdict that
shall determine the wisdom Of our
work tonight. Applause. Not in
Chicago, in the heats of June, but
in the sober quiet that will come to
them between now and November,
in the silence of deliberate judg-
ment, will this great question be set
tied. CCries Of ''good!'] Let us aid
them tonight. rGreat applause. ]
But now, gentlemen Of the Conven-
ton, what do we want? "a voice,
"Garfeld!' followed by applause
Bear with me a moment, hear me for
this cause and for a moment, "be 81
lent that you may hear" Cries Of
"goodT1 Twenty-Five years ago
this Republic was wearing a triple
chain of bondage. Long familiarity
with traffic in the bodies and souls
of men had paralyzed the cOnscien-
oes of a majority of our people. The
baleful doctrine of State sovereignty
had shackled and weakened the no
bIest and most benefcent powers of
the National Government, and the
grasping power of slavery was seiz-
ing the virgin Territories of the
West and dragging them into the
den of eternal bondage At that
crisis the Republican party was born;
it drew its first inspiration from that
fire of liberty which God has lighted
IN every human heart, and which all
the powers of ignorance and tyrany
can never wholly extinguish. Ap-
plause.7 ] The Republican party came
to deliver and save the Republic. It
entered the arena, where the be-
Ieaguered and assailed Territories
were struggling for freedom, and
drew around them a sacred circle Of
liberty, which the demon of slavery
has never dared to cross. It made
them free forever. Loud applause,
and cries of ''goodp1 Strengthened
by its victory on the frontier, the
young party, under the leadership of
that great man who, on this spot,
twenty years ago, was made its lead
er, entered the National Capital, and
assumed the high duties Of the Gov
ernment. Applause. The light
which shone- from its banner dis
pelled the darkness in which slavery
had enshrouded the Capital, and
melted the shackles of every
slave, and consumed in the fire Of
liberty every slave pen within the
shadow of the Capitol, Our great
National Industries, by an unprO-
tected policy, were themselves pros
trated, and the streams Of revenue
flowed in such feeble currents that
the treasury itself was well nigh
empty. The money of the people
was the wretched notes of two thou
sand uncontrolled and irresponsible
State backing corporations, which
were filling the country with a circu-
latiOn that poisoned, rather than sus-
tanned the life of business. Loud
applause. ! The Republican party
changed all this. It abolished the
Babel of confusion and gave the
country a currency as National as
its flag, and based it upon the sacred
faith Of the people. CApplause 1t
threw its protecting arm around our
great industries, and they stood
erect, as with new life. it filed
with the spirit of true NatiOnalityall
the great functions of the Govern
ment; it confronted a rebellion Of IN
exampled magnitude, with slavery
behind it, and, under God, fought
the final battle Of liberty until the
final victory was won. Applause ]
Then, after the storms of battle, were
heard the sweet, calm words Of peace
spoken by the conquering Nation,
and saying to the conquered foe that
lay PROSTATE at its feet, "This is our
only revenge, that you join us IN
lifting into the serene armament OF
the Constitution, to shine like stars
forever and forever, the immortal