The Portland daily press., 1880-09-04
BEN BUTLER.
The Calves Come Out to Welcome the
Prodigal Son.

Ben Butler proved capital drawing card
for the Democrats last evening, and they gave
him rousing reception in City Hall, but if the
Republicans, who out went of curiosity to hear
what the great political harlequin had to say,
and the ladies who filled the galleries and
large portion of the floor, had been taken out
the audience would have been small Many Of
the old time Democratic leaders were present;
but among them were not his old comrades
who followed him to the Gulf with the GAL
liant 18th. The men who sat on the plat
form were the men who discouraged
enlistments in that or any other regiment
and denounced the war as a failure. 1t was a
curious sight to see General S. j. Anderson
acting as chairman of the meeting, the man
to whom Gen. Butler offered the command of
the 18th, and who spurned the offer.
Gen. Butler looked about the same as when
he exhibited the Ku-Klux uniform in 1872, but
he lacked great deal of the old fire and spirit
and was rather dry, so much SO, in fact, that
applause was not vigorous. He was well re-
ceived with three cheers and tiger and dis
missed with the same compliment, the cheerers
being led by Gen. Anderson.
Mr.. George E. Bird, chairman of the city
committee, introduced Gen. Anderson as chair
man of the meeting. The General tried to
speak, but his voice was gone and he could
only point at Gen. Butler and just make audi
BILE the words 81 introduce Gen. Butler of
Massachusetts,
Gen. Butler delivered the speech made in
Faneuil Hall last week. The General con-
sidered this the most important crisis in the
countrys history. There has been no time
sin Cnr6 Inn Z. L L.
so important as now. In 1861 asked the SOL
diers OF Maine to go with me for the preserva-
tion of the Union. Calamity and Loyalty they
responded Then there were no bounties, and
no other pay than the $3.50 month for offer
ing their life blood on the altar of their coun-
try. Who first stepped forward to meet
that call of his country? (Here the
men on the platform looked at each other but
did not respond) Who of your senators and
members of Congress came forward and said,
II will lead the way?" The Fusion candidate
for Congress this year certainly didn't Not
one. A true and tried Democrat Of the
Charleston convention, one of your fellow
citizens, now alas for you and your country no
more, George f. Shepley, answered, and in
four weeks enlisted 1900 men, and of all that
number not more, think, than 100 had ever
voted other than the Democratic ticket. 1.-THE
general didn't say how many of the 1900 voted
it on their return. L give these facts because
Republican leaders say only Republicans
fought the battles of the country. The Re-
publicans have never denied that many Demo-
Gratis fought for the Union
The general then went on to denounce bien-
NAL elections in this State as a Republican
device and after that repeated the Faneuil
Hall speech.
The Democratic companies paraded before
the meeting and listened to speech from A.
J. Grover of Chicago out doors. After Gen.
Butler had concluded his speech in the hall
he made brief synopsis of that speech to the
men gathered about City Hall steps
and left few people to listen
to e. Moody Boynton who succeeded him in
the hall