The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1880-09-21
Rock Island ILL.,, Sept. 20 1850

Having seen il extensively advertised in
the papers for several days. and little
hand bills scattered all through the city
saying that the Hon. Josiah Grout would
speak in Turner Hall. Friday evening
Sept. 18th, thinking of course that the
hall would be crowded, I concluded to go
early in order that I might get q good
seat. There was no necessity however,
for my being in hurry. as there were
any quantity of vacant seats.
If the Office holders, who were there in
full force. TO do the olapping and stamping.
and few of the Hampton beforehand
little boys bad not been there. the Hon.
Gentleman would have had a very slim
audience, What change. Oil my
countrymen, has taken place with the
Re pu blican party in the last few years,
not only throughout the whole country but
here 10 our own county and city-which
change we can see for ourselves, Eight
or ten years ago, all that the Office holders
had 10 do. was to crack their whip and
put only one announcement in their paper
and the faithful clans would have gathered
in such crowds that one might have
thought himself fortunate in obtaining
just room enough to stand-but how was
it in tn rner Ball last Friday Dight?-any
number of empty seats. Mr.. Ed tor l
have o sympathetic heart and felt really
sorry for our Republican iriends-they
looked if they didn't feel badly
While waiting for tho Hon Geptla "A m
who was was half hour or more tehiud
time before commencing his spec ctl, our
young friend Samuel Adams Lyude, who
was sent by bis club as delegate to the
National Republican club convention,
which met the other day in Indianapolis,
was called on to make his report-He rose
up and gave us. I've no doubt, q fair and hon.
est account of the convention. He said, that
the meeting was not very great success
| or at least not so great as he
hoped for,-that there were about FIVE
| hundred, (,he Chicago Times says about
two hundred and seventy-fve) delegates
attended that Convention. Now, Just
think, after sending invitations TO all the
| Republican clubs throughout these United
States to meet in Indianapolis only five
| hundred, as our Cung friend says, attend
ed, One would have thought from the
way the Republicans talked, that thou
| sands and hundreds of thousands would
attend that convention. Now if such
thing had taken place with the Democrats,
don't you think the Republicans would
have pronounced it gigantic sfizzle p
At or near the close Of Mr.. Lynde's
speech, the Hon, Josiah Grout slipped in
the back way and came on the stage and
was introduced by the president of the
club. Mr.. Phil Mitchell.
When the gentleman stepped to the
front with all the grace and dignity of q
Webster or Clay, and commenced his
speech, ono thought that now we are to
have speech from statesman who will
give his views upon the great political
questions of the day in which the people
are so much interested just tsthis time,
Now, Mr., Editor, were to follow the
gentleman through hist rambling speech it
would take up more space IN your paper
than ought to ask will try therefore
to be as brief as possible,
[ am sorry to say that the gentleman
gave us nothing new whatever lit was the
same old. old story that We have heard
and read in the Republican papers, and
from their stump.speakers Throughout the
country for years back. He started cut
TO tell us what the Republican party had
done. he said that it had put down the
rebellion and emancipated four million of
slaves-he must have very poor opinion
of the intelligence of his hearers, if he
thought they didn't know that there were
as many, if not more Democrats than Re-
publIcaps in the Union army during the
rebellion. and that the rebels, in all human
probability. would have gained the day if
it had not been for the Northern Demo
Gratis. Thousands and tens of thousands
of negroes at the South have seen that
their emanolpators were the Northern
Democrats, and knowing that fact they
have been voting the Democratic ticket
ever snce the carpet baggers have left
the South. and they are no longer bull
dgzed to vote against their best interests
They have found out that their old masters
are their best friends, by giving them
employment to enable them thereby to
support their families. The negroes are
not such fools as the Republicans think
they are. The gentleman, perhaps, made
that false assei ton thinking 1t would have
the desired effect on his colored hearers
but they didn's enthuse at all. at ail-they
knowing, | have no doubt, that he was
stating an un:rutd. Seeing he couldn't
poke such stuff down them, he thought he
would modify 1t somewhat, by saying be
did not believe that all the Democrats
were rebels but all the rebels were Demo
Gratis. Now. that is as big falsehood as
the other, for there were tens of thousands
Wings In the South. who were made reb- |
els by the course the Republican party
took after the death of Mr.. Lincoln. by |
sanding carpet baggers down there who |
introduced the system of stealing all they |
could 10y their hands on, aud causing |
great disturbances between the whites and |
biacks-and then they commenced send |
ing base lies to the North aboat the cruel
treatment the poor, downtrodden negroes
were receiving, in order that their Repub-
iican friends at the North might shake the
bloody shirt as hobby to ride into
Office They succeeded pretty we'll
for several years 10 pulling the wool
over the eyes of many of the northern
people. but thank God. the people for the
last few years back have got their eyes
open 10 the true situation and have be-
come sick and Disguised with the bloody
shirt, when they see that here at the north
they have to wear ragged shirts-they see
that all the Republican sympathy is for
the negroes, provided they vote their
ticket
The bloody shirt is the stock in trade I
with all the Republican orators-big and
little, from Blaine and Conkline even
down to the Hon. Josiah Grout, who COM .
menced telling US what the Republican
party had done which didn't take him
Iopr no II had dona Esx;a - -oxI:-- :.