Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-09-09
WILSON.
The Peoples Candidate at Union
City.
Enthusiastic Reception and Earnest At
tsnilOn by the Masses.
A Synopsis Of His speech by a
Ledger Correspondent.

UNION CITY, Sep. z, 1880.
Your correspondent is just from
the town hall where one of the grand
est ovations ever witnessed was ten
dered the Hon. s. f. Wilson. The
citizens are gathered about the street
corners engaged in an earnest discus
sion of the affair, and the unanimous
opinion is that Judge Wright was
most numerically beaten, his own
friends freely acknowledging the COM
pleteness of his defeat. Wilson is,
beyond a doubt, the peoples candi-
date.
THE DEBATE.
At one o'clock, several hundred
people had assembled, filling the town
hall to the full. The debate was
opened by Mr.. Wright, whose strength
as a public orator must not be under
estimated, but SO weak is his cause,
that his best points were those to be
found in his well told campaign anec
dotes. Beginning by expressing his
qualification at the spirit of enquiry
manifested by the people, be continued
by saying he came not to divide the
marty. but to state facts, giving them
some instances of republican fraud
and corruption. He regretted that
Hawkins was not present, but that
gentleman had refused to stand up
and defend the party whose corrup-
tion he intended to show. Edwards,
he said, was chairman of the demo-
cratic club of the town in which he
lived four years ago, and voted for
Tilden and Hendricks and hard money
The balance Of his speech was much
the same as that which has been al
ready published in the state-credit
papers and is unnecessary here,
but, as
MR.. WILSON'S REMARKS
have been garbled, and at no time re-
ported in full, | propose to give as full
report of his latest effort as your
space will allow. Taking the stand
amid storm Of applause, he said
"l'hese great gatherings of the peo-
pie that | meet everywhere mean
something. 1t means that they are
doing their own thinking, and to these
1 appeal but, ask no mans vote
whose Judgment does not die
tate the truth and force of
my argument, and who has
not full confidence in my honor and
integrity. l have no pyrotechnics of
language to FIRE off, aud no smutty
tales to tell, but appeal to the ecOOl rea-
son and good sense Of my hearers. l
am called demagogue, but l shall
prove to you before | get through,
that if am a demagogue, am one
of the most remarkable that ever trav'
eled through this part Of the country,
lam a regulsr old-fashioned, straight
laced JefforsO0ian democrat, and |
am for Hancock. / am for him, not
because he is the regular nominee Of
the uocratic party, but because he
IS man of individuality and for the
great principles Of human liberty, and
fan above the party politicians who
nominated him. [Applause.] Judge
Wright accuses me of sympathy with
the repub leans, when l can prove
that while Hawkins pulls one oar of
the boat Of politics, he pulls hard on
the other. [Applause.] Both of them
are in favor of taxing the people
grinding them il the dust to pay every
dollar of this accUrsed railroad debt.
Will some Of you tell me whether or
not you ever heard a Wilson man say
he would vote the republican ticket
before Wright should be governor p
Cries of "No, never!" did YOU ever
h3ar a Wright man say he would
vote lor Hawkins If he saw no chance
for Wight" PLENTY of them" was
Che answer that came from all parts Of
the house.
"The first step in the overthrow OI
free government" he continued, has
been taken in America. Here labor
owns Eve millions of capital, where
the nou-producer owns FIVE times as
much. It has been proven, and is a
record Of history, that where the off
cials of government all advocate a
principle, that is reason sufficient To
vote against It. How did you dc
about the 50-4? The officials were
for it and you voted it down. Zap
plause.] Men in power soon forget tC
follow the will of the people, but
rather prefer to follow their own
This is recognized by the people, who
instituted various methods Of check
ing that power, The government il
split up into departments, each acting
as restraint upon the other, anC
public servants are only elected fol
short terms that the people may re
delegate that power to other hands i
they see fit. This is what the boilers
are trying Dc. They are trying t
Keep the Wright party from takinl