The Portland daily press., 1882-08-12
RoBIE CLUB.
Able and Interesting speech by Mr.. Lunt.


Club last evening Mr.. Lunt said:
SPEECH OF MR.. LuNT.
see before me men who in the past have
worked for the Republican party, and that th {
campaign will end to your satisfaction dc
not doubt.
The Democrats have opened the campaign in
their usual manner, by discussion of points Of
constitutional law. They have "the lconstitu-
ton cramps once more; but it is not talk, it is
work that the people require this year.
The great question is ''shall the citizens
have the right to vote freely, and to have his
vote counted? .Or in other words, the right Of
the majority to rule.
Look at the history of the last two genera
tons, and see if the Democratic party has done
anything to help on the prosperity of the coun-
try, anything except hanging on to the Repub-
lcan party to obstruct, to hinder and to delay,
and then let the young man say if he desires to
join that party.
had supposed the Democrats might start in
with some new question, something beside a
question of personal prerogative. A friend of
mine who always votes the Democratic ticket
said to me the other day, "The Democratic
party has just got through the war;; but am
now confident that it is the old French war
that he meant
1t is still necessary to discuss the question of
giving to every man the right of free suffrage,
because until the fight is won, until that
is established the Republican party must fight
also The report published in regard to the
contested election cases in the last Congress
was enough to make one say with st. Paul
"It is amazing" Take the contested election
case in South Carolina, that of Mackey VS..
O'Connor, in what is known as "the Charles
ton district" where tissue ballots were used,
and the most unparalleled frauds committed,
and yet we found Democrats of the first water,
who stood up and defended the right of the
sitting member O O'Connor. The election laws
Of South Carolina are peculiar, or at least
must seem so to US. They have judges of
election, but they have only right TO protest
that is ALL If more votes are cast than there
are registered names, they have way OF
blindfoldipg man and let him draw from
the ballot box the excess of votes. In one dis
trict the "Hope Engine House District" as it
Is called, there were but about 1000 registered
excess was drawn out, how? (Mr. Lunt here
exhibited specimens of the Democratic tissue
ballots, and of the regular Republican ticket,
showing how easy it was to detect the differ
ence at a touch) A Democrat was blind
folded and he afterwards boasted that of the
400 Republican ballots he removed all but five,
and said he should have taken out that five
had he been able to have found them. The
result was that instead of Mackey receiving
5000 majority, O'Connor received majority
of 5000, and from that particular voting pre-
cinct perfectly immense vote.
1t is needless to remind you of what DEM
ocratic Governor and Council did here but a
few years ago. The Democratic leaders do not
do these harmful acts against Republicans
alone, but against all who oppose them. Isup-
pose there are good men in the Democratic
party, but they do not come to the 'front.' do
not manage the party.
Mr.. Lunt here referred to the contested cleo
tion case of Lowe vs.. Wheeler where the DEM
ocrats had given the seat to Wheeler. The
speech of Mr.. Lowe, once "a Democrat, and a
soldier in the Confederate army, but now
is we'll worth the time of the
most busy man to read. They counted him
out because on the side of the ballot, opposite
the names of the candidates, the number of
the districts were printed /, 2, 3, 4, instead of
being spelled out in full. How natural that
was. How it reminds one of Garcelon and the
Council.
The district where crime and poverty and ig-
norance abound, is where democracy still more
abounds. Where vice is the most prevalent, is
where the black pail of the democracy shuts
down the closest
Mr.. Lunt here remarked that while he did
not propose to discuss the tariff system at
ength, still he could not forbear to say that
1nder the protective system the country has
grown rich and powerful, and that it can be
considered as settled point that it is for the
interest of the country that such a system be
continued. Ihave been reading of late from
the report of our consuls at various points, and
1 will now read to you some figures taken from
the reports of our officials in Germany.
WAGES IN GERMANY.
-, Per Week;
Their forenen... ................ .-......... 4s6
MachiniSts.. ....,.......... 4.oU
Machine weavers. 2.94
Per Month
Three rooms and kitchen :. .... 80. 81 %
Food costs as much as here.
What does this show? Simply that if the
German manufacturer was to have the right of
free importation our manufacturers could not
compete with them; that the German laborer
is and must be content to live on less and poor
er food than the American laborer. The iron
interest is one of the great business interests OF
the country. We can now see how much we
have been benefited by sthe protective system.
The iron-worker of Pittsburg gets rather more
than 100 per cent. more than the same class OF
laborers in Eu- ope.
The Democratic party of 1880 went into the
Pre- Il i1ential campaign as sort of a free trade
nv, and Gen. Hancock seemed inclined to
mink that after all free trade might be good
thing; but the disastrous result OF that cam
paign taught the party something. and they
will probably 60 on in the old way, and that is
by advocating protection in one state and free
trade in another.
The Democratic party have had in the past
no fixed principle. They have been ready to
accept any man in general way acceptable to
them, as in 1872, when they took Horace Gree
ley as true exponent of Democracy,
Understand me, I have no wish to abuse
Gov. Plaisted, it is not necessary. We can
beat him on the general issue. the issues
that have long divided the Democratic party
from the Republican party. The Democratic
party under Gov. Plaisted is masquerading as
a temperance party. What did Gov. Plaisted
write about temperance for in his letter? To
show that the Democratic party is great tenn
perance party? Not at all, he we'll knows how
sick it would make the leaders of his party
feel were he to 60 through the State telling
that. 1t is better always to be honest, and
Gov. Plaisted would have done much better
had he come at and honestly said II am in
the field to win." There is not Democrat
who will vote for Plaisted for any other reason
than the desire to beat the Republican
party. Ask prominent Democrat why he
is supporting Plaisted and if he is honest he
will say "With the hope that he may win"
What nonsense it is for bank presidents, and
those interested in banks to pretend to be OPP
posed to the system.
Mr. Lunt closed his eloquent speech with
the suggestion that later in the campaign he
,,,aat tho oluh AGAIN and dignuSS the