The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-07-28
And Containing Some Hints of Special
Interest for Colonel Gray,
Speech by Hon Stanton J. Peelle at Martins
vile Political Conventions and Meet
ings Elsewhere in the State.
GEN. TOM BROWNE.
A Speech in Which He Pays His Respects to
the Democratic Candidates.


held here tonight was complete success. All
evening delegations from neighboring towns
and the surrounding country came poFring in,
and at P. M. the streets were crowded IA torch
light procession of over ! 1000 men Termed on
Meridian street. and marched to the music of
several brass bands and innunerable sheep
skin" bands. A violent storm prevented an open
air speech as had been intended, and the crowd,
or rather a small portion Of the crowd, filed to
overhowing the City Hall Gen. Tom Browne,
the speaker of the evening was greeted with
cheers on making his appearance on the plat
form. Gen. Browne spoke as folbws:
Ladies' and Fellow-citizens; wish in begin
ming to call your attention to the proclamation
issued the other evening by Mr. Gray, in effect
that this was not to be a campaign of private
defamation, at least so far as hb was concerned,
and / wish to congratulate him on this stand
for remember that in his speech here four
years ago he besmeared and besmirched the
reputation Of that man whose memory
is now enshrined 10 the hearts
of all good men in the Nation 1t did me some
measure of good when l heard him the other
night allude to that man whs is now known as
the great Garfield Mr.. Gray has some reasons
for leaving personality out Of the campaign. 1
do not wish to speak of Mr. Grays private life,
but have something to say Of the public record
of the men who have beenfplaced in nomination
by the respective political parties for the chief
executive of this great nation.
WHO is Grover Cleveandl have had some
knowledge of public men! but pledge you my
word that until he was nominated by the De
mocracy of New York for the Office of Governor,
| never heard of him The Democracy, in nom
mating. Mr.. Cleveland for the presidency over
looked such men as Bayard, Thurman and
Randall and why7 Itwas because Mr.. Cleve-
land had no record and these distinguished
leaders of Democracy had records; and further,
because these records were but the record of the
Democratic party itself However, in the short
statesman he has done something.
He has vetoed the bill passed by a
Republican Legislature requiring the
elevated railway, monster corporation of New
York city, to charge fve-cent fare. Hevetoed
the twelve hour act, which was for the benefit of
the laboring men, and in fact his every official
act has been in sympathy with monopoly. /
spare you recital of the rumors which are
afoat regarding the private character OF Mr..
Cleveland His craftsmanship is not surprising,
except as it surprised the poor people whose in
terests he vetoed, and there is but one other
thing in the man that would surprise me, and
that is his election to the presidency. APP
plause.
'sAnd now, who is Blaineq He has been the
leading statesman of the Republican party for
almost a quarter of q century Look at any
page of civil history during the days of the re-
bellion and you will find the name of James G.
[Cheers. And how was Blaine nominatedl Not
by political bosses Not federal Office holder
championed his cause at Chicago. He was nom
mated by the men who labor in the fields and
workshop, and the business men who have never
sought Office and never expect to hold office
Who is John A. LoganY ! hardly need to ask
that question. He was the most distinguished
of all the volunteer soldiers in the civil war.
Democrat as he was. when our flag
was insulted, and the Union in danger, he went
out at the first tap of the drum. And from Dom
aldson to the Wilderness, and from Mississippi
to the North, he fought for the Union. Ap-
plause and cheers.
sAnd now, who is Hendricks and what is his
record2 a voice. Reform | remember that
he once beat a very estimable young man of
Randolph county in the race for Governor The
private life of Thomas A. Hendricks is, believe,
absolutely above reproach; but he has the worst
political record of any man ever knew. lap
plause.l If he ever did anything that was good
he took 1t back as soon as he got an opportunity.
believe he was q temperance man once for
about thirty days, but he got over that / re-
member his speech, IN which he says in sub
stance that nobody doubts that the Legislature
may by law prohibit the evils incident to the
liquor traffic in the middle of the night But he
thinks that the law that requires saloons to
close up at o'clock. fixes rather ineonvenient
hours for those who want to imbibe. But the
novelty of the thing with me was this: if the
Legislature had the power to prohibit the traffic
in the middle of the night, why could it not pro
hibit the evils incident to the sale of intoxicating
liquors in the dayl The explanation is, that it
was simply one Of Mr.. Hendrieksso straddles.
Mr. Hendricks was senator in the Congress of
( the United States during the saddest and most
eventfuI epoch of the Unions history, and OH
what an opportunity was that to do something
or say something in favor of the cause of his
country. If there be one in my audience who
will name single vote, or one sentence spoken
by him that encouraged the cause of the govern
ment against this rebellion, will agree never to
Of Mr. Hendricks. But you can name nothing,
for in every instance we find Mr. Hendricks yot-
ing and speaking on the other side of the cues
ton; and yet he is the man that they want to
make a Democratic Vice-president of the United
States
''And now who is Gray9 remember gentle
man by that name. l remember that in 1872,
on Feb %, he was in a Republican convention
trying to get them to nominate him for Lieuten-
ant-governor, but he didn't get it. On the 10th
day Of June he was in the Democratic conven-
ton, but he didn't get anything there. A man
has right / believe, to change his affiliations,
especially if he leaves one party In order to get
intoa better one, but it has always been a ques-
ton upon my mind whether Mr.. Gray left the
Republican party to purify it by his leaving
and think he did some In that direction-or
whether he left it because it didn't appreciate his
talent. Mr.. Gray used to say very bitter things
about his present co-laborers. never in q
public speech within. my memory, called
a Democrat copperhead. really thought it
was bad enough to say Democrat
But that was my friend Gray's favorite name.
He used to enjoy telling an anecdote of the
fellow who went into house and found white
woman hugging negro. Upon demonstrating,
the woman informed him the negro was her
husband, and volunteered the information that,
though he might think that was bad, her sister
had done great deal worse; And what was
thatF asked the fellow, Why ansWered the
woman, My sister married q Democratp
would not refer to that but for the fact that