Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-10-01
He Delivers an Eloquent and
Characteristic Speech in
fremont Temple, Boston.
He Pays His Respects to Curtis,
Schurz, and Other Apostles
of "Purgatorial Politics."
The Independents Falsely So Called
Hot Shot for Bourbons-The
Peoples Choice,
An Eloquent Review of the Two Prin-
cipal Parties-NO Fear for
the Result.

me to undertake ANYTHING like full or elaborate
discussion, either OF the principles involved IN
the pending Presidential campaign or OF the can
didates themselves. 1t seems to me, since read
the papers this morning, that the necessity Tor
very much discussion has passed, ana that Pc
pretty much into a hallelujah of great delight
on the one side and a wall of lamentation on the
other laughter, with an occasional bleak
and dismal whistle coming from the brush and
from obscure places in the scenery, intended, no
doubt, to keep UP the courage of the whistler
j 1 am not unmindful whom am addressing. 1
know am in Boston, in the State of Massachu-
setts, in the New England States. am a resi-
dent of the State of Illinois; am citizen of the
United States CApplause1 l am with you
joint proprietor of Bunker Hill [applausel, made
so by the fourteenth and fifteenth constitutional
amendments and have common interest in Paul
Revere and in that remarkable cargo of tea, the
rInshipping of which led to such splendid results
a good many years ago. l am from what in New
York has been characterized as the "rowdy
West, and what, by one at least of New Eng
lands famous c!ergymen, has been denom1nated
as the "rif-raff West" [Laughter.l May say
to you, because [ know it will be something,
that this Characterization has not greatly dis
turbed Us III the West nor has it made us angry,
and yet Senator Hawley will tell you we do not
lack spirit on proper occasion. Laughter.
We have an abundance of it. Don't trif1e with it.
[Laughterl Our State was the only State in
The Union Mr.. Chairman, that filed its quota
without draft [applausel, and sent over
about eighteen thousand troops besides to Mis-
souri,, strong Democratic State. as you may re-
cleveland.
am not an Independent in politics Laugh
~ier.l | recognize no .purgatorial politics. no
hating, halfway station between heaven and
aell. CLaughter1 To me it is the heaven of
good republican government, or it is the hell of
that diabolical, old, internal Democratic party
-[laughterl-that has never, in all its long, con-
gstent, bad and criminal career, done right
thing except at the wrong time. [Laughter.l I
wish to say of this Democratic party nothing
hnkind or ungenerous, and of the Independents
It is my purpose to speak in terms of the ut
most tenderness. lLaughter.I
why should we mourn departed friendSP"
When [ read the announcement few weeks
ago, Mr.. Chairman, that they had gone, 1
cepted it with great deal of solid comfort and
Christian Observation-Disclosures when
read along little further, to the statement that
their absence was to be temporary merely, and
that they intended some day to return, con-
fess-who should not confess?-that my mind
was filed with the direst apprehension. Our
party has made some mistakes. If YOU will per-
NIT me to suggest-it has been growing little
too rapidly at the top laughter am pre-
pared to exchange political aesthetics for the
horny-handed a4ld the hard-fsted. Zap
plause.l | see Mr.. Curtis and Mr.. SchurZ going
for the fourth fifth time. naughter.l Ny
feelings have been lacerated, and my heart
has been wrung many times at their de-
parture. They have played already too many
farewell engagements. [Laughterl see COM
ing to US in countless thousands the old
fashioned Democrats from whose eyes the scales
have FALLEN, liberated and freed; and as / see
the aesthetics going and the patriotic, hard
working citizens COMING, recognize the first
coming and speed the departing guests. Loud
laughter. applause and cheers, and a voice,
" Give it to them. J We have heard in the West
something about the better element" of the
party. Laughter In our plain way, because
we have been building up States and cities and
empires, and have not had time to bolt, we have
thought that the better element of the party
was the biggest element, and that the wisdom
of this great party of ours was in the majority.
Now, don't you think so? Voices, Yes, sir. i
Every time dislike this appropriation of the
phrase The thoughtful and the conscientious
citizens" by few gentlemen who do not act
with the majority of the thoughtful and con-
scientious citizens. Applause I am in favor
OF the scholar in politics; but. nevertheless,
do believe with Edmund Burke that it was the
great good fortune of the British people that
they were never ruled over few months at
time by their philosophers ana their wise men.
My fellow citizens, the great reforms in this
world, those reforms from which civil liberty
and individual liberty have derived any benefit,
have not come from the clouds down. but from
the ground up. [Applausel I believe in the
spinal column of this country. [ read the an
nounoement, for in the West we do take the At
IGnt2c M0nthty, and have gospel privileges
[laughterl, read that these gentlemen are ex-
ceedingy solicitous as to what they call the
purity OF the young men. May be permitted
to suggest that the farmers of Illinois and of the
great WeSt-thOSe strong, splendid, broad
browed, great, big hearted men, those men who
buried the doctrine of fat money under ma
Jorlty OF 40,000-think they are quite capable
themselves Of taking care of the morals of their
sons. lLaughterl And, most of all, they do
not propose to turn the custody Of these morals
over to an assorted lot of gentlemen, half of
whom deny the existence OF a GOD. and the 9TH
er half OF whom believe that mankind, them
selves included, We're developed from an ape
Laughter
Now, then, what does it mean to be independ-
ent in politics? If the word has a particle of
significance it is a refusal to acknowledge allie
glance to either of the great political parties of
the country. These gentlemen are simply indie
pendent OF the Republican party to which they
formerly belOnged-spasmodicail and occa-
sionally belonged They have attached them
An6
not independent of that when they acknowledge
allegiance to 1t.
HOW ABSURD IT is.
II refusal to vote the Republican ticket and
indorse Republican doctrines and to support
Republican candidates is an evidence of indie
pendence, then the Democrat is good deal
more Independent than the Independent, be-
cause he has that way as independent been in
dependent good while longer Laughter Will
some astute logician tell nae the difference be-
tween genuine real old-fashioned and one of
the original Democrats, this campaign, and the
new article. the independent? [LaughterI They
support the same man and for the same reasons
The old Democrat and his alv will support
Grover Cleveland because OF his high moral char
acter. Loud laughter and applause.l Mr. Chair
man, cannot understand why that should pro-
duce such demonstration. lLaughter.J They
support him, both of them, because he vetoed the
scent fare BILL because he vetoed the bill short
ening the hours of labor for the street-car con
ductors an6l drivers, and because he vetoed the
mechanics lien law in the State of New York.
The Democrat and the Independent both support
Mr.. Cleveland for these reasons, among others.
and for the same reasons precisely they both op-
pose Mr.. Blaine. Mr.. SchurZ and Mr.. Curtis both
withhold their support from Mr.. Blaine for the
same reason Hubert 0. Thompson and Mr.. Sheriff
Davidson withhold theirs, exactly. They use
the same methods. work through the same chan
nels, and seek to accomplish the same end in
exactly the same way. Both mourn when they
are defeated, would rejoice ii they could sue
coed, will be buried in the same common coffin
LlaughOer, applause, and cheersl, and when, after
November, their beached and whitened skele-
TONS lie on the beach and shore OF political de-
IeaI ana disappointment, you can not tell the
skeleton or an independent from that of DEM
ocrat. LaughterJ
Inns Is a very remarkable party of ours, the
hepupncan party: 1t never had, in all its long
ana splendld and lustrous career, a leader who
could take 1t one single inch In the direction it
dldnI want 10 go. Applause.l Our leaders
have sometimes left US, and in a wholesale way
30 much the worse for the leaders so much the
better for the party. CApplausel In 1872 Gov
ernors ana eX-Goyernors, Senators and ex-Sen-
atOrs, Judges and ex-Judges TIav RIaTirha
and Sweetheart, crowds Of them left MS he@ause
the party, as they said, was corrupt and how
splendidly the old ship did right herself mn after
they got off. Applause and laughter How
magnificently she made for the harhor Of a
splendid success; and how desolate discern
flied, and water-logged have been the leaders
who jumped overheard ever since. Tan err
There is another remarkable feature abont
party which distinguishes it from
the Democratic party. TIC write platform for