Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1884-08-19
WHEELING, W. VA TUESDAY MORNING. AUGUST 1884.

which should be com posed OF your friends
and allies.
For reasons that l have made apparent
your principles were rejected and your ALI
ance spurned Personally have no griev
aEce with the convention. ! was treated
with every courtesy and consideration by
its officers and members, for which take
pleasure here and now to express my obi
cations. But for you have a grievance.
The Democracy has left you to ight the
battle against the oppressors of the people
alone. We will fight the battle of the pso-
pie together in the best manner We can; and
1pledge to you all that have Of remaining
strength in declining years to do all that in
me lies in behalf of the principles that you
and hold dear, and without the early prev
slence and adoption of which this govern
ment cannot stand.
You will have one advantage in you can
didate; you will have to spend no time in
defending him. His doings have been
known to the country for more than quar-
ter of century. Every act Of his
life has been under a microscope lighted
by the lurid fires of hate and SANDER. He
is yet unharmed, and has no opinion to
take back, nopolicy to recant and no just
charge to explain for what he has done
either in peace or war.
OF personal advantage to myself nothing
can accrue. am too old to make selfish
plans for the future; yet hope as my last
political act, if it so be, to do some service
to the people and mankind in calling back
the government to the purpose for which it
was framed by our fathers, government Of
the people, government by the many, and
not by the few, nor for the interests of the
few.
To Rc Democratic Party OF Massachusetts:
AS your representative carried the prin-
ciples which you have twice over enunciated
as your platform in your State coventions
and asked that they be adopted by the Ma
tional Convention. That they were accept
able to the people know for they sustained
you to victory once in form, and again to
victory in fact, by larger vote than Mas
sachusetts ever gave any defeated candidate
for chief magistrate 900 more than our
choice for President, General Hancock, got
two years before. | had hoped to see the
party of the people, which should be the
true Interpretation of the word Democracy,
adopt that platform, and 90 on to victory
under it, and carry out its bene6cent pro
fessions in behalf of the weak and lowly who
need protection at the hands Of true DEM
ocratic government.
To withdraw as much as possible all per
sonal considerations from interfering with
my duties as your representative in uphold
ing your cause and carrying forward your
principles, did not permit my name to
come before the convention in candidature,
although am instructed that the fact is,
and | glory in it, that | was the unanimous
choice OF the Democratic people of our
State.
The convention for reasons, and under
circumstances that | have hereinbetore
stated, rejected your principles, spurned
your platform, and instead Of taking any
statesman OF the Democracy, nominated as
your candidate gentleman whom two
years ago there were not forty voters in
your ranks knew lived on earth. | cannot
be bound by the action of such conven.
ton, so regardless of the interests Of the
people and of Democratic usages and ] so
tod that body.
Party allegiance carried to such an ex-
tent is neither Democratic nor useful.
shall, therefore, unite myself with the labor
ing men and the true Democracy OF the
country, to do my endeavor with them to
back the government into control of the
people, and invite every good citizen, Of
whatever political faith, TO join the "PE0-
PIES PARTY" to purify and reform the
administration and redress the wrongs done
by oppressive legislation.
There are some who call themselves Dem
ocrats that would little rather would not
come with us; they are not of us. To the
honest and fair-miuded Democrats who have
acted with me, but now believe their duty
lies in an opposite direction, bid kindly
political farewell, until their conscientious
patriotism shall bring them back in the near
future to labor with me again in the people S
cause, admitting that if saw not too wisely,
| saw better than they did the necessity for
change from party to country.
Benz. +. BUTLER.
TNoTE. have issued this address at an
earlier day than had intended, at the de-
sire of many trusted and valued friends, but
somewhat against my own judgment, be-
cause think that the peoples campaign
should be short, sharp and decisive one,
and should not be begun i'll fact, except per-
haps a skirmsh or two until some thirty
DAYS later; and | had hoped to have had the
advantage of distinct statement OF prln-
ciples by the Democratic candidate for the
Presidency and ascertained from his own
declarations whether recanting some Of his
public opinions he might not show himself
better than the official action of his party
has shown itself by its platform.
The number of chapters in the document
are thirty-three