The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-11-06
SUBURBAN SETTINGS.

EDGMGToN, Ill, Nov. st has been
and gone What has? Why the repub>
llcan rally. Didn't hear about it? Well,
yon sec when the democrats had their lit.
tie time the republicans suddenly became
inspired and vowed by the good (O Jim
Blaine they should have big time They
did? You bet; so up they went to Rock
island, one or two strong, and secured
the two bowers from the republican ora
! torical rack You don't say; who were
they? Parks an. GeSt But Parks didn't
come; he had to 90 to Moline to attend to
! some business, over which he had no con
| troll, so he secured Oliver Olson as sub
| stitute. That's Blaineism. You went up?
OF cour2c. Well now Just have a stub
and tell ne all about it. Well, | was
little late about getting around When |
came | found they had converted Burt
| 1oung's residence into "A republican head
quarters. From the ceiling OF the porch
| hung three lanterns that served the double
| purpose of decoration and illumination.
There was crowd of about %, some
| listening, some talking and all shivering,
and Gest speaking. What did he say
: Not much of anything. He waived the
bloody shirt, and said We did it. Don't
you remember any of his spicy sentences?
| Well. yes; he said: "No freedom at the
south; the republicans sought freedom;
they liberated the negroes and gave them
right of suffrage. Did he tell how the re
| publicans manipulated that suffrage? OF
course not. What else? No parties but
democrats and republicans. One mans
vote as good as another Each mans duty
to cast that vote honestly with the re
publican partly irrespective of party.
No man right to vote unless he cast
| that vote for the benefit of the govern
ment, (How about those governedO Our
government affects the world. We don't
| estimate the benefit and Importance of
our citizenship. We have no aristocracy
| (but money!. During our late war every
foreign country helped the south. Who
fought and sustained that war? No dem
ocrat did. Republicans brought south
back to original condition. Did he say
that? He did Well, l declare You
know Hank, I've been democrat these
six and twenty years and that lost my
leg at SHILOH That do Jim. Well in
our company the republicans were three
to one. Now what do yoy suppose those
cursed fools were fighting for.
Give it up? Why they were
| fighting for ''niggers" And what were
you fighting for? For the preservation
of the Union. I'd never have left Belinda
and the wee ones to follow my two youn-
ger brothers, both democrats, and both
sleeping in that long trench while on
either hand lies their foster brothers, who
wore the gray. I'd never have budged
once inch to fight for the "niggers."
What's more, if those hot headed Aboli>
tionists had been shot, there would have
been no war, no bloody shirt to flaunt,
and no awful dark blot in our country's
history. | am heartily glad the republic
cans claim the honor of that horrible
fratricidc.
Well, what more did he say2 Oh not
much. He said the tariff was artificial
and needed fixing up (higher) every once
in a while; the republicans will attend to
that matter; democrats offer what? They
say, reform Owing to the chilliness of
the weather the crowd had dwindled to
about half dozen when the orator
ceased.
The Blaine and Logan club of Hamlet
put in an appearance and paraded the
principal streets. The magnificent pro-
cession was headed by the Hamlet drum
corps and consisted of twenty-five torch
bearers-men and boys
The speaking was continued in the
store room of Jones g. Young; here Mr..
Olson followed Mr. Kenworthy only about
two miles behind. From the lofty emf
nence of the dry goods box he looked
down upon the natives, who turned up at
him wondering eye, TO see the dragon it
he would fly He began with story
ended with story, and there was story
IN the middle of it; in fact it was pretty
much all story. He asked, why are you
republicans, and why democrats2 But,
he would tell little story and then give
us the reasons. The story was so impor
tant (?) he forgot the enlightening reasons
| Cf he knew them } While down In Ar
kansas Ga fitting place to expose his gen.
ius) he met a typical democrat, who was
a democrat because the ''yanks' had shut
up everything still and there was whis
ky famine; that's democrats reasons for
being democrats. Republicans came into
existence as desire to abolish slavery
Wings and democrats were too cowardly
to advocate liberty and abolish slavery.
The republicans have continued their
good work (O. Democrats went to war
for slavery, they have opposed republi-
cans merely for opposition. Another
story (much applause). If the repubh>
cans had policy, the democrats were
feminist" it. Republicans and demo
Gratis were opposed to secession. Repub
licans carried on the war. Hendricks
career showed he was opposed
and refused to receive soldiers into
| his home Democrats are all
negative men; republicans aggressive.
The speaker amid deacenlng applause
stepped down from the rostrum. The
audience was so affected by his oratory
they were induced to give three good
cheers for the author of the Mulligan lets
tiers. Cries of Gesti Gest! started by a