Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-10-15
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THE LEADER OF A FoRLoRN HoPR DKFo
A FORT WORTH AuDfpNcn

THE LEADER OF FoRLoRN HOPR BRFoRK
FORT WORTH AUDIENCE.
DR.. A. M. Cochran, ex-postmaster at
Dallas, and the Republican nominee for
governor OF Texas, spoke TO about 200
voters at the courthouse last night
Quite a large per cent. OF his audience
were Democrats who probably went out
OF curiosity. They also went away
Democrats. II Cochran made
single convert TO RepublIcanism the party
so converted kept livery quietly TO himself.
In fact the impression that the ambitious
doctor makes on the average listener is
that the speaker has mistaken HIS call
ing In essaylng the role OF political
orator. He has peculiar sing-song way
of winding up his periods that smacks Of
the backwood's exhorter, and his con-
slant use OF such phrases as ooh, Lordi"
i'By thunder "i'll be cussed," and 30
on, are hardly up TO the requirements OF
statesman-llke discourse.
The speaker was frequently cheered by
his partisans, about 75 per cent. OF whom
never voted Republican ticket in their
lives, but who have Of late undertaken to
strike down the Democracy, and In con-
sequence welcome any ally IN that under
taking.
He is middle.aged man OF the blonde
type, hatchet-faced and red whiskered,
and minus his rather undlgnihed way OF
talking and the horrible shouting style OF
| finishing his sentences, Is fairly good
talker.
Let 1t be said In justice 10 him, too,
that he did not utter any sentiments Of
a radical or vulgar sort, True, he went
for the Democrats roundly and made
them out desperately bad set OF men, al
least their officials, but that was TO be
expected.
lie Rssailed them particularly on their
record in regard to the public lands, the
convict question, railroad legislation, the
trade with the capitol syndicate, aud
GENERALLY denounced the party as being
In league with monopolles TO Cypress the
people.
They had given away 10000 900 acres OF
public lands to railroad corporation ex-
empted from taxation Tor twenty-five
years. Big cRttlemen were renting the
public domain for cents per acre, and
there was no room for the actual settler.
They had gwen 1900, 900 acres Of splen-
did lands In the Panhandle TO Illinois con-
tractors TO build new capitol valued at
81, 800, 900, putting the land down TO 90
cents per acre, when twas worth from So
10 81 per acre.
They had allowed the Importation OF
foreigners TO work ON the new state
house at Austin, when native citizens had
struck because they were only offered
starvation wages.
They refused TO sell watered lands, and
deprived immigrants Of MONIES.
The above are sample sentiments that
give In condensed shape some idea OF
Democratic sins as portrayed by Mr..
Cochran. He did not express the hope
that he would be elected, but thought
that he would poll vote that would
astonish his enemies. His father and
brothers, he said, were Democrats. He
was the only white sheep.
He wound up by asserting his friendli-
ness TO the Blair bill and the free coinage
Of silver, both Of which he predicted
would become laws, and after repeating
q favorite illustration Of jerome Kearby
something like a. chestnut--predicted
that the Democratic party would 80 to
pieces, because large element Of II WAS
1T variance with President Cleveland.