Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-09-25
MIR. WISE sPEAKs.

MR.. WISE SPEAKS.
Hon. George d. Wise was intro.
duced BY the chairman. The speaker
came forward and said:
~ have desired above all things tc
meet the laboring.men Of Richmond
because I want to not only show my
stewardship, but also to show where
have been maliciously misrepresented.
When l snnornced publicly that ! wa
not candidate for Congress, | meant
what felt"
A voice: Did you ever say thai
the workiDgmen Of Richmond ought tG
wear striped clothes?
Mr.. Wise: / never did, and who.
ever says did maliciously lies. loud
cheers
I do not wish to be interrupted any
more. In regard to my acceptance o.
the nomination will say that | did II
because the people demanded it, and
the Convention that nominated me was
composed mostly Of workingmen rep
resentatives.
NOT THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
KNIGHTS OF LABOR.
II regard to Mr.. Mullen I have no
thing to say. But Mr. Mullen is not
the representative of the Knights Of
Labor. And who nominated him
About three Friday nights ago a
body of men collected in q hall
at the corner Of Marshall and
Fifth streets for conference. From this
body was excluded the public and the
press. Who appointed the men? Who
composed this Convention? l don't
know and shan't tell. All secret con-
ferences l will fight TO the death
That Convention was largely colored,
and that Convention nominated Mr..
Mullen. That's sll we know about it.
CAPTAIN JOHN S. WISE DISCUSSED.
At this stage Mr.. John s. Wise
jumps like an athlete into the ring.
Hear what he says. Mr.. Wise hero
quoted from Captain Wise's speech to
the colored men at Fisherman's Hall a
few nights ago. Continuing, the speaker
said II want to show you some oil
the declarations made by Mr.. Mullen
against me.'' He then read from some
publications made by Mr.. Mullen about
him. In regard to this he said: 1.-The
meanest weapon any man ever held in
his hand is the weapon of misrepre-
| sentation. | dare Mr. Mullen to stand
by my side on this platform and say
that be would have voted differently
from what I have on any Of the mea-
sures recommended by the legislative
committee Of the Knights Of Labor.
HIS WORK IN CONGRESS.
In regard to what | have done in
Congress, / will say this: A bill was
passed providing for the establishment OF
a Bureau of Labor Statistics. | voted
for that. A bill was passed prohibiting
the hiring of convict labor on any public
building in the country. voted for
that" Mr.. Wise referred to the Gus
,om.house improvement, which is being
done by the day-labor system. "This
is the first work of the kind in the
the United States, aud | did it alone. "
He referred to other legislation which
was for the interests of the workingman
which he had favored and voted for.
WANTED A CoLoRED MANS PLACE.
Mr.. Wise spoke severely Of Mr.. Null
len, and criticized him at length. lie
said: "The first man that wanted e
Federal Office after Mr.. Cleveland was
elected President was Mr.. William H..
Mullen. And what did he want? The
place of colored man named Brown,
who was post-office clerk on the rail-
road between Richmond and West
Point. And on what ground? He
said: Turn the d-d Republicans
and id negroes OUT And this is
Mr.. Nullen's grstitude-to call me iu
the Labor Hsrald the worst enemy the
workingmen ever had. But he didn't
think so then. He threw his arms
around my neck and hugged me and
almost kissed me to death. Fellow
citizens, beware Of the kiss Of Judas.
1t has been whispered around, and
especially by certain young gentle
man at a meeting in Clay Ward who
has a very large mouth but very few
facts, that | voted against building a
ship at the Gosport navy-yard. Mr..
Wise explained how he had done all
that be could to have that ship built
there, and had received the congratula-
tions and thanks of delegation of the
Knights Of labor, who said he had
done for them more than they had a
right to expect. "These men want
ed me to come to Portsmouth and
accept a banquet at their hands
as the best friend the working
man had and only few days ago
when | was in Portsmouth these very
ner, W hom | did not recognize, care to
me on the public streets and wanted to
show me some kindness. And yet
MIR. Mullen or his followers want to
make a thrust at me and say that |
worked against the workingman.
Mr.. Wise said he was in favor OF
such changes of the tariff as would not
impair the ability Of American labor 20
compete with foreign labor. The
speaker reviewed the question Of free
trade and its consequences.
WILL SHAKE THEM BY THE HAND.
am going from Screamersville to
Rockets and shake each son of toll by
the hand and look him squarely in the
eye and let him know how | stand.
And if you strike me down l will let
you know you strike friend. Mr..
Wise was attentively listened to, and
when he retired three cheers were
given for him.
PROFESSOR ]. H. COOK.
Professor j. II. Cook, Of Church
Hill, was the next speaker. He al
luded in complimentary terms to Mr.
Wise. He did not think it advisable to
send an spprentice-one who would
hold his hands and suck his fugers-to
Congress. "Can We afford to send
novice to Washington? Can we afford
to send q young sapling to Congress-
one who will be blown this way or
that by every breeze that blows
through the halls Of Congress In re-