The Portland daily press., 1886-09-13
THE CLOSING RALLY.
Large :and Enthusiastic Republican
Meeting at City Hall.
A Splendid Speech by the Hon.
Thomas 3. Reed.

| in attendance, and from half past seven till
| eight o'clock, favored the audience with
| some of its choicest selections. BY eight
| o'clock, the hour appointed for the speaking,
| the hall was full; every seat was taken, and
in the rear and in the corridors hundreds
were standing. There were very many
ladies in the galleries, and upon the floor
also, whose presence added brilliancy to the
scene.
A few moments past eight the speaker of
| the evening. Hon. Thomas B. Reed, accom-
panied by Hon. Henry B. Cleayes and many
other prominent Republicans of the city,
entered and took seats upon the platform
amid prolonged applause. Among the
prominent gentlemen present upon the stage
were: Hon. Charles J. Chapman, Hon.
George W. Woodman, A. H. Davis, Charles
D. Brown. William r. Wood, Augustus F.,
Gerrish, B. F. Whitney, B. G. Somerby,
George c. Burgess and many others.
After the applause had subsidized, III. G..
Briggs, Esq, chairman of the Republican
City Committee, called the meeting to order,
and presented as president of the evening,
Hon. Henry B. Cleayes.
Mr.. Cleaves, after thanking the audience
for the honor of being called upon to preside
over the meeting and speaking of the strength
of the county and representative ticket, said
that if there be any one section of our State
that is interested more than another in a
wise administration of the government. in
faithful execution of the laws, in sound
currency and wise protective tariff, in the
announcement and advancement of Amer
ican commerce, in the protection of Amer
lean shipping and the fishing interests, in
legislation that shall dignity American labor
and advance the interests of the laboring
masses and secure to them just compensation
it is the city of Portland and the First Con-
gressional District of Maine. And on Mon
day next our fellow citizens are to determine
by ballot whether we will return to the halls
of Congress our distinguished Representa-
tive. who upon all occasions can speak for
our interests, and who has never been found
wanting in defending the great industries
that serve to increase the growth of this
district and give employment to the laborlng
masses. 1t is a practical question, Wnlch
affects our business interests and not purely
a political issue. 1t is question that af-
fects the laboring people, the men whose
diligent hands contribute to the growth and
prosperity of the country. To the protection
of those great industries which build up and
duNduct OuE Clby anu WulCn give CutplOy
ment to labor, the Republican party and its
candidates stand committed
The Democratic party has had no policy In
this campaign except that which they be-
lieve will secure to them the most votes. But
the Democratic candidate says he is to be
elected. If he had given us his judgment
upon some proposition OF law, upon the
validity of some telephone patent in which
the present Democratic reform administra-
tion is interested, the opinion would have
Ia 10 III nrnf ion
rank and file of the Democratic party have
already taken to the woods Deering's Oaks,
and on Monday night as you light your camp
fires on the open fields of victory, they will
be wandering in the wilderness OF defeat.
We are referred to the Democratic admins
tration as a reform administration,
consistent administration. A reform
administration, indeed, said he, de-
voting days and weeks of its time in seeking
some miserable technicality whereby it can
that the Congress of the United States has
declared by solemn act belonged to poor,
crippled and deserving soldier, and at the
same time instituting legal proceedings and
carrying on law suit at the expense OF the
government that shall enhance and place a
value upon certain worthless stocks in which
prominent members of that political house
hold are interested. The party is posing in
this State as the friend of the laborer and
the soldier. Yet during the whole career of
Tile OrSdnlZdblOl uO lids cN6l UOCu
accomplished by them alone, for the adj
vancement of the interests of the laboring
people. They propose no policy, now for
the benefit of the people. The administra-
tion at Washington, by veto after veto, has
refused to acknowledge or recognize any
debt of gratitude as due to the valor and
| courage of the American soldier, and many
of them are thereby deprived of the aid
which a generous and grateful people in
| tended should be theirs.
Mr. C1oauac cnnlya furthnr nf the imn0Tt-
| ance of electing Mr. Reed, and predicted a
| sweeping victory on election day. His re-
| marks were frequently interrupted by ap-
| plause. He then introduced as the next
| member of Congress from the First District
| the Hon. Thomas b. ReeG.
AS Mr. Reed rose to speak he was greeted
| with long continued cheering, and it was
some minutes before the tumult ceased. Mr..
| Reed then spoke as follows:
MR.. REEDS SPEECH.
Mr.. Chairman, Fello,c Citizens, Ladies and
| Gentlemen:
| cannot thank you too heartily for your
presence here tonight. and for the cordial
welcome which you have given me. / wish
| that it was within my power to speak to you
| in manner worthy of your greeting, but
| do not expect tonight to be able to come up
| to that measure of success.
| A speaker of today labors under certain
| disadvantages. The men and women of my
| generation have witnessed the greatest
| events in the history of the world, for they
| have lived through the greatest events OF the
| greatest nation and the people of Maine, es,
| men the great principles which underlie oul
| free institutions, the great principles upon
| which were based the emancipation and the
| enfranchisement of race: They have had
those great principles Illustrated by the
| noble deeds of men who are in the midst Of
us today. Those men had great times, and
| great occasions 1t was easy for them to stil
| your blood and to evoke your applause. Mine
is a much humber task. | have to deal witt
the events of today, with matters Whlcf
have transpired recently, for | propose to-
night carefully to abstain from any allusions
to ancient history. (Applause.) | do not in
tend to give myself the qualification OF point
| ing with pride to the record of the Republi
can party. l still believe that character Is
something, and that to prognosticate as tt
| what man will do tomorrow depends upor
| our knowledge of what he did yesterday
But freely admit that unless man is al
| good today as he was yesterday, we can nave
no more hope for him tomorrow. daughter
and applause) l should also pain some o.
my Democratic brethren who do me the hon
or to lsten.i l should refer to matters which
are past, except those which have occurred
during the last eighteen months | intend tt
confine myself to the history of that time
and it ought to please the Democratic party
because they have made it. daughter.
There were men, who, after their long SO
journ in the wilderness, supposed that whei
they reached the promised land they woult
see it visibly flowing with milk and hone,
and rich with the ripest of grapes. do no
propose to harrow up their feeling by re
ferring to that branch of the subject
Naughter9 only propose to say that /
they have not found their hopes equal t.
their expectations, they are not the first citi
zens of the world who have been thus dis
appointed. To make comparison betweel
what they said before election, and wha
they have done since election, is somethin,
to which | invite your attention tonight
You will remember that one of the chic
burdens of discourse of our Democrati
friends at any time within the last ten year
has been that this country was infested will
office holders; that hundred thousand offic
holders were fattening upon the public treas
ury, and that if Democratic administration
came into power, we should have the mum
ber reduced and the people relieved of enoI
nous burdens. We have had a Democratl
House and Democratic administration fo
period of IS months. Is there in this coun
try today an office holder less? 1t is wors
| than that; there are more. uaughter.) Now
| do not ask you to take my testimony.
have testimony which is better. 1t is that 0
a Democrat from Indiana, and how mucl
stronger the democracy of Democrat fror
Indiana is than that of a Democrat fror
Maine, language fails to describe Iaugh
ter and applause)
On the second day of August Mr.. Williar
Steele Holman, of Indiana, whose name
somewhat known in this country, made
statement which no Democrat upon the fl0o
of the House ATTEMPTED to refute. You wi
| fnd,it on page 1876 of the Record, | rea(
l ATr StanR Rl-.r, -. for