Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-07-12

of the granger and the head-cerser of
its influences; and the convention admit
ted the force of the answer. So, after
five days of incessaat discussion and
voting eliminating all the other candi-
dates and having established the correct
principles of choice-the convention
chose General Harrison with surprising
unanimity. They wanted a doubtful
State; Harrison lived in Indiana. They
wanted q Western candidate; Harrison
was in the West and not far enough from
the East to be out of knowledge and
sympathy with Eastern thought. Har-
rison lived near the center of population
and was almost a composite photograph
of the Nations wants. He was neither
granger nor anti-granger. He had good
running qualities of another kind. He
had q home and cherished it. He had
all the homely qualities which are the
best gift TO an American who seeks for
Office by the popular vote. He had
good record, an not too much of it. He
had ancestry. but did not depend upon it.
These were the reasons which Influenced
the convention after six days honest and
conscientious examination to nominate
Ben. Harrison. It was the best possible
outcome. He was the one candidate
that had personally urged for many
months as the one easiest to elect, and I
was entirely sincere when I telegraphed
to General Harrison that he was the one
happy issue out Of all our troubles, and
that the convention was very fortunate
to have found it out.
"About the Vice Presidency? o, [ am
afraid I am an interested witness there.
can say this, though, I heartily approve
of Mr.. Morton's selection, and will Loyalty
work for him. I ought to. He has been
my friend from boyhood. 1 am proud of
his business career, and still prouder of
his political career. have watched this
carefully from the beginning, and must
confess [ never knew man who
GREW FASTER
than he, unless possibly Warner Miller
Both seem to have had high aptitude in
this direction, and each time they do a
public act they do it better than before.
So that both continually surprise and
please by doing each task even better
than you expect they would. Mr.. Morton
makes the ticket very strong in New York,
and when New York, for the first time in
the history of conventions, united its vote
to it, and the convention would have done
wrong to refuse the request of the I'm
perial state. My chance for the nomina-
ton, and my only claim to it, was in the
event that New York did not agree upon a
candidate. In that case New jerseys plea
was, as New York cannot be carried with
out perfect harmony, give the Vice-Pres-
idency to Us. We will carry our State
Indiana and New Jersey will elect the
ticket. [ don't mean to say we shall not
carry New Jersey without having a Jersey
man on the ticket, but it will be harder,
for the Jersey people are clannish and
love their folk. It would not be hard in
any case, except for Fiske, and he ought
to be ashamed of himself, for he used to
be a good Republican and as anxious for
the pros perity of his State as any of US.
He knows that the tariff is all that keeps
half of our people from starvation, and
how he is going to get his followers to
throw away their votes and their liveli-
hood at the same time, and how he dare
ask them to do it can not understand.
If they refuse to do so, and the indica-
tiOns are strong in that direction, we
shall carry the States, and the Jersey del
egates as they journeyed homeward have
all cheered their way with this conjecture:
If Miller and Morton should not carry
New York after all, and Sewell and Phelps
should carry New Jersey, and save the
Republican ticket, what could the con-
vention say then? So you see we are not
discouraged and have new motive to
urge US to carry New Jersey for Harrison
and Morton.