The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1888-02-24
MRS. BELNA LOCKWOOD.
THE EDEFEATED FEMALE CANDI-
DATE LECTURES SIN RALEIGH.

How She LOoked--IIOw She Talked--
And Something of What She Talked
to Her Audience.
To North Carolnians female lecturer
is a novelty. a female lawyer a curiosity,
and a female candidate for the Presidency
of the United States, a'phenomenon of the
rareSt order.
Mrs Belva Lockwood, who lectured at
Metropolitan Hall, in Raleigh Friday night,
combined in herself these characters. Moth
ing could show moIe plainly what our peo
pie think about Woman in Politics" than
the fact that SO few people yielded to their
curiosity to hear the only woman who
ever aspired to be the President of the
United States.
Her audience consisted of about seventy
five persons, twenty of whom were ladies,
while the majority of the others were men
past middle life. Gray hairs and bald
heads were conspicuous Is on account OF their
number in the audience Twenty bald
heads were counted There were probably
not a dozen men under thirty years of age
present. L he lecturer Was Introduced ps
T r. Purnell, Esq, in a few compliment
airy remarks. She then came forward and
began her two hours lecture, the subject
of which was Washington Life socially,
morally, politically and religiously.
She claimed that Washington was not
the wicked place that it was generally
supposed to be. No profanity or vulgarity
would ever be heard on the streets and
Sunday was observed The besetting sin
Of her people was disposition to live ex
travagantly and not pay debts. From the
boarding house keeper to the influential
Senator there appeared to be general
disposition to pay as few debts as possible.
Her descriptions on this line reminded
one of Thackcray's chapter in Vanity Fair
entitled How to live well on nothing Il
year" Washington is not q money making
place. The average Washingtonian spends
all the money that he makes and all that
be can borrow. The clerks in the depart
ments are no exception. Not only this,
but after they have held their positions q
few years they feel incapable of doing
anything else. 1t is painful to see the un-
easiness of these men at the prospect of a
change III the politics of the adninistra-
ton. Mrs. Lockwood said she had Wit
messed the impeachment trial of Andrew
Johnson (she gave good description
of that triaD; that she had seen the
excitement IN Washington on the Black
Lrr1I Of oil al
We're becoming paupeTs; and that she was
in Washington during the time of the
social and political scandal in Grants ad-
ministration. but all of it did not compare
to the excitement aud anxiety to be seen
ia Washington at Cleveland's election.
And the anxiety is still felt by those who
are yet holding over from past admins
trations. They are ali trying to prepare
for the change and are ready 10 become
Attorneys and Claim Agents-the general
occupation Of discharged clerks.
She referred pleasantly to the instan-
taneOus political conversion of the inhabi-
tants OF the District of Columbia when
/ Cleveland's administration began. Before
that you could hardly find a full fiedged
! Democrat in the District except members
OF Congress, and now, she said the full
\ fedged Republican is just as rare.
/ She thought that perhaps the one thing
that had done most for Cleveland was bis
/ bringing to the White House, as his bride
that typical American girl who was SC
! Justly popular and who had warmed The
hearts Of the whole nation towards hel
! husband and his administration. She gave
it as her opinion that Cleveland was tht
most Democratic of all the Presidents
that he had more callers She said there
was never an opportunity offered whe1
there were not from SEQ to 1000 peopi'
at the East Room to shake the President
hand She said that on few occasions
Mrs Cleveland had performed this dut,
of handshaking for the President, wher
the latter was too busily engaged to re
ceive his visitors.
Mrs Lockwood made some sensible re
marks on dress, temperance and education
She paid tribute to Mrs. Hayes for tn
moral influence that she exerted by no
allowing wine on her table or low necke'
dressed at her receptions. She endorse,
the remark of the critic who, on seeing
number of elderly ladies arrayed in deco
lette, said that he Thought that it wOult
be we'll to throw veil over the past
she spoke Of the enterprisng newspape
reporters who furnished printed blank
on which ladies We're to fill out full des
scriptions of their dresses to be publishes
in the daily papers;of the female and NAL
lobyist, who by banquets worked tnroug
such legislation as could not 90 throug
on its own merits; of the famous Sta
Route Cases of the Credit MOblier, an
the Salary Grab Steal; of the Claimant
who can be seen for years, spending a
that they can get and gradually going t
seed in the vain hope that they will tinall
get their claims, which, if secured, wOul
not half pay their expenses.
The part Of her lecture that showed mos
power was her vivid picture of the breac
in the Republican party begun by Blaine
allusion to Conkling as ''the strutting tul
KEY cock of the Senate" From thos
words as a first cause she traced the d'
feat of Blaine in the Republican Conver
, ton, in which Conkling led Grants force:
, Ga fields nomination by that Convention
and afterwards his assassination by Gu
teau who insanely hoped to restore hal
| mony to his party thereby; Blaine's fin;
defeat for the Presidency, and Conkllng
permanent retirement from American pol
tics.
' The moral tone of the lecture was goot
The lecturers references to The Rebe
lion were distasteful to a Southern aut
! ience and would not have been listened t
so respectfully if it were not for the Soutl