Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1888-07-11
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1910.

The famous "hard-cider" campaign of
194O is still remembered by the older read
ers of the Times, but they, as we'll as the
greater number of voters who have come
on later, will be interested in the account
given of it by Nathan Sargent, better
known as "Oliver Oldschhool," in his
"Public men and Events" If one could
imagine, writes Sargent, a whole nation de-
claring holiday or season of rolicking for
period of six or eight months, and giving
themselves up during the whole time to
the widest freaks of fun and frOlic, caring
nothing for business, singing, dancing and
carousing night and day, he might have
some faint notion of the extraordinary
scenes of 1910.
1t would be difficult, if not impossible,
otherwise to form even faint idea OF the
universal excitement, enthusiasm, activi-
ty, turmoil and restlessness which pervad-
ed the country during the spring, summer
and fall of that memorable year. Log
cabins large enough to hold crowds of peo-
pie were built in many places. Small
ones, decorated with coon skins, were
mounted on wheels and used in process
sions. The use of the coon skins soon led
to the adoption of the coon (raccoon) itself
as an emblem and adjunct OF the log cabin,
and its counterfeit presentiment was hoist
ed in all the Whig papers.
Meetings were everywhere and every
day held in neighborhoods, school houses,
villages, towns, counties, cities, States,
varying from ten to one hundred thous-
and; and wherever there was gathering
there were also speaking and singing.
Ladies attended these meetings in great
numbers and joined in the singing. Far
mers, with big teams and wagons, would
leave their fields and travel ten, twenty or
thirty miles, accompanied by their fami-
lies and neighbors, to attend convention
or barbecue and listen to distinguished
orator. Crowds on the road, multitudes
in big wagons, drawn by four, six or eight
horses, made the Welkin ring with their
log cabin songs. Nobody slept, nobody
worked, nobody rested; at least so 1T
seemed, for all were on the qui vive ano
in motion. The entire population seemed
to be absorbed in the great duty of elect
ing General Harrison and thus changing
the government.
All kinds of notices and devices were
invented and exhibited for sport and effect
at these great conventions and bar6ecues
live eagles perched upon locomotive log
cabins the coon, too, busy and playful ;
beside the cabin door rested barrels OF
hard cider, from which the beverage flow
ed freely to all corners. The string to lift
the usual wooden latch hung out, indicat-
ing that any one was welcome to walk IN
and partake of the laboring mans hospl-
tality. There was gush OF good feeling,
animation, hope and confidence every
where pervading the people, which for
babe inactivity or dependency.
But the West, if possible, surpassed the
East in it's monster assemblages.
At Cincinnati, at Nashville, at Indian
apois, at st. Louis, at the Tippecanoe bat
tle-ground, at Cleveland, at Fort Meigs
and at Dayton, the people assembled could
only be counted or estimated by the acre.
The Dayton mblage, especially, was
such multitude that "behold, no man
could number them." Here were Mr..
Clay, Mr.. Crittenden, Governor Vance,
Governor Corwin and many other celebri-
ties, whose eloquence was called into ser
vice. 1t was estimated that from 75,0OO to
100 900 people were there assembled.
A marked feature of these assent blages
was the great number of women mingling
in them-the wives, daughters and moth
ers of the hardy and well-to.do yeomen
of the country. who took part in the sing
ing. Among the devices displayed in
such abundance, the grotesque and conf
cal were not infrequent. Here met the
eve a ludicrous representation of fight
between the coon and the fox (the emblem
of Van BUREN, in which the coon was al
ways uppermost and giving the fox ter
rible thrashing. Again might be seen a
set-to between Harrison and Van Buren,;