Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-06-28
A RINGING SPEECH.
Speech of Ron. John W. Thurston, of
Nebraska, Temporary Chairman Of
the Republican National Con-
yention at Chicago.
Mr.. ThurstOn Pays Glowing Compli
ment to James G. Blaine. But In.
sistS That Because of His Dec
Iination He Should not be
Nominated.
He spoke as follows:

!
deeply sensible of the disting uished honol
you have conferred upon me as the pre-
siding officer of your temporary organi
zation. / am also mindful of the grave
responsit ilities Of the position; and il
they are successfully met it will be due tt
the continuance of your generous favor
and the bestowal of your loyal assistance
1 have no words in which to fittingly ex
press m. heartfelt appreciation OF your
confidence. [ thank you, gentlemen, no
for myself alone. but for that great and
growing West which never disappoints
the expectations of the Republican
party.
I come from g State whose vast domain
has been largely appropriated by the sur
viving veterans of the Army of the Re
public, under the benefcent provisions OF
the Homestead and Presumption laws en-
acted by Republican Congress. AND
true to the heroic recollection of the past
| the homesteeders of the West still march
on under the banner of Republicanjsm.
In victory and defeat, in sunshine and
in storm, in prosperity ard adversely, this
mighty West retains the courage of its
convictions and holds that devotion to
principle, though it brings defeat, is bet
Ter thaa success achieved by broker vows
and political dishonor.
We are met in National Convention for
elaboration and conference. The Re
publican party of the United States relies
upon the wisdom of lis assembled dele
| gates for such action as will insure sue
cess. If we are prepared to honestly and
fairly meet the supreme issues of the
| hour with a clear, fearless and ringing
| declaration of principles and to nominate
a ticket which will commend itself to the
loyalty and intelligence of the country,
we can graudly win.
To enter upon the proceedings of this
convention prepared to sacrifice individ-
ual judgment to the wisdom of the ma
| jority, and to lay down preferences on the
altar of party success.
When our candidates are chcssn we
will all join with heart and soul
in the grand chorus of rejoicing, and rain
bow of our harmony shall give certain
promise of the glory oy victorious
morning in November.
When the Democratic party at The
close of the last Presidential election rob-
bed US of victory honestly and fairly
won, we patiently waited for the certain
coming of the justice Of the years. We
! hoped and believed that 1888 would right
the great national wrong of 1884. Right
it, not only for the Republican party, but
also for the grand, glorious candidates
whose names were the inspiration Of that
wonderful campaign.
The infinite wisdom of an alI-wise
Providence has otherwise decreed. One
of then--the citizen soldier, the warrior
statesman the Black Eagle of Illinois,
| hoe ooe,, NV ba Mos
senger to report to his old Commander
beyond the river. But, although John
A. Logan Is dead in the body, yet he lives
again in the Illuminated pages o. his
eountry's most splendid history, lives IN
the grateful love of free people whose
Union he is so gallantiy fought to pre-
serve, lives in the blessings of a down
! trodden race, whose freedom he SO man
fully struggled to achieve, lives in the
future song and story of heroworship-
ing world; ard along the highway of the
Nations glory, side by side with old
! John brown, Abraham Lincoln and
Ulysses S. Grant, his soul goes marching
on.
OThe other-that gallant, the chevalier
of American politics, the glory of Re,
| pUblicanism and the mig htmare of Democ-
racy, our Henry of Navarro, is seeking
in foreign travel the long needed relaxa-
| tion and rest from the waarisome bur-
dens of public life and service. With
the sublime magnamity of his incompar-
| able greatness, he has denied US infinite
| pleasure of supporting him in this con-
vention, Desiring above all things,
party harmony ana success, he has step
ped from the certain ladder of his own
| laudable ambition that some other man
may climb to power. As his true friends
we cannot, dare not, commit the pOliti-
cal crime of disobedience to his express
ed will. We can not place him at the
head of the ticket, but We will make him
commander in chief at the head of the
| forces in the field, where he will be ip-
vincible. And, though James G. Blaine
may BOT be our President, yet he remains
our uncrowned king, welding the baton
of acknowledged leadership, supreme in
| the allegiance of his devoted followers;
honored and respected by all honest and
| loyal men, the greatest living American,
and the worthy object of our undy1ng
| owe. .- H. Ea.8
But the Republican party is not left
without great men to place upon its
ticket. We have that honest, able and
experienced fpancier, statesm an and
Senator from Ohio, and his no less dis
tinguished colleagues from Iowa, Indiana,
Michigan and Wisconsin present to US
gallant soldiers, while New York, New
jersey, Kansas, Connecticut and other
States offer worthy and favorite sons.
From this splendid galaxy of political
| store we can not choose amiss. The Re-
publican party points with pride TO the
| great achievements of its past, and offers
as an earnest of its future faithfulness
an unbroken record OF services perform
ed for freedom. Union and national
prosperity. 1t is permanently the party
of protection. Tt wac born of the ire
pressible desire 10 protect the slave from
| the lash of the master, and to save our
civilization from the blighting curse of
its crime against humanity. 1t perform
ed the sacred mission of protecting the
repnblic from secession and disunion
| and in the later time it succeeded in
protecting the credit and currency Of
the nation from reputation and infa-
| ton.
Its platform epitomized stands for the
protection of popular government on the
| American contin emf: stands for the pro
lection of all governmental and lnterna-
| tional rights from restriction or invasion;
stands for the protection of the life,
liberty end property of the individual;
stands for the protection OF all the i'm
munities and privileges of American
citizenship; stands for the protection of
the ballot-box from the crimes of Intlrn1-
datien, robbery and substitution; stands
for the protsetion of American COM
mercs, American manufacture and
| American agriculture from destructive
foreign com petition; stands for the pro-
4! lection of home invention, home skill
and home labor AGAINST the free trade