Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-06-21
The CHICAGO CONVENTION.
An Unprecedented Gathering.
THE MAN HASN'T APPEARED YET.
The Personnel Of the Ticket a Matter
Of Speculation.
The Platform Will Be Unqualifedly fOr
Protection,
And There Will Be No MugWumpeFy this
Time.
CONVENTION FORMALLY OPENED.
THE CONVENTION HALL.

I
great Auditorium Hall at noon to call the
National Convention to order, he looked
upon a scene unparalleled in the history
of public gatherings in this country
Larger assemblages have been held in
more spacious halls, but at none have the
occular properties been so effective, OF
the brilliancy of illumination and pictur-
eSque colOrings been so splendid. Every
face can be seem without effort and an
audience of less than ten thousand ap-
pears to be an almost countless multitude
The magnificent sweep of the great gal
lery which seats nearly 5000 persons, is
picture which impresses even those ia
miliar with great audiences and the whole
scene, bathed in flood of electric light
| shed by $500 incandeScent lamps thrills
the most sluggish heart. The auditorium
is 26O feet long and $50 feet wide, with two
side balconies and great gallery, seats in
which rise tier on tier at an angle of 40 -,
| The stage, which is but slightly raised
above the floor of the hall, commands a
view not only of the great audience in
front, but of large balcony in the rear
and tier of boxes at either side This
stage stretches from side to side of the
hall, and accommodates, in addition to
the Presidents platform, which is in the
center, several hundred newspaper repre-
SentativeS. There are just 5000 seats in
| the hall, and as the Convention is called
to order there are probably 5000 people
within the glance of Chairman Jones S
eye.
The decorations appear trifle bewil-
dering at first. The walls, ceiling, and
every post, pillar and panel is covered
with flags, bunting and streamers in va
ried designs and cOlors, and portraits and
paintings of historic design meet the eye
everywhere. The red, white and blue is
conspicuous, of course, everywhere, but a
great sheet of terra Gotta bunting hangs
as a roof between the sunlight, which
pours through it from great open space
just above the great gallery, and relieves
the otherwise mOnOtOny Of so prodigiOuS
display of the national cOlorS. But
even the sunlight shines but dimly i'll the
great hall, the electric illumination being
depended upon because of the impossible
ity of protecting the audience, in the un-
| finished state of the building, and letting
in day at the same time. The arrange
/ ,.
suspended from the roof and walls of the
hall, is one of the most effective and beau
tiful features of the scene.
Some of the details of the auditorium
decorations are worth special mention
At the apex in front of the Chairman's
desk is a gilded American eagle, and be-
hind it a portrait of Washington. On the
right of the Chairman'S desk is a plaster
bust of the late General John A. Logan,
in heroic size, draped with an American
flag. Hanging from one of the boxes at
| the right is Il large painting of Logan S
charge at the battle of Atlanta. On the
North and South walls of the auditorium,
framed in festoons of large American
flags, and surrounded by circle of cleo
trio stars, are portraits of Lincoln and
Grant, the designs being mammoth in
proportion, and form the two most strik-
ing features of the decorations. Flashing
its parti-colored brilliancy full into the
face of the audience and delegates is a
suspended American shield, formed of
different colOred electric lamps. This
shield, its horizon of stars, its stripes of
the Union, are all pictured out and put in
a bass relief of light by the flashing jets
through the red, white and blue globes.
At the points of exit and entrance to
the auditorium. are the Nations stand
ards, planted at either side, and draped so
as to hide the rough boards which form
the staircaSes of these avenues to the
Convention, of which there are sufficient
to empty the place in case of an accident
in three minutes.
THE ASSEMBLING OF THE CONVENTION.
The first of the delegates to reach their
seats are those from Ohio. The Michigan
delegation follows the Ohio men, entering
in a body and filling up their block OF
seats on the front of the second aisle.
As the spectators generally are admit
ted more tardily than the delegates there
are few demonstrations as the convention
begins to gather Most of those inside
the galleries are ladies, who are deeply in
tereSted but not demonstrative. Senator
HOar, of Massachusetts,, the chairman OF
the last National Convention, walks down
the aisle to the front and, followed by his
fellow delegates, takes his place as chair
man of the delegation without being rec
ognized by the galleries, and a delegate
who looks enough like Depew to be his
twin brother talks few moments with
the Massachusetts, Senator and retireS
1t is not Depew, however, but the resem-
blance creates some little comment, and
there are not a few gueSseS as to his iden
tity. Alta quarter of II o'clock the mem
berS of the National Committee come III
in pairs and in groups. They met this
morning at their headquarters and are
just through their business, which has
been especially the gathering together OF
their remaining quota of tickets for seats
Judge ThurstOn, of Nebraska, arrives
with the members of the committee OF
his State and takes seat on the stage
just back of the chairman'S desk, which
he is soon to occupy as the temporary
presiding officer of the convention. Mr.
ThurStOn is a SmalliSh man who wears
glasses and is dressed in SOmbre black.
As Gen. Fremont entered the hall he
was greeted with round of applause and
cheers, the first genuine demonstration
of the morning. He was escorted to q
seat on the platform, where he provoked
further Obtburst of applause by meet
ing Fred Douglass as he came to seat
beside him and shook him by the hand.
Carson Lake, of the National Commit
tee, came upon the platform just before
the convention was called to order and
brought with him two handsome oak
gavels, one of them merely polished and
intended for hard pounding. The other
| Is Il llOIO pI6G6llUlOUS dllotlI, lllltlJltu dS
a gift to the temporary chairman, is
richly chased in gold and has engraved
upon its several gold bands the names of
Washington, Lafayette, Grant, Lincoln,
Garfield and Logan.
THE CONVENTION OPENED.
Precisely at 12.37 o'clock the gavel of
Chairman JONES' of the National Repub-
lican Committee, sounded sharply upon
the mahogany desk, and the Republican
Convention of 1888 was formally opened.
The hum of conversation ceased through
out the vast auditorium, and the buzz of
expectation gave place to an impress
i've silence as the Chairman introduced
Rev. Frank Gunsalaus, of the Plymouth
Congregational Church Of Chicago, who
opened the proceedings with prayer. He
thanked the Almighty for the blessing OF
Divine protection lie returned the graf
itude OF the Nation for the benefits grant