The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1888-06-23
CHICAGO CONVENTION
THE COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS
PRESENT THEIR REPORT.
A COMPREHENSIVE PLATFORM.
PROTECTION AND REPEAL OF INTERNAL
TAXES DEMANDED.
PRESENTATION OF CANDIDATES.


PRESENTATION OF CANDIDATES.
The Scenes in the Convention Hall
| Magnificent Decorations.
CHICAGO CONVENTION HALL, June 10.
When Chairman Jones, OF the National
| Republican COMMITTEES, assembled the
| platform of the great auditorium hall at
noon to call the National Convention to
order, he locked upon a scene unparal-
| leled i'll the history OF public gatherings
| in this country. Larger assemblages
have been held in more spacious halls
| but at none have the ocular properties
been so effective, or the brilliancy of
illumination and picturesque colorings
been SD splendid. Every face Can be
| seen without effort, aud an audience of
less than 1000 appeared To be an almost
| countless multitude. The magnificent
sweep of the great gallery aloue, which
| seats nearly 1000 persons, is d picture
which impresses even those familiar with
great audiences. and the whole scene,
bathed in "a flood Of electric lights. shed
by 900 lncandescrut lamps, thrills even
the mosC sluggish heart. The auditorium
is 2S0 feet long and 1870 feet wide, with
| two side balconies and great gallery
| the seats in which rise tiers at an angle OF
| forty d, grees.
| The stage, which is but slightly raised
| above the floor of the hail, commands a
view, not only of the great audience in
front, but OF large balcony in the rear
| aud a tier of boxes a5 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 newspapers rep
| resentatives. There are Just eight thou
sand one hundred seats i'll the hall, and,
as the convention is called to order
| probably uine thousand people are within
| the glance Of Chairman Jones eve.
| THE MAGNIFICENT DECORATIONS.
The decorations appear a tritiing be-
| wildering at first, and the walls, ceiling,
and every post, pillar and panel, is
covered with flags, bunting and steamers
in varied artistic designs and colors, and
portraits aud paintings of historic scenes
meet the eye everywhere. The red.
white and blue is conspicuous, Of course
every where, but great sheet of terra
Gotta bunting hangs as a roof between
the sunlight, which pours through it
from great gallery, and relieves the
otherwise monOtony of so prodigal a
display of the national colors. But even
| the sunlight shines but dimly in the
| great hall, the electric illumination being
| depended upon because of the impossi-
bility of protecting the audience in the
present. unfinished state of the building,
and letting in the day at The same time.
| The arrangement of the electric lamps
in great stars. suspended from the roof
and walls of the hall, is one of the most
effective and beautiful features OF the
scene which greets Chairman Jones, as
he stands, himself a striking tigure-tall,
erect, with the appearance and air of Il
| patriarch-with suspended gavtl to hush
the great stir aud hustle before him to
! present clergymen who is to ask the
| Divine benediction upon the deliberations
| OF the convention. Some of the details
OF the auditorium decoration are worth
special mention. At the apex in front
of the chairmans desk is gilded Amer
lean eagle, and beneath it a portrait of
| Washington. On the right of the chair
mans desk is IA plaster bust of the late
Gen. john A. Logan in heroic size. draped
| Will an -1ulCiiSdb IlduSluS llOitl
one of the boxes at the right is large
painting Of Logan's charge at the battle
of Atlanta. On the face of the north
| and south walls of the auditorium
framed in festoous of large American
flags, and surrounded by a circle of cleo
trio stars are portraits of Lincoln and
Grant, the designs being mammoth in
proportion and form the two most strik-
| inc details nf the decorations
Flashing its parti-colored briliancy
full into the face of the audieuce and
delegates is a suspended American shield
formed of different colored electric lamps.
| This shield. its horizon of stars, it's
stripes of the Union, are all pictured out
and put in a basso relieve of light by the
| flashing jets through the red, white and
and blns globes.
At this point of exit and entrance to
the hall, which dip like great wells into
| the auditorium. are the Nations stand
ards, planted at either side, and draped
so as to hide the rough boards which
| form the staircase of these avenues to
the convention, of which there are
sufficient to empty the place, i'll case of
an accident, in three minutes.
| HOW THE DELEGATES ARE SEATED.
The arrangement of the delegates
seats, which has been made IN alphabet
cal order, beginning with Alabama, on
the extreme right aisle, throws the two
great states of New York and Pennsyl
| vania together on the front. almost
| directly facing the portrait of Washington
on the panel of the chairman's platform.
| The Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota,
| Alabama. Arizona and Dakota delega
tions also have front seats. The Ohio
| delegation is directly back of the New
| York seats, while Missouri, Iowa and
| Illonois are on the main aisle near the
center of the space reserved for the
| deleg ates. The space reserved for the
| District of Columb ia delegation is des-
| ignated by white banner, marked in
black letters. This is conspicuous de.
| parture from the general plan of noting
| the delegations, the situation of all the
others being designated by blue silk
banner, lettered in gold. There was no
Indication in the hall of the great crush
outside, while the delegates and those
who had seats were being admitted and
| directed to their seats. The doors were
| not opened until all of the interior
arrangements were completed, and the
crowd was kept waiting until two large
bouquets of cut flowers and "a floral
shield were being nailed upon the chair
mans desk, which bears i'll Greek letters
| this inscription: James A. Garfield was
nominated from this desk in 1850, and
James &. Blaine was nominated from
| this desk in 1854"
As Gen. Fremont entered the hall he
| was greeted with round of applause
| and cheers, the first genuine demonstra-
ton of the morning. He was escorted
to a seat OF the platform, where he pro
voked a further outburst of applause by
meeting Fred Dot glass as he came to a
seat beside him and shook him by the
hand.
Carson Lake, of the national committee,
came upon the platform just before the
brought with him two handsome oak
gavels, one merely p,lished and intended
Tor hard pounding, The other was more
pretentlous affair, Intended as d gift to
the temporary chairman. 1t is richly
chased in gold, and has engraved upon
its several gold bands the names of
Washington, Lafayette, Grant, Lincoln,
Garfield and Logan.
GETTING DOWN TO WORK.
Precisely at ~. 81 the gavel OF chairman
Jones. of the National Republican Com
mittee, sounded sharply upon the mahog
any desk, and the Republican Convention
OF 1888 was formally opened. The hum
of conversations ceased throughout the
oct auditorium, and ba hn11 Of ,vpn,