National Republican., 1888-06-04
THE PRESIDENTIAL TICKET.
REPRESENTA- KILGORE
AND OATES THE NOMINEES.
How Newspaper Men Play at Politics
An Enthusiastic Convention Adopts
n Remarkably Candid Platform-Mr.
Kilgore's Banquet and His Cabinet.

cratic orators in the last campaign was to
the effect that should success crown the |
efforts of the Democratic party the great |
overilowing surplus would be applied'to |
those who, by President Lin |
coins proclamation, lost what was, in those |
days, valuable property. In other words, |
the slave owners or their heirs were to be |
for the colorcd folks who were
set free by the power OF the government.
OF course, no really truthful man said any
such thing, and It would be slandcr on
human intelligence to imagine that any
considerable proportion, even Of southern
audiences, believed that such thing was
possible.
The subject, in locular way, has been
frequently brought up In the House press
gallery during this session, and II has fur
nished an apparently ineXhaustible source
Of amusement TO the occupants thereof
Three Of the correspondents, Messrs. Dur
ham, Hodges, and Stofer, have kept the
ball q rolling merrily. Hundreds OF an
tique "gags' have been resuscitated TO do
service, while bright minds have OCCASION
ally evolved novel wittlcisms which fire.
quently cast new light on the much-vcxed
question.
During that season of Democratic obsti-
macy known as the deadlock when a
handful of the unrcgenerate blocked the
wheels Of legislation, Maj. Stofer often
emerged from the gallery with look of
unalloyed happiness on his beamng fea-
lures. Should either Of his fellow-conspira-
tors be present his smile would broaden
and he would gleefully calculate, 'E-gad,
boys, we'll get pay TO- ouah niggahs yit!'
Gradually the joke. spread to the floor of
the House. and there II was frequently used
to create laughter when the regular pro-
ceedlngs became more than ordinarily in
sufTerahle. 1t was an especial favorite with
the southwestern members and whenever
1t became necessary to refer to the millen-
NAL period they would say, "Yes; when we
get paid for our niggers.n
II will he remembered that previous to
the passage of the Sheridan bill in the
House there were strenuous objections
made by Representatives Kilgore, of Texas,
and Oates, OF Alabama. This action on
their part was criticised by a great many
newspaper men, but It was regarded by
their admirers as forming sufficiently re-
bellious basis for putting in the field u
ticket that should outrun "Lockwood and
Love- In the race for the Presidency. So
on Friday afternoon convention was
called to order IN the room in the rear Of the
press gallery, Mr.. Jay +. Durham occupy
Ing the chair. After business-like state
ment from the presiding officer he vacated
his exalted seat, and In speech which
fairly bubbled over with eloquence Of the
most sirupy nature he placed In nomination
the Hon. c. b. Kilgore, of Will's Point,
Texas. Several delegates objected, but
they were promptly howled down or
bribed into silence by the numerous
made by the nominees friends. A brief
discussion followed as to the qualifications
of Mr.. Kilgore. II was conceded all around
that he was the best looking man in the
whole Texas delegation, Mai. Martin and
Senator Reagan not excepted. 1t was also
the sentiment of the convention that he was
an extremely liberal man, but that feeling
had but little weight until Delegate Hodges
remarked in stage whisper that behind that
liberality there was a large and loosely
hooped "bar'l." That settled 1t, and In less
than nineteen seconds the nomination was
made so noisily unanimous that members
on the floor imagined that Taulbee was
pleading for his grave-robbng friends be-
fore the District committee. There really
was an awful uproar.
The nomination of the Hon. William C.
Oates, Of Abbeville, Ala, for Vice Prcsi-
dent was an almost natural sequence, and
one of the delegates remarked that great
things might be hoped for from such u
handsome ticket.
A platform was then presented by the
committee and after few remarks had
Deen nlaue ny one UT tWochplious HeHiDeIS
as to what they termed the ''chestnutty"
manner in which some of planks had been
constructed, 1t was adopted.
1t Is as follows;
We, representatives of that mighty engine Of
civilization, the press, In convention assem-
bled, do hereby bind ourselves to active ad.
| whichthe new party-the only party worthy
| of public cconfdence-will elect its candidates.
We point with pride to the fact that our
motives n s party have
| us no injustice If they continually suspected
the exste Of a flaw In our honesty.
We view with alarm the dictatorial manner
| in which representative men OF the old parties
| are endeayorinG to run their constituencies
| one man declining emphatically to accede to
| the wishes of his friends and refusing to be a
candidate for the presidency, while the other
insists on being the standard bearer whether
| his friends want him to be or not.
| We demand from the Congress OF the United
fish, or fresh vegetables, for the persons ol
color who We're torn from our embrace and
our homes by u breling soldiery.
We insist that there shall be no compromise
| on the question Of abolishing the entire in
ternal revenue system, and we pledge .oul
lives TO continuous labor in the destruction
administered internally Of the material:
whose existence makes an Internal revenue
Incidentally we demand free sugar, because
without this the work Of destroying, ardent
|
pauper.making sugar duty is continued, oui
labors will be more expensive and less palat
| able.
We are strenuously opposed, and shall be
| to any tinkeripg with the tariff, and we hereby
warn Premier Mills and his too enthusiastic
and misguided assistant, Maj Martin, that
even a worm will turn. TO the, most simple
minded man 1t must be evident that any reduc
tion of the tariff will be followed by q reduc
tion of the surplus, and q reduction of the sur
plus will prevent the liberal appropriation,
wealth which marched away before our eye
| n quarter of a century ago. We are, there
fore, opposed to the free list as at presen
constituted, and we shall never rest unit
every article thereon Is taxed to the highes
sertng as the only item which should be OF
the free list, Lunches, hewn and sawed
squared or sided, of all descriptions and ma
terials whether finished or In the rough, no
specially enumerated or otherwise provides
for"
We also give timely notice that when W
shall have been fully recompensed for on
missing "contrabands," !" 1t Is our intention Il
devote the surplus which will then accumu
late to the refunding of the cotton tax. an'
to retire from the field Of statesmanship int
the bosom of the Prohibition party,
The applause which followed the adop
tion of the platform was quelled by til
appearance at the gallery gateway of
meek-looking little lady who Keeps board
ing house, and rs several of the delegate
had been regular customers they were mai
urally averse to being interviewed on mat
tiers which concerned only their persons
affairs.
After the lady had been escorted 10 tn
elevator by the sergeant-at arms the conyer
tion left its hiding places and reassembed