The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1890-10-31

McGill made one of the best, most upright
| governors Minnesota ever had. Great ap-
| plause. And tru t that on some future
occasion the Republicans of Minnesota will
again put him into the executive chair.
| lReuewed applause.
Gentlemen. l need not tell you that !
! feel utterly unworthy Of this occasion and
! this audience. If [ had had my own choice
about the matter. I should not have ap-
peared here at all. Poor Knute Nelson does
very we'll among little rural audiences up in
| Northern Minnesota, in what they call the
bloody Fifth, flaughterl, but when it comes
| down to addressing intelligent audiences,
and such a one as you have here IN MINNIE
apolis, feel entirely unequal to the task.
| 81 was wondering tonight why you had
! sent for me here, but it occurred to me, espec-
! tally after hearing your club here, after
hearing your choir here sing laughter and
| applause that this was sort of revival
meeting renewed laughter and applause
| and that you called upon me upon the same
| principle that they do at those exuberant
camp meeting-they call upon some rural
sinner from the back country renewed
laughterl and when they can get such q
one to
COME FORWARD ON THE ANXIOUS SEAT,
even though the hayseed is In his hair re-
Moved laughterl. even though he may STUN
| BILE in his speech, yet they are exceedingly
grateful at the repentance of the old sinner
flauchterl: and / suppose that it is on that
principle that you are glad to see me with
YOU this evening. Renewed laughter and ap-
plause.
ssMy friends, we who are Republicans have
all good reason to be proud of our party OF
great men. great deeds, and great and per-
feet principles. 1t may not be fashionable,
il may subject man to criticism to go back
third of century OF more, but In discuss
ing the characters of men we always look at
their record and history, and so In reference
to the political parties, it is just and proper
that we 90 back and scan their history, for
political party, like an individual, has q
character, as much as profession OF faith.
If We 90 back then, third of a century or
more, we shall find that the moral sense or
the American people, the moral sense of the
north was shocked at the cruel aggressive
ness, at the arrogance, the overbearing greed
of the slave power, and the sentiment of the
better part of the American people crystal
lied into the American party, based upon
the idea to check the extension, if nothing
more, of human slavery in this country.
SIN our first efforts as q national party,
under the generalship of Fremont, we were
not successful; but to large extent the
campaign foreshadowed the victory of 1860,
when, as you all know, under the leadership
of the great Lincoln [applausel we carried
the election. We set our foot upon the neck
of human slavery and we put
CHECK UPON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
from which it has never recovered since that
day. [Renewed applause That arrogant
power, the slave power of the South, which
before that had threatened to spread its
fangs into every state and community in
this country, became frantic with rage and
rushed into open rebellion, and the Repub-
lican party had scarcely entered into
power President Lincoln had scarcely
taken his seat before the slave power was in
open rebellion seeking to destroy and dis
member this union of states, founded by
Washington and the fathers of the republic.
Applause And in what condition did the
last Democratic administration mean the
last preceding Grover Cleyeland's-in what
condition did that leave this government?
They left our treasury empty; they left our
arsenals depleted; they had sent all our fleets,
all our war vessels (what few we had) to
foreign stations; in fact, they had wrecked
and dismantled the Federal government,
preparatory to Remembering the Union.
Under these circumstances, and under such
straits the Republican party entered upon
the great task, under its great men, OF pre-
serving the Union.
81 need not go into the details OF that
struggle; il is fresh in the minds of most OF
you. Through more than four long, weary
years. the American people, the people OF
North under the leadership of the Republic
can party and these great men carried on
that contest and We succeeded. We suo-