Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-06-26

that ] should say one WORD 20 cast =
shadow upon any name ON the roll OF
our heroes This coming fight Is our
Thermopyle. We are standing upon .
narrow isthInus- II our Spartan hosts
are united We can Withstand al the Per-
SLAMS that the Xerxes Of Democracy can
bring against Us. Let Us hold our ground
this one year. for the stars IN their courses
fight for as in the future. The census
taken this year viii bring reinforce
ments and continued power.
But IN order 10 win this victory now
we want the vote Of every Republican.
of every Grant Republican and every
antiGrant Republican IN America. Of
every Blaine man and every anti Blaine
man. The vote of every follower Of
every candidate is needed TO make our
success certain; therefore | say. gentle
men and brethren, we are here 10 take
calm counsel together and inquire what
We shall do. We want man whose life
and opinions embody al the achieve
ments Of which have spoken. We want
q man who. standing On a mountain
height, sees all the achievements Of our
past history and carries in his heart the
memory of all its glorious deeds. and
who. looking forward. prepares to meet
the labor and the dangers 10 come. We
want one who will act in no spirit of
unkindness toward those we lately met
IN battle.
The Republican party offers 70 our
brethren Of the south the olive branch
of peace. and wishes them 10 return TO
brotherhood on this supreme condition,
that il shall be admitted forever and
forevermore. that. in the war for the
Union, we were right and they were
wrong. On that supreme condition we
meet them as brethren, and on no other.
We ask them to share with US the bless
ings and honors Of this great republic.
Now, gentlemen, not To weary you,
am about TO present name for your
consideration-the name of a man who
was the comrade and associate and
friend Of nearly all those noble dead
whose faces look down upon us from
these walls tonight: q man who began
his career of public service twenty five
years ago, whose first duty was coura-
geously done in the days Of peril on the
plains Of Kansas, when the first red
drops of that bloody shower began to
fall which finally swelled into the deluge
Of war. He bravely stood by young
Kansas then, and. returning to his duty
in the national legislature. through
all subsequent time his pathway has
been marked by labors performed in
every department Of Legislation. You
ask for his monuments. point
you to twenty-five years Of national
statutes. Not one great bonefcent
statute has been placed in our stat
ute books without his intelligent and
powerful aid. he aided these men
to formulate the laws that raised our
great armies and carried US through tho
war. His hand was seen in the work
manship Of those statutes that restored
and brought back the unity and married
calm of the states. His hand was in all
that great legislation that craated the
war currency, and in q still greater
work that redeemed the promises Of the
government and made tho currency
equal to gold. And when at last called
from the halls Of legislation into high
executive office he displayed that ex-
perience. intelligence, firmness and
poise Of character which have carried
us through stormy period OF three
years. With one-half the public press
crying .'erucify him." and q hostile CON-
gress seeking to prevent success, in all
this he remained unmoved until victory
crowned him.
The great fiscal affairs Of tho nation.
and the great business interests Of the
country. he has guarded and preserved.
while executing the law of resumption
and effecting it's object without jar
and against the false prophecies of one
half Of the press and all the Democracy
of this continent He has shown him.
self able to meet with calmnese the
great emergencies of the government for
twenty-five years. He has trodden the
perilous heights of public duty, and
against all the shafts of malice has borne
his breast unhsrmed. He has stood in
the blaze of that fierce light that beats
against the throne" but its fercest ray
has found no flaw in his armor, no stain
on his shield. do not present him ~ .
better Republican or as better man
than Thousands Of others we honor. but
/ present him for your deliberate con-
sideration. l nominate John Sherman,
Of Ohio.