The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1892-06-22
CONVENTION ORATORY
SOME GREAT EFFECTS PROMISED
IAT CHICAGO.
A RESUME or THE oRAToRY or
THE RRPuBLICAN CONVENTIONS
or rnE LAST DncApE.


THE REPUBLICAN, CONVENTIONS
or THE LAST DECADE.
| Up to this writing there has been So
little Encouragement Of program at
the Chicago convention as to render 1t
impossible to say who will make the
nominating and seconding speeches
for the several candidates. Some great
efforts are, however, promised which
shall proclaim that the art Of conyen-
ton oratory is not lost.
| The Republicans have always been
Iphenomenally gifted with gab' in
their conventions. In the Minneapolis
convention. however, for the first time
in years, one Of their speech-makers
rose to the dignity Of real oratory.
The effort Of Chauney NJ. Depew was
a model Of eloquence and some pas
sages are truly classic. The figure in
which he compares General Thomas
with Leonidas, describes Hooker's fight
above the clouds as the poetry Of bat
tie, Sheridan's ride AZ the epic Of the
civil war, and Sherman's march as the
triumph Of gallantrY, giving to Grant
the credit for the heroism and sagacity
Of his Reutenants, is a passage that
/ will never be forgotten. Indeed It can
scarcely be realized that speech Of
SO much earnest eloquence could be
seriously addressed to gathering Of
men many Of whom had already spent
three days groveling in the mire Of
corruption. 1t is the one bright page
! in the record Of the convention.
II Ingersoll has heretofore been the
greatest Republican speaker In Gin
cinnati in 1876, his speech nominating
! Blaine was noted for its wealth Of ex
: ltravagant praise, and its delivery wa,
win impctuUus earnestness
but the chaste and classic style o.
Depew was lacking. Here is the per
GRAFTON Of Col. Ingersoll ON that occa
J. sion:
81 "Our country. crowned with thu
yIvast and marvellous achievements Of
8 its first century, asked for a mar
y worthy Of the past and prophetic d
y her future; asks for d man who has thu
= laudacity Of genius; asks for a man who
a is the grandest combination Of heart
conscience and brain beneath the flag
That man is James G.. Blaine. For the
Republican hosts led by this intrepid
man there can be no such thing as de-
feat. This is grand year--a year
: filled with the recollection Of the revo
lutlon-flled with proud and tender
memories of the sacred past; filed with
! the legends Of liberty--a year in which
the sons Of freedom will drink from
the fountain Of enthusiasm; year ii
which the people call for man who
has preserved in Congress what our
: soldiers won upon the field; a year in
!, which we call for the man who has
Y torn from the throat Of treason the
], tongue of slander--a man that has
q snatched the mask of Democracy
t from the hideous face of rebellion; q
$ man who, like an intellectual athlete,
stood in the arena Of debate, chalIeng-
ing all corners, and who, up to the
present moment, isastranger to defeat.
Like an armed warrior, like plumed
knight, James G. Blaine marched down
! the halls of the American Congress
and threw his shining lance full and
fair against the brazen forehead of
every defamer Of this country and
maligner Of its honor"
Roscoe Conkling's speech placing
j Grant in nomination at the Chicago
Convention Of 1850 was masterpiece
of eloquence, but the best remembered
, passage is the dramatic opening, which
! was not part of his original speech.
The evening before the day Of nomi-
mating friend repeated to Conkling
the stanza from poem BY Private
Miles o'Reilly. It made such an inn
preston on his mind that when he
stood up the next day he could not
refrain from repeating it, and the ef-
feet was marvellous, The lines are as
follows:
j When asked what state he halls from.
II Our sole reply shall be,
j He comes from Appomattox
! And its famous apple tree.