Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-04
LEAVES OF LAUREL.
feople's Party Delegates Pay a High
Tribute of Respect to
THE LATE ALLIANCE PRESIDENT.
colonel Polk Eulogized by Some of the Best
Speakers in Omaha.
DIR. DELAMETER ALSO NOT FORGOTTEN

striking proof OF the respect In Whlcn INT
memory of the late Colonel Polk il
held by the supporters of the movement
. which he was instrumental in founding.
The session was devoted exclusively to tn,
delivery of addresses eulogistic of the deac
champion of reform, and expressive o.
the reverence in which his name j:
held. Though the speeches contained many
inspiring sentences as to the future of the
fight in which the Independent party is
engaged, the recognition of the loss which
the party has sustained in the death of its
leader seemed to be the one thought which
occupied the minds of the delegates, and
rarely was there departure from a solemn
silence, which gave to the gathering more
the air of a church service than of great
National convention.
After q PRAYER by Chaplain Diffen bacher,
the opening address was delivered by H. L.
Loucks, of South Dakota, who has been
selected for the Permanent Chairman of the
convention. The speech was marked by a
sympathy and feeling which caught every
member of the vast audience and was re-
ceived with a silence which bore testimony
to the respect in which the memory of the
late President of the Farmers Alliance is
held bv those with whose movement he had
been identified.
Looked Upon as Another Lincoln.
One of the sentences which broke the
painful stiffness of the gathering was the
declaration that the people of the new
movement looked to L. L. Polk as the Lin
coin of an era of freedom. Brother Polk, !"
the speaker continued, twas the one man
whose place cannot be filed He was the
me around whom all our hopes centered as
hey can round no other man. 1t is mete
hat we should pay our respects to his
memory. He died martyr to our cause
rom overwork. His Kindly spirit looks
lown upon this meeting to-day and will re-
main to guide it till our proceedings are
ended"
Editor McCune followed. "I knew our
lost friend" he said, land it is pride and
pleasure to me to be able to say 1 knew
him. To know him was to love him. Those
who knew him best loved him best. The
noble soul, the magnificent brain, the
wonderful oratory OF L. L. Polk were given
to the cause of our movement. He devoted
himself to the destruction of sectionalism
which had been fostered Dy these corrupt
politicians who ruled this land in the IN
terest of those by whom it was robbed. The
cause which Colonel Polk led meant free
dom of labor, the triumph of the people; it
the principles of those who founded it and
incorporated in its constitution the prin-
ciple of government of the people, by the
people, and for the people.
would Have Been Their Candidate,
"Had he been here tomorrow" declared
the speaker, amid the rousing cheers of the
assembly, ''he would have been selected to
Lar your banner alott. His memory in
us with hope, it reminds us of a
Lt1kus be careful how we discharge
duty; ~Se. will discharge it as becomes
manhoody keeping in view the exam
ie of our it leader, and by determining
that we shal hot lag behind until the cause
which. which he B. ampi0ned shall be carried to
Mrs. Todd, esa dichFan;T raid touching
tribute to the memory of the deceased |
leader. His attitude toward the debauch- |
cry of the present system of Government
gained for him persecution and villainous
SANDER. She said he was crucifeG as the
saviors of the people have ever been cruci-
fed in one form or other. But he is not
dead: he never lived till now, and the rec
objections of his deeds will ever act as an
inspiration until victory of our cause is
proclaimed
General Weaver was the next speaker.
His speech was brief, but summed up in
well chosen and pathetic words the public
life and deeds of Colonel Polk. He loved
his race, he declared, and despite the fact
he had full knowledge and complete
.rstanding of the great wrongs under
h the people of this country were suf-
1g, his faith rose superior to all difficult
and he felt certain of the ultimate
Imph certain to come to the movement
ich shall free the down-trodden people
this nation.
A Name That VIII Be Monument
The sentence received with the loudest !
and longest chorus of cheering was quota
tion from the dead Southern reformer: 81
am standing now just behind the curtain,
and in the full glow of the coming sunset.
Behind me are the shadows of the tract, be-
fore me lies the dark valley. When |
mingle with its dark waters l want to cast |
one lingering look upon a country whose |
government is of the people, for the people,
and by the people"
"The name of Colonel Polk, ;" the speaker |
concluded, twill remain for ages a monu-
ment of power in this country and great |
bulwark against the surging tides of hatred |
and political animosity. May We cherish |
his memory and may we see that his family, |
which lost head and a father, shall be |
cared for
This reference to the family of the de-
ceased was received with a response which
showed that Peoples party delegates are
not unmindful of the services conferred |
upon them by the man in whose memory
the meeting was held.
A speech, every word of which was
marked by solemnity and earnestness, by
Mrs Lease, of Kansas, was followed by the
most eloquent oratory of the day-that of
Hon. Ignatius Donnelly.
"a great man" said Mr. Donnellv, shas
fallen. He has passed from the darkness
nto the light. He has stepped from the
Visible into the invisible. He has crossed
he dreaded but kindly line which limits
the mysteries of this imperfect life.
A mighty tree has fallen in the forest,
As falls on Mount Ayernus
The thunder-smitten oak.
Far DER the crasping forest
The giant arms lie spread;
And the pale augurs, muttering low,
Gaze on the blasted headi
Continuation of the Simile.
'sThrough the gap in the forest the light
falls in flood, disclosing the vast proper
tions OF the prone trunk; and amid the
shattered limbs we see the fragments of the
crushed nests where unobtrusive affections
built their humble habitations We erect
today, over the dust of our dear friend and
brother, monument more durable than
brass or marble-a monument of affection
and honor. His great heart was in his
work. Can he find in all the speeches through
which his liberated spirit may wander a
aobler task than that in which we are
engaged? If he move among us, invisible
It this moment, he will little regard the
lonors we pay his memory, for to the en-
rranchised soul all glory is dross; but he
ices more clearly than we can the magni-
ude of the world-embracing labor upon
which we shave embarked; he sees the vast
-ista OF the future and the uncountable
Millions of other nations whose faces are to