The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-04-25
GENERAL JAMES B. WEAVER.
His Great Speech in Philadelphia on the
9th of April---The Audience Are
r Won by the Speaker.

VI" VI APIl4---A ne Audience Are
Won by the Speaker.
General Weaver's address in the
Baptist Temple, Philadelphia, last
Thursday night was beyond all ques-
tlon a revelation to many of his audi
ence. The attendance was not as large
as might have been desired-a fact
which was due in no small degree to
the utter flatness and disappointing
nature of the preceding speeches of the
debate Mr. Henry Wat, erson's speech,
though pleasant enough judged merely
as a bit Of agreeable oratory, was such
acomplete failure as an argument upon
the question he was supposed to discuss
that the audience could hardly ne
blamed if they ceased to expect that
subsequent speakers would be able to
raise the debate out Of the slough of
lnanity into which he had plunged it.
Reverend Mr.. Conwell's address,
though viewed as a contribution 10 the
debate, an improvement on Colonel
Wat6erson's, was also disappointing,
and it was little wonder if those of the
the audience who knew nothing of the
vitality Of the truths Of the PopuIist
T-atform, and who were unaware of
the zeal and enthusiasm with which
those truths must inspire their advo-
Gates, exp 9cted little from General
Weaver. From the moment the Peo-
Vrty oh L
upon the platform the audience were
forced to feel that they were in the
presence of one who felt the import
ance of the truths he came to utter;
the greatness of the message it was his
mission to deliver. The faces of the
audience were a study, almost as inter
estlng and instructive as the words of
the speaker. It was evident that they
were, many Of them, lister ing for the
first time to thoughts which up tillnow
they never dreamed had any part in
political discussion. Many of them
had clearly come prepared to listen to
the wanderings Of a crank, and tolara-
ton, more or less good humored, was
the most they had come prepared to
extend to the speaker. Perhaps there
were not few Of them who had come
prepared to be amused with the state
ment Of the political impracticabillties
of which their newspapers had taught
them to believe the Populist platform
to be composed-imp mpracticabilities
presented by the political mountebank
those same papers had led them to
suppose all Populist speakers must be.
If so, as they listened they must have
felt themselves forced to own that
never before had they heard political
issues discussed on such a lofty plane.
General Weaver described the Peoples
party movement as Christianity in
motion" " and even the most unsympa-
thetic Of his audience must have con-
fessed that never from a Christian
pulpit had they heard enunciated a
loftier ideal of applied Christianity
and the conception of political duty
than the one proclaimed by the Popu-
list champion. AS the speaker pro-
ceeded, the expression on the faces of
many of his auditors changed from
apathy or a semi-curiosity only dis
tantly related to interest, to one of
wonderment. Soon wonder changed
to interest, and ere long the general
and hearty applause told that interest
had changed to sympathy, and 1t is
scarcely too much to say that before
his address was two thirds done General
Weaver had won to his views almost
every man and woman present. We
have no room for report of the ad-
dress, and no summary could do it
even scanty justice. Though at times
the speaker could not avoid being car
ried by his subject into bursts of almost
impassioned eloquence, it was evident
that these were entirely unpremedi-
tated. He had laid down plan of
argument in which step by step, propo-