Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-08-23
A REPUBLICAN RALLY.

weather has been pleasant and the
attendance good, none but republicans
are pleased with the manner in which
1t was handled IN the way of speakers.
Every republican political hack who
could be got here was put on the pro-
gran to talk republican politics and
they did the job so completely that a
great many republican soldiers were
nauseated and kicked long and hard.
Here is list of the speakers: Morrill,,
Long, Dawes, Powell Clayton, Blue,
Barney Kelley and A. W. Smith. Not
a populist or democrat was invited TO
speak and in order to give them time
and a crowd the Odd Fellows of the
state who came here in response to an
invitation from the local lodge were
most fiagrantly treated.
Friday was designated on the bills
as Odd Fellows day, and speakers
came from a distance to address the
wearer of the mystic links. But when
the time came and the Odd Fellows
had gathered the committee notified
them that such old patriots as Chester
1. Long had not been heard, and they
would have to go back on their promise
of the tent, but they could have it at
night. Night came, and the committee
opened up by putting up man to de-
liver a poem which they had left off
their program. This took an hour. w.
l.. Brown was the first speaker on the
Odd Fellows program. and he made a
statement of facts in the matter, and
said that as he was not a republican
candidate be would not make speech,
as it would be wrong to vary the pro-
gram. Grand Secretary Bright then
made a short speech.-Topeka Press.
1.-The agony is over. The great repub-
lican rally is thing of the past. In
point of numbers, it did not come up to
former meetings, but in point of repub-
lican work it was the most braZen and
unblushingly political of any meeting
EVER held in the state under the name
of a G. A. r. reunion. No attempt was
made to conceal it. The list of speak
ers published long before the meeting
showed exactly what it was to be.
Every speaker, except one, was either
a republican officeholder, candidate or
striker, and that one was Gen. Sickles
of New York, and it was well known
that he could not be here. Not single
populist old soldier was invited or mem
toned. Gov. /. d. Lewelling is an old
soldier and so are several of the state
officers, but they we're not invited, be-
cause they were not wanted. Although
the governor was in the city a short
time during the reunion, no one ac-
corded him the courtesy of asking him
to the grounds, s,"-Hutehinson Go
~-.Lette.
IL 'neSr statements be true, and the
personal statements of gentlemen from
this county who were in attendance are
ooFrohorative, the managers of the G..
a. 1t, reunion are deserving of the
seVerest criticism for thus turning a
meeting of a~supposedly non-partisan
organization into republican rally;
and no democrat or populist old soldier
can maintain his manhood and give
sanction to such methods.
There are thousands of old soldiers
IN Kansas who are not republicans,
among them many of the best orators
of the state. That they should none of
them have been On the program as
speakers was not an accident nor an
oversight, but was a result of the delib-
crate intention of those having the
reunion in charge to make a republican
rally out of it.
While we have the greatest respect
for every old soldier who fought Loyalty
FOR the preservation Of this union, we
have not the least respect for those
men who would prostitute an organiza-
ton of such old soldiers to political
schemes and methods.