The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-10-05
IT WAS BIG RALLY
AUDITORIUM CROWDED FAR BE-
YOND SEATING CAPACITY.
Largest Audience Wichita Has Ever
Furnished Greeted Major Morrill,
and EX-Gov. Anthony-BOth Struck
the Right Chord in the People of
Wichita-Great Meeting.

Old men said it looked like war. Be
ginning at z o'clock in the evening the
sidewalks leading To the Auditorium were
filled to the curling and a great many
took to the street.
They came down on the great wooden
building in solid stream of black, pour
ing into tie front entrance and in a very
little while filling every nook and Granny
IN the structure. They came In piatoons
and squads, and in couples and singly, but
Ri Intent alike on the same mission
Chairs were soon at a premium and rbe
sides OF the huge room were soon lined
with men who stood all through the
speeches and seemingly did not tire al
ALL After the building was jammed the
black tide still dashed against the face
of the edifice IL extended clear down
TO the corner of Main and Douglas. 1t was
made up of all men, visitors, home people
and eyerybody else, and swung around the
corner of Fourth and Douglas in an IN
broken line. There was no band, Fourth
street was dark, and the sidewalks along
the west side of Fourth street not of the
best, but the crowd kept on, still beating
against the building which was already
full to overlooking. 1t had been long
lime since Wichita had seen such a mass
OF people turn out to hear political speech.
There was great sprinkling of women in
b The audience, too, and when more arrived
the men already there gave up their seats
and stood around the room.
AT O'Clock the hall could hold no more
and the people who came late had to turn
back disappointed. With those who could
not get In, it would have been an easy
matter to have held second meeting.
1t was not a boisterous crowd by any
means. To the contrary it was a very
serious one 1t meant business. II
listened attentlvely 10 everything that was
said. And Major Morrill's speech was
like the temper of the audience. 1t was
not funny. He made no effort to be cute
bound with magnificent eloquence or to
fascinate them with nicely turned phrases
But he did talk business and right from
the shoulder. He INDUCED in no venom
nor sarcasm. He conceded that the great
majority of men were honest in their con-
VlctlonS, no matter what those conyic-
tIons were, and he said he respected all
men no matter what his opinion was
When he touched on the Populists he
other speaker who has been in Wichita
this year.
Ii was the kind of speech the great
crowd wanted to hear. They had been fed
on iridescent phrases and gilded promises
until they were satisfied. They were not
pining for oratory. They wanted prac-
tical sense. Major Morrill, gave it to them
and he left an impression with his
hearers that he was strong and
practical man, man eminently
lifted to handle a great business and be
successful at it. The audience knew that
he had been congressman for years and
had been an active participant in public
affairs and politics for a quarter of ecu
fury and was perfectly acquainted with
all the little bats used by orators to catch
applause.
But not once in his whole speech could
any man in that vast audience say that he
had gone out of his road for applause. In
all that he said there was no abuse. 1t
was simply clear, pure business reasoning,
and it took the serious and the thinking
people who heard him.
The Coyote Glee club of Larned opened
the meeting with parody on Alary's
little lamb which was very amusing and
provoked so much applause that the club
was compelled to respond.
Harry l.. Gordon, Esq, was chairman
and made Il very nice introductory speech
MoRRILL'S ADDRESS.
Major Morrill, began his address by re-
view of the issues agitating the country
nationally, and the issues involved in
[ he state of Kansas. He showed the effect |
of tariff legislation. and cited the coudi- !
lions under tariff protecting home in |
hustries, viz under the laws assessing a !
duty on cattle. Canadian cattle were |
shipped here under duty of so per head |
a .g.lh in nIIr EAiS nd IN h.a L.,
year under the Mckinley law, $500, 600 was |
paid into the United States treasury from |
this one source, thus saving TO the tax |
payers this amount. Under the same law |
the source of revenue upon materials COM |
posing pearl buttons, $50. 90 was paid into |
the treasury. besides giving employment |
TO over 100 900 men by the erection of /
factories. He showed Ebac goods We're no
t heaper when admitted duty tree, that the |
consumer did not, ncr never had, paid this |
tax; and, by presentation of conditions,
showed that England and foreign nations /
We're parties interested in the reduction of
tariff duties by the American congress,
and that upon the news being received i
of the passage of the new law-known
rs the Wilson bill-there was great
rejoicing in the old countries, for il
their goods to enter our market
IN competition with home productions.
He showed the inconsistency aud ruiuous
our country and took the position that
here should be tariff or duty of so per
cent put upon all silver entering our coun-
try the product of foreign mines. While
he held this position as 10 foreign silver be
announced himself in favor of the uulim-
tied free coinage of all the silver mined In
Dur own country and maintaining its val
Ne with gold. His argument on this ques-
ion WAS clear, lucid and logical, contend
ng it would employ every idle man in the
vest and give an impetus 10 various and
diversified industries throughout the west.
The encouragement of our labor inter
,sts was the duty of government and this
mt crest must be projected by wise legisla-
ion.
He showed the absurdty and foolishness
# the Populistic policy IN demanding
,,225 600 600 of fiat money being issued and
his with their various schemes pro-
posed in measures embodied in bills pre-
ented to congress by Davis and other
would create the issue of more
money by tois government than there is
low In circulation in ali tie world.
He then took mp the policy pursued by
The present administration on the pension
question, and argued that while they had
Investigated over 500, coo c aims, only 500
would D. clasSed as fraudulent, while they
had gone behind the records and the GER
Awarded