Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-02-22
How a Republican Looks.

| looked over the audience the experience
which had in the last campaign when
l went down to the Bowery. | went
down to the Bowery because l made up
my mind that the Republican party had
confined itself too much to higher poll
tics, too much to theories and to princi-
Piles and 100 little to the practical con-
contact with that element, rough, I'M
couth, coming from foreign countries,
not yet grasping the spirit of American
liberty, but who, nevertheless, had that
priceless privilege which the descendant
of the Puritan had no better than he, the
deposit of the ballot that settled the flu
ture of the American republic. | knew
that Tammany had educated him to look
upon the Republican party as party of
milionaires, the party of wealth, the
party of monopoly, the party opposed to
:he interests of the working man and 1
believed that if he could once be shown
that his welfare and that of his children
was wrapt up in the Republicad party,
that he would drop the demagogue and
follow the patriot. They said to me,
with what you are and what you repre-
sent and what you are supposed to be,
your life isn't worth an hours pu Oh Is g
IN the Bowery. did not believe it, |
have been everywhere in this country,
north, south, east and west, and never
anywhere have faced a company of
American citizens, no matter what their
environment, their education, their an
cestry or their surroundings, that l did
not find they were willing to meet an
American citizen who would meet them
on their own plane, and talk to them
plain, common, American constitution
! aud declaration of independence sense.
made up my mind still farther that a
man who represented just what | am
supposed to and goes before such an au-
dience as that with his coat off or in his
shirt sleeves, or without collar, or with
out necktie belongs to that class which
"DOestlcks" has made immortal as
damn fools" Il don't know as such
language was ever used in Vermont; l
simply quote, Governor Cunning to Gov.
Woodbury., and beg the pardon of the
State, from DoesticksJ. l went from the
Union League club to the Bowery, which
is supposed to be the efflorescence OF
wealth and culture. l went in carriage;
l had brand new suit OF clothes for the
occasion, and when l came upon the
platform there were 1000 men, not 80 of
whom had ever heard Republican
speak, not 30 of whom had ever met any
body but the district leaders and the
ward demagogues of Tammany Hall. AS
soon as they saw how | was dressed and
all that, they appreciated it at once
they said "Chauncey thinks he is in Car
negie Hail." l said In the course of 30
years experience, have spoken every
where in New York, but this is the first
time, have ever been in the Bowery.
WhereupOn, short haired gentleman re-
marked, "Well. what is the matter with
the Bowery?" Said 1, 1.-The Bowery is
the place where they say such things and
they do snch things" Qaughter), and the
Bowery and were one. A little while
afterwards, IA Tammany office holder IN
the gallery said, "What are you doing
here, amt you the president of the Cen
trail railroad? Amt you the representa-
tive and counsel of the Vanderbilts?
Amt you millionaire" Said |, MY
friend, am all those things, all of them,
except the last, but started in life where
you are, and have got where, the way
you act tonight, you will never reach; l
started with nothing but these legs, in
the little village where was born, this
hand and this head" whereupon l was
reinstated in the Bowery's favor by hav-
my friend call out, "Chauncey, dat head
is peach" Laughter.
My friends, the significance of the vic
tory which / have won is in the fact that
the dominance of the Democratic party
and its effect in the paralysis of indus
tries and in the reduction of wages and
IN the throwing out of employment men
who simply ask the opportunity to live,
has enabled us to come in con-
tact with those, who, once welcomed as
they should be and treated as they should
be, as our equals, in all that constitutes
the public life and the public citizen of
the United States; once that established,
and the Republican party remains in
power in this country for another gener-
alton of men. Applause.
l find Republicans alike, wherever 1
go. They remind me of a classmate of
mine, who went into the ministry and
became missionary (most of my class
mates went into the ministry, live the
conspicuous sinner of the CLASSY He
went as missionary to Africa, and a
classmate of mine went with him, and
when my classmate returned, | said,
well, how about African" He said,
II must tell you about Bumstead; Bum
stead, you know, when he went abroad
thought he would be more potent in civ
ilizing and evangelizing the African, if
he had help-meet who was an earnest
Christian like himself; so, not being
able to select her himself, the mission
arV sOriptV onnlied tn tha Naw EnUlund