Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-10-29
MAGNIFICENT SUCCESS
THAT DESCRIBES THE EsTABRook
MEETING.

/
The Belding- Hall Auditorium meet
ing Saturday night addressed by Henry
Dodge Estabrook of Chicago capped
the climax of any political meeting yet
held in the city. 1t was clever stroke
of diplomacy in securing the talented
orator to appear before Bedding aud
fence when so many of the large cities
of the state would have tumbled over
each other in scramble to have had
him as their honored guest and orator
He held the large audience, much
larger than that assembled at the
Cummins meeting, for two and one
half hours with his matchless oratory,
wit and logic, and when he was about
to close they were so eager TO still lis
ten to him that cries of "Go on Go on!'
were heard all over the hall.
Large delegations were present from
special train and the street parade,
though perhaps not so large as the
former one, was equally as resplendent.
The fireworks were magnificent. The
Belding bicycle club under direction of
w. III. Ricaby with their gaily bedeck-
ed wheels, each carrying Chinese Ian
terms, leading the parade headed by
the X. L. band was a marked feature
of the occasion. But the greatest hit
of all was the old Bedding horse ear
attached to traction engine as take
off on Bryan's tour. 1t was labeled,
"Willie's private car The Idler p"
'The price of wheat is the price Of
silver. Nit" ''This car stops at
Greenville 10 minutes, Sl25; at Ionia
80 minutes, $40; at Belding 20 minutes,
$50. Hummer pays the freight"
Coercion. That shoe is on the
other foot and its worn in Belding.'
A colored porter occupied the car
Numerous transparencies were borne in
the parade, among them being: Every
tenement vacant now was crowded in
1892 y mo classes in this: all masses.
Mckinley, the statesman: not Bryan,
the boy" "Our motto is not, down
with the rich, but up with the poor"
when money is active labor is active. "
"Our speakers as advertised. THAT
scare circular did not scare. - "Keene
may be solid for Bricker; Belding is
solid for Scoville. -
Mckinley badges were distributed
by the thousands and they were very
much in evidence throughout the large
crowd.
At eight o'clock b. f. Hall called
the meeting to order and after a song
by the glee club which rendered one
OF II. A..Wilder's new productions to
the tune of the bold fisherman" wild
applause). Mr.. Estabrook was intro
duced and the welcome that greeted
him was deafening in its applause as
was also his closing sentence in his
speech In part he spoke as follows:
Ladies and gentlemen, and fellow
citizens, this is an inspiring sight in
one respect and very disheartening in
another. 1t is inspiring to see so many
American citizens willing TO come to-
gether to listen patiently and carefully
to the discussions of the great pro-
blems which confront US as people
and on the correct solution of which
depend the future happiness and well
fare of this nation. But it is disheart-
ening when we reflect that this mag
nificent building designed originally
for factory can find no better use to
be put TO now days than the holding of
just such meetings
| was informed by Mr.. Hall that this
factory was erected in 1894 and run TO
its fullest capacity until 1893 when
something struck Hall Bros. Well
something struck all of us about that
time and it is encouraging TO know
that what struck them and what struck
US all was the blunder Of 1893 and not
the crime of 1878. But my friends
there is no great loss without some
small gain. Nobody can accuse the
laborers working in this factory of
being coerced. [ see that you have
Mr.. Bryan's private car, 1.-THE Idlerh
in your parade; that is significant
word, that word "idler." Bryan ex-
poets to ride into the presidency by
the help of such citizens of this coun-
try, men who expect something for
nothing; but he will never get there by
the help OF those who expect TO work
for what they get.
Speaking of Mr.. Bry appeal for
support he said:
And he expects to oe elected. Not
on any plank in any platform on which
he stands or teeters-for their is only
one plank in the whole pile OF Gull
lumber which he dares to mention but
on plank peculiarly his own. About
the time Of his nomination he pub
lished card asserting, in so many
words, that this was to be struggle
between the rich and the poor, between
the masses and the classes. and that on
that issue the Democratic ticket would
carry every state in the union. He
forgot, perhaps, that Maine and Yer
mont are still In the union. But If
that statement is true,if the approach
ing election is to be contest between
the rich and the poor, all the poor peo-
pie voting for Bryan and only the rich
people, or plutocrats, AS he calls them,
voting for his opponent, why, Mr.. Bry-
ans election, like his nomination, Is
foregone conclusion. According To
that test ought to be one OF his most