The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-08-21
SILVER DANGEROUS
Sentiment in Hunterdon
County Surprises Re-
publican Leaders.
PACKER ISLAND PICNIC.
Farmers Enthuse Over the Chi
eago Platform and. deride
Gold Speakers.
Mahlon Pitney Astounded at the
Situation "Gus'' CUT
ler's Boom.
Mahlon Pitney Astounded at the
specinlfo the lsrscu cttn Ne,rs.

Fourth Congressional district, which is
composed of Hunterdon, Warren, Sussex
and Morris counties, is the hotbed of free
silverism in this State, and Hunterdon
county is the hotbed of Bryan and Sew
allism of this district Anyone who
doubts this statement should have been
present at the Farmers Picnic held
Wednesday and Thursday at Packer Is
land Packer Island is on the Lehigh
Valley Railroad, about two miles from
this place. and although so far inland
only you have to look sharp sometimes
to find the tiny stream with which it is
entirely surrounded. It is a pleasantly
shaded bit of meadow land, and is the
ideal country picnic ground. About six
years ago a Methodist minister named
Opdyke, who was greatly interested in
the Farmers Alliance movement, formed
a section of the Alliance in this State,
and secured possession of t'the island,
sort of shed, open on all Sides with a
platform, and the toughest kind of wood
en- benches and started the scheme of
having prominent speakers on all the
political subjects of the day address the
farmers. Democrats, Republicans, Pro-
hibitionists, Populists and every other
kind of lists were brought out and given
an opportunity to express their views.
The farmers were allowed to talk back
times have often taken place on .the
Island This custom has been Continued
every summer since then, and the Packer
Island picnic has come to be considered
one of the institutions of this section of
the country It is also looked upon as
very good exponent of local public opin-
ion, and the attitude of the farmers to-
ward the speakers and the views they
express, is taken as an indication of
how they will vote.
The farmers themselves take this view
of the affair. and for that reason perhaps
are exceedingly liberal in their express
SONS of approval or disapproval of what
they hear. Every year the attendance
has been growing larger and larger until
on Wednesday, 1t is said by conservative
men, that at least 1900 people were on the
ground. Yesterday, however, there was
not over one-fourth of that number pres
ent. They had series of trots On the
fair ground track, and in this county
where even the horse that pulls a pow
or turns threshing machine has
pedigree, nothing short of an earthquake
or washout is going to keep the average
diiler of the soil away from a trot. Their
that they are all for the free coinage Of
silver The speakers for gold and sound
money were laughed ait, ard although the
farmers listened to all they had to say,
their comments on what was said ard the
expressions of disapproval were very dis
couraging. The silver men on the other
hand were loudly applauded and encour-
aged with shouts of approval. The farm
ers had lots of fun with Tom McEwan on
Wednesday. Mr. McEwan received an
invitation from Dominic OpdylSe to ad-
dress a farmers picnic. The Congress
man, Ike many more people in lhis sec
tion of the State, had never heard of
Packer Island and the oratoriead and
dlsDutatious shindies which they cut up
there. So he journeyed on thinking to
find am audience Of calm, iramovable
agrdeulturasts wsfh no enthusiasm for any
thing beyond silos fertilizers and the mar
ket for peaches and garden truck. So the
Congressman prepared an elaborate ad-
dress upon THE Farmer He showed
what an ancient and honorable calling
the tilling of the soil was: how really the
agriculturasist was the malnstay of the
country MS progress. its prosperity and
its FUTURE and laid the glucose on thick
with whitewash brush. When he
reached the ground he was met by Dom
infe Opdyke (who. by the way, is tall
slim man, with the long flowing whis-
kers Of the proyerbal Populst), and told
that the afternoon would be devoted to
discussion of the money question. He
MeEwan-would be expected to talk for
gold, and Farmer, MARITIME. of Plain
field. and one or two other silver men,
would reply. Mr.. McEwan was a little
nervous at first but he soon pulled him,