Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-11-05
ALTGELD SPEAKS.
What Illinois Governor Has to Say
Of the Result.
HE WRITES A RED HOT ADDRESS.

Gives the Opposition Raking in His Char
| acteristie Manner-Declares the Fight
Will BE Fought Over in 1900 and Calls
on His Democratic Friends to Rally Their
Forces for the Contest Glad to Retire
/ from ONCE Himself.
Chicago. Nov. 5.-Governor Altgeld
has issued the following address:
To the Democrats of Illinois: Although
defeated, 1 desire to thank You for the
| loyal support you have given me, and
congratulate you on the heroic fight
| you have just made. Consider that
| only six months ago our great party
lay PROSTATE. 1t had been betrayed
| into the hands of stock iobbers and
monopolists by President Cleveland it
had been robbed of everything Demo-
cratic except name; it stood for no
great principle, and its flesh was be-
ing torn by political birds of prey.
1t was loaded with political deadheads;
men who never did anything for the
| party except to ride it, and it was
infested with political vermin of both
the smooth and rough and dusty varie-
| ty; yet under these sore conditions the
| party broke the cords with which
| liliputians had tied it. 1t rose with
| new energy: il cut loose from the
domination Of trust and syndicates; it
| repudiated the men who betrayed it:
it threw off the load of deadheads; it
drove out the political vermin and with
a new inspiration it agssn proclaimed
Democratic principles ana espoused the
cause of toiling humanity.
Made Il "Heroic Political Fight
Although it was obliged to thus re-
| form while under the fire of the enemy
| it has made the most heroic political
fight ever seen in this country. 1t was
confronted by all the Doodle that could
be scraped together on two continents.
II was confronted by all the banks.
all the trusts, all the syndicates. all
the corporations, all the great papers.
| 1t was confronted by everything that
money could buy. that Doodle could
debauch, or that fear of starvation
| could coerce.
| 1t was confronted by. the disgust
which the majority of the American
people felt toward the national ad-
mnistration for which they held us re-
sponsIble.
1t was confronted with the unfounded
charge of being partly responsible for
the hard times. 1t was confronted by
q combination of forces such as had
never been united before and will prob
| ably never be united again-and, worse
still. the time was too short 20 educate
the public.
While we are defeated our party is
more vigorous and in better condition
generally than il has been for a third
of a century.
Has n Whack at the ..Sationals."
I especially call your attention to
the utter insignificance, as shown by
the returns. of those men who after
having helped TO ruin our party were
| either driven out or left il in this cam
| paiEn. Two years ago these men were
| with us. and always insisted on occupy
; ing front seats and wanted to lead.
| Then we were not confronted with any
powerful opponent and we lost the
| state by upward of 10000 majority
| This year thes men opposed us. and
we had to meet all the forces ] have
| named. We had no sinews of war. We
had all the power of corrupt wealth
against us. We had to reform under
The fire of the enemy, and the time
was too short to make a proper cam
paign, yet we have reduced the ad-
| verse majority of two years ago by
where they belong.
Dug the Grave of the Gold Standard.
While we are defeated we have dug
One more campaign of education Will
forever bury the palsied form of that
curse which has blighted prosperity
and the happiness of mankind.
My fellow Democrats. on account OF
my health l welcome the retirement
which is now assured me and 1 have
long wished for. but let me say in part
ing that if you cherish republican in
stitutions. then your country will need
your services. Two years ago several
states We're carried by the same forces
that have triumphed this year. and in
every one there followed a saturnalia
of corruption and rottenness. Now
these conditions are to be spread ovel
the whole country. and il will devolvs
upon the Democratic party to ulti-
mately stop them. The shadow of the
| men and the influences that will con.
). troll the coming administration is al.
ready on the land.
Makes Some Predictions.
Republicans tell us that the newly.
= | elected president is weak: that he al.
: | lowed the manufacturers to frame tn,
! | tariff bill. and that as governor of Obi,
| he was very weak. We may assum.
| that the coming administration will l.,
| controlled by the men who have beeI
SO prominent in securing this election
Look at some of them: Mr.. Hanna
a Mr. Carnegie. Mr.. Depew, Mr.. Pull
1 man. Mr.. Huntington. Mr. Payne, Mr.
: | Thurston. of Pacific railroad fame. anC
| a number of others of the same char
| acter Many of them have long beel
regarded as corrupticnists. as men VIII,
!, have helped to spread moral lepros,
| over this country. and who use thi
| government as a convenience to max
= | money for corporations. There vii
come bond issues and all manner o
government jobs. and although W
have no enemy on either side of us. al
effort viii he made to give this coun.T,
" standing army because plutocrac.
4 Demands this.
" Has Hopes for the Election of 1900.
: An effort will be made To advance tn
| dos trire that local Self-Governue efl
does not Co hand IN hand with fedora
suprsn,sc.. cut tina, the president shal