The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-09-18

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The most remarkable political flzzle In
the history Of this country, and one
which is deeply significant of coming
events, has been the national free silver
campmeetnG. which had been in prepar-
alton to be held at Springfield, Illinois,
for weeks past, and was to have been at
tended by thousands OF slIverites from
throughout the country, from the west,
especially, Two thousand farmers were
expected to attend from as far west as
Utah, and the occasion was not only TO
be a grand national rally, which would
cause CONSERVATION In the ranks of the
'gold-bugs," but was to be the opening
OF the Democratic campaign in Ohio with
blaze OF glory for silver which would
sweep like a resistess wave" over every
county In the state of Ohio,
Sixty speakers OF national reputation
were engaged and they came from dist
ant states, Bryan, the great apostle,
was to be present with this array OF tall
ent, comprising nearly every silver
leader OF national prominence In the
country, and 1t was to be feast of ora
tory, the echoes of which would be heard
throughout the country and give great
impetus TO the Ohio campaign for Bryan
ism and the defeat OF Hanna, the bette
nolre OF Popocracy.
Three days of the great campmeeting
have passed and the whole affair has
turned out to be literal farce. The dis
tinguished speakers came, and the men
who had beer, lunch and other refresh
ment privileges for the benefit nf the vast
crowd from all parts of Ohio and the
country came, but the crowd did not
The two sessions held Wednesday, the
first day, were failures, there being only
thirty-Ave people present at one OF them,
outside of the speakers and the privilege
men, who had paid big sums to sell vari-
Gus things on the second day there was
no crowd at all, and no meetings were
held. though many thousands had been
expected on that day,
The people of Central Ohio absolutely
refuse to attend the meetings. They are
done with the free silver craze, and In a
section of Ohio where last year the sentI-
ment was strong, there Is now absolutely
no interest taken, and the drawing pow
ers Of sixty of the greatest free silver
orators of the country have failed.
To make the humiliation more bitter,
Bryan not only failed to keep his promise
to be present, but in answer to kilograms
from General Warner and John Clark
Ridpath, the famous historian, for him to
come and save the cause of silver in
Ohio. the announcement came that he
would not be present. This was indeed
crushing, and the angry mutterngs that
are heard by the disappointed promoters
of the scheme only add to the general
misfortune of the hour
Mclean has also thrown cold water on
the affair the cause of his dlsapproval
being that Allen W. Thurman introduced
General Warner to the handful of people
on the first day as "the next senator"
The six days which were to have been
devoted to the meeting win expire with
out the programme being carried out,
While the leaders are trying in many
ways to account for this notable frost on
the silver cause in Ohio, the conviction Is
forced upon them that the real cause ls
that the return of prosperity has been
the death blow to the heresy. One after
another the arguments of the silver
medicine quacks have been answered by
the logic OF events.
The farmers of that great agricultural
state have had their eyes open to the
shallowness and the falslty OF the con-
tentlons OF a year ago which deceived
them. The starting up of idle mills and
factories has taught the working
classes that the lack of employment was
not caused by the lack Of fifty cent dol
lars. 1t is not an ausplcious year for
the breeders of discomfort, nor the pro-
paEation of financial heresies. Nothing
could have happened which would more
clearly emphasize these facts than the
great ilzzle at Springfield