The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-10
Meeting in Cooper vnion
Packed with Henry George Men,
Who Yelled for Their Leader.
SETH LOW CHILLED TRAITOR"
SPEECHES BY SENATOR FORAKER
AND CANDIDATE TRACY.
Reasons Given by the Henry George
Committee for Agreeing To Combine
with the Citizens Union.


NEW YORK, Oct. 9.-The Republican
nominations were ratified to-
night at a mass meeting at Cooper Union.
Every seat in the big hall was occupied
and the assemblage was a very orderly
one. The several candidates, as they made
their appearance on the platform, were
received with cheers Senator Joseph b.
Foraker, of Ohio, was the principal speak
er. He said, in part:
1T has been said that this contest has
no reference to either state or national
politics. If that were true I would not
now be standing this platform 1 should
not have come all the way from Ohio to
engage with you in this ratification meet
ing. | am here to tell you, first and fore
most that the Republicans of the Nation
are watching this campangn with more
anxiety and solicitude, with respect to its
result, than they have ever experienced
with respect to any municipal contest in all
your history. No politics in this contest?
Let us briefly look at this proposition. If
Judge Van Wyck should be elected mayor
his selection would be heralded all over
this country a Democratic victory, and
his administration as mayor of Greater
New York would be but an exercise of all
the political power with which he would
be invested as such mayor for the pur-
pose of strengthening the Democratic par
ty in this city, in this State and in the Ma
tion. The benediction of Jefferson and
jackson and all the supposed saints of De-
mocracy has been invoked in his behalf.
And now, in the next place, there Is
Henry George. applause and hisses.) is
there any politics connected with his nom-
ina (tPfn Of No,
citizens, his nomination is political in a
double and most emphatic sense. He was
nominated as the apostle of the New Dis
pensation. (Applause.) He was not satis-
fed with the representation of Democracy
that was involved in the nomination of
Judge Van Wyck. He was nominated as
the exponent of the declaration oil the Chi
cago platform of 1896 and as the special rep
resentative and champion OF the most Vi
cious and pernicious declarations to be
found in that platform. (Applause) He
came into this contest for the express pur-
pose of giving representation in it to those
ideas and those principles; therefore, it is
that he stands before you and the coun-
try to-day as the chosen champion and rep
resentative of Organism, and as the chosen
champion and representative, whether he
wills 1t or not, of tree trade and. free silver
and free hcense-free license to disregard
individual and property rights.
SETH LOWS RECORD.
And, my friends, we have another man
running for mayor, an esteemed personal
friend in the person of Mr.. Seth Low. Cap
plause and groans) Mr.. Low claims there
is no politics in this campaign and claims
there should not be. Well. now, my fellow
citizens, it would be very easy indeed to
persuade me that Mr.. Low himself has no
politics. 1 remember when / came to the
city of New York to speak in that great
presidential campaign of 1884 Mr.. Low was
then mayor of the city of Brooklyn, elected
as Republican. There WAS great tide
or Cleveiandlsm setting Ia against that most
brilliant genius in modern American states
manshlp-James G. Blaine. Great ap-
piause) Mr.. Low was in situation to do
his party, and, as we thought, his country,
much good, but not q hand did he raise nor
voice to help us stem that tide. (Cries
of Traitor.D In 1888 remember Mr.. Low
wrote a letter formally resigning his MEM
berShip in the Repubnean parry because of
the protective tarif plank on which Ben
jamin Harrison was elected In 1892 l am
not altogether positive about him. / un-
derstand he claims ne was a passive Repub-
lican. lLaughter.) In 1896 he helped US TO
win the great victory OF that year by put
ting Mckinley in the White House Gap
plause) But he did it with the reservation
that he was a free-trader still, and he is
free-trader now. applause and cries OF
'Right.D
You have fourth candidate whom /
have already mentioned-Gen. Benjamin +.
Tracy" Great applause and three cheers.)
Senator Foraker eulogized General Tracy as
q Republican, soldier and public man and
continued: General Tracys election as
mayor Of New York will be hailed with joy
all over the United States by Republicans.
Coming in this way, this contest no matter
whether you measure it between him and
Mr.. Low or between him and Judge Van
Wyck or between him and Henry George, IS
a contest between Organism on one side and
Republicanism on the other and II IS be-
cause there is a contest between Organism
and Republicanism that the people or the
whole United States are in suspense anx-
iouSly awaiting the verdict you are TO rem
der on the I'd day of November. / speak for
the cause upon the success OF which de-
pended last year, as a majority OF us be-
iieved and voted, the peace the security and
the prosperity of the United States.
The most remarkable thing that occurred
during Mr.. Foraker'S speech was the wild
cheers which broke out among the audience
when the speaker mentioned Henry George.
The BODY of the hall was Well filed with
George men who broke out like mad at the
mention Of his name. AS the cheering was
subsidng there were q few Kisses. AT the
mention of Seth Low the occupants OF the
auditorium broke out into cat-callS misses
and shrieks Of derision- p.gek,
and again. General TracyS name evoked
general enthusiasm and he was cheered by
the entire assemblage-
CENEhAlL .
At the conclusion of. the Ohio senator's
address General Tracy spoke. He said in
part: NO issue. in my judgment, that has
ever occurred in any campaign involves a
deeper and more vital interest to the citi-
zens of New York than the present. In its
platform the Republican party recognizes
that the question of good government for
the city is of the highest and first impor-
tance, but it recognizes also the fact that
there Is another issue that cannot be ig-
nored In any political contest in this coun-
try and that is the issue known by the
single word Organism Next have
Tammany Hall and its ticket. Tammany
Hall needs no introduction TO a New York
audience New York people know ii and
understand il: they know its past. and
from its past they judge its present and
future purposes. In the third place. we
have the ticket OF Henry George. George
has taken TO himself all of the plat forms
and all of the principles of Organism except
the silver IS to /. That he leaves with
Tammany Hall. Then. finally we have the
Citizens Union and their candidate, Mr.
Low Ga voice "a mugwump and a traitorr
mingled applause and hisses) Mr.. Low
says that he stands upon single issue in
this campaign and that issue Is good govern
ment 20 the city. MIR. Low will excuse me
when | say that / think in that respect he
IS egregiously mistaken. 1T good govern
ment TO the city were the only issue on
which Mr.. Low and his party stood there
would be no difficulty in the union of the