The San Francisco call., 1898-10-19

W. F. Peterson. Robert T. Devlin,
 A. A. Becker, H. c. Smith, Dr. Atkinson, J. M. Avery, c. J. Newman, C. N. Post, George Stack, J. G. Maritime. Charles Baine,
 Captain W. Fl. Seamans, commander of the Army and Navy Republican League, spoke as follows:
 Mir. chairman, comrades, ladies and gentlemen; By the courtesy of the Coun- ty Central Committee, this meeting is held under the auspices of the Army and reason, suppose, that the chairman Of the committee has invited me, as the head of the State League, to preside and introduce the speakers of the evening; The organization Is political one and numbers more than 5000 active working members in the State of California, and l may say, fairly represents more than nine-tenths of the 15 ,0O0 Union Veterans in the State, who, with their family con- nections, will cast 20, 900 votes at the con- ing election and place our friend Henry T. Gage in the gubernatorial chair.
 I am not expected to make a speech on this occasion, and 1 shall not attempt it, but 1 desire to say a word to my com rades, many of whom l see in the audi ence.
 Comrades, did it ever occur to you. while fighting the battles of your coun- try upon land and upon sea, while in the silent watches of the night froIf your midnight bivouac you were thin1Ing of home and friends, while suffering in hos pitals or starving in Libby and Ander- Sonville, that you would ever find an American citizen so lost to all patriotic sentiment and grateful remembrance as to assail your citizenship, apply to the courts to disfranchise you and place you upon the plane of paupers because by virtue of wounds and disease incurred in the service of your country, or from the infirmities of age, you might feel con strained to accept the home provided for you by a beneficent government, where you might spend the remnant of your days in peace and comfort.
 However incredible 1t may appear to you such a man has been found within the limits of our own State, in Demo- cratic leader who lives in Los Angeles County where he has brought an action In the courts, which is now pending, to disfranchise the inmates of the National Home at Santa Monica Why? Because majority of our comrades there are Re- publicans and vote the Republican ticket. This Democratic statesman asptres to represent you in the upper house of Con gress as the successor of the Hon. stephen M. White should, by any possibility, the Democratic ticket be successful at the coming election. Do you want him to succeed?
 My felIow-citizens who are these men that this Democratic leader would thus rob of their citizenship; right dear to the heart of every old soldier? They are those who fought with Grant in the West; who rode with Sheridan in the valley; who marched with Sherman to the sea; who were with Farragut, the invincible, when he took his fleet of wooden ships through that cyclone of shot and shell at New Orleans, past the frowning batteries of Vicksburg and Fort Hudson and into the harbor of Mobile, teaching a lesson in naval warfare which has enabled the
 gallant Dewey his lieutenant, to ami hilate the Spanish fleet before Manila;
 and Sampson, Schley, Clark of tho Oregon, and lighting Bop Evans to SsTTaIo sweep
 and his ships from the face of the Car1b-
 They are those who were at Geettys- ! cellorsville, Antietam, Shiloh and
 da51 day in i'@5uG June, 1884. when 1000 went | of them were participants in hundred 1 other battles These were no skirmishes 1 but battles royal, in twelve of which lS2,-
 This was war, grim-visaged war, in which l 350,000 of our comrades laid down their l lives and twice as many more were | maimed for life to the end that the na- 1 tion might live.
 1 Now, comrades, in these piping times 1 of peace, for the Spanish war IS pracu-
 caliy over, you have duties to perform as 1 citizens only less important than those rendered by you as soldiers Of the repu- 1 lie, and If you do your duty to your com rades and to yourselves now as well as l YOU did it then you will relegate this | Democratic statesman to private life and | save the State of California to the Re 1 publican party by your votes on the Eth 1 day of November, 1898, as you saved the
 f97 Rn the sth day of Apfii' iS'' "''i you 0' In closing, Captain Seamens intro i duced Henry T. Gage. The audience responded with tremendous shouts of | applause and proloneed demonstrations 1 of welcome. When the tumult subsided 1 inc standard bearer thanked the people | of Sacramento for the magnificent re- ception. He said he did not take the greeting as personal. but regarded 1t as | an exhibition of the devotion of the
 people to Republican principles. There was an unmistakable design on | the part of persons in the pavilion, near 1 inc entrance, to embarrass MT. Gage with noise and talking Chairman Sea-
 mems. observing the interruptions, said i a few words to the audience, asking that the privilege of talking be granted | exclusively to the regularly appointed ] speakers.
 Mir. Gage, after dwelling upon the
 prospects of a great victory at the polls On the sth of November. proceeded to i 4 discussion of single tax problems. The points against Maguire's pet scheme
 were made in a style that challenged
 the attention of his hearers and called l forth rounds of applause. | In a forcible manner MT. Gage re- pelled Maguire's assault on the in- l tegrity of the Republican State conven- | ton.
 The railroad settlement question was l considered and the Congressional Rec | ord produced to sustain the assertion l that Mcguire did not object to the set | clement at the time when objection would have defeated the measure. MT