Omaha daily bee., 1898-10-28
RALLY OF COLORED VOTERS
Congressman Mercer Addresses n
Fine Audience at Creighton Hall
on the Campaign Issues.

A large mass meeting of colored voters
was held in Creighton hall last night to
form the acquaintance of the candidates on
the republican ticket, most OF whom were
present Announcement bad been made of
the meeting by a coorcd band stationed at
the door and the hall was comfortably filled.
T. H. Hall was introduced rs chairman and
made short opening address. An intro
Guctory number was given by the Eagle
Mandolin club, composed of young colored
men, and in response to an encore James
smith sang a very effective campaign solo.
Tho principal speaker of The evening was
David II. Mercer, whose address was re-
served until the last Mr.. Mercer spoke of
his long friendship with the colored Ieople
of Omaha and gave instances when 1t mad
been made apparent. In regard to the patri-
otism shown by the coored race the speaker
mentioned the conduct Of the Ninth ard
Tenth cavalry and Twenty-fourth and Twen-
ty-ftth infantry at El Cauoy and San Juan
hill, which had been described to him by
Captain Beck. They were never known to
fail. he said: they were heroes when heroes
were needed and when nurses were in de-
mand after the battle the colored men We're
| found to be as gentle nurses as they were
| tigers on the battlefield. There was another
and present opportunity for colored Iaen to
| show their patriotism, Mr.. Mercer added,
and that was to uphold the hands of the
! administration in the fall election
| w I. Kierstead, ca.ddaSc for county COM
| missioner, said that II was almost unneces-
sary to talk republicanism 10 colored men,
| who were republicans born ana bred, not
| simply because the republican party had
| proved their friends in time of need, but
| because they felt the merit of the cause.
| Mr.. Kierstead also spoke Of the participation
of colored men in the last war ana expressed
| his opinion of the man or journal which
| attempted to make political capital out of
| the inevitable suffering attendant upon send
| ing 250 600 men into a semi-tropical climate.
| He spoke of the past accomplishments and
| future intentions of Congressman Mercer
and contrasted his cordial relations with Of
fcial Washington with those which would
be sustained by his opponent, opposed as he
! would be to every purpose held by the ad-
ministTation.
| The record Of the populist administration
| In Nebraska was traced by Frank Burman.
| who was one of the legally elected legisla-
tors unseatci two years ago. He said that
the cost to the state of that injustice aggre-
gated about $4,000. which was expended
! in the contest and recount.
| Isaac Noyes urged that the republican
| ticket be upheld a. an endorsement of the
! administration in the conduct of the war.
| He expressed the belief that one reason for
| spain's delay in the pending peace negotia-
! tions was to determine whether the people
stood back OF the president James Koutsky
made brief speech, in which he said that
he had been called a liar by a certain news
paper and that he had a friend present by
whom he could prove anything he might
have said on former occasions DR.. Ricketts,
presented the claims OF the Colored men in