The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-02-22

while the attendance ut the Republi-
.,n meeting at Pythlan Castle, on the
south side, last night, was not as large
os II might have been. owing to nu-
' - counter attractions. yet 1t was
~ enthusiastic, and what II lacked in
rrmbers 1t made up In enthusiasm. An
other reason for the slim attendance
WAS the fact that the meeting was I'M
nroyIsed and gotten up on the spur Of
The moment, without any previous
preparation.
sao o'clock, by County Clerk Richard
pobertson, who introduced In a few
we'll chosen words Attorney Samuel o.
Royce Ms chairman OF the meeting. Mr..
ROYCE arose, and delivered the follow
Inr remarks: acknowledgements is a
, nIfv that this hall Is not crowded, but
,bc ,bsentees are the losers win mot
,ake mn your time, because the gentle-
van / am to introduce can moro ably
and unauestionably, more eloquently.
,oIk To YOU. There Is no doubt that
william Mckinley will succeed himself.
bnt In the state Of West Virginia am
other condition presents itself The Re
nublIcans Of the state must move eau
tiously and with dellberatlon in this
campaign. The man / present to you
,o.nirht. Hon. Romeo II. Freer. Is q
natural leader, and the intellectual peer
of any man in the state Of West Vlr-
Ginia.
ntnuse when he arose TO make his adj
dress He spoke about half an hour
and his speech throughout was punctu'
nted with applause. Mr.. Freer's re-
marks were as follows:
mfr, Chairman and friends Of the city
n, Wheellng:-I am glad to be here
among YOU. The fac. of-BU' few per-
sons being present here Tonight, al
INDEED TO by Mr.. Robertson, is not dis
couraRing to me. have been a Re-
publlcan for thIrty-five years, and for
twenty years I have resided In the sec
tIon Of the state from which I now hail.
II this meeting were to occur in that
section the hall would be crowded with
Republicans. remember attending
meetings twenty-five years ago. when
$50 or 200 people would be considered a
large number I remember score,
nay. scores OF times or more Of meet
inEs called good when there were only
ten or twenty present.
The speaker here referred to the visit
Of Admiral Dwey to wheeling, and paid
him glowing eulogy.
"I want to be friendly and frank, J" the
speaker continued, land will make a
few personal observations Politics are
not occupying the public attention just
now. President Mckinley Is certain to
Be returned to the white house in the
national contest. There is no doubt
that the Republican party will triumph
in the congressional elections. am
not discussing partisan politics TO any
grent extent. The principles Of the
party In power are necessary for the
continuance Of present conditions. It is
well for US sometimes to ask ourselves
the question: why are we Republicans?
never had any use for a Republican
who could not look his neighbor square
in the face and say, Il am Republic
can have been Republican all the
years Of my manhood. and have never
regretted one vote. / want to ask any
man here OF my age II he regrets vote
for Lincoln. / want to ask him II he
regrets a vote for Grant. I want to
ask him IL he regrets a vote for Nc
Rinley. Who regrets It?
Now, we are Republicans because we
believe the party Is born out OF the hui
man conscience, and dedicated to hui
man liberty and freedom.a Slavery
could not exist. Lincoln said the country
could not exist half slave nd.half free.
BY the fundamentally OF he Republic
can party slavery was abolished. Re-
pubiicans have faith In our nag and be-
iieve In the manifest destiny Of the ma
ton. Have we any absolute north or
south In this great country, There Is
no ghost OF acknowledgements There
never was time in the history OF our
republic when there existed the love
and esteem that exists In this country
tonight. Doubters can recall the north
and south two years ago defending. side
by side, the integrity and majesty OF
our nation. We are Republicans be-
cause we believe in progress and devel-
opment Of the great resources of this
country. No man can stand still To
stand stIIl mans death. He must go
.tAt.. R.s,,,a,,S a.. t,aotyyt.avd THE E9a.