Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1900-10-23

Last Friday evening the Opera House
was crowded to its utmost capacity.
Every seat was occupied, all the stand
ing room was taken, and about 200
were seated upon the stage. The seat
ing capacity is claimed to be 1,1OO, fully
300 were standing, and with those on
the stage there must have been about
1,G00 all told 1t was the largest audi
ence the Opera House has ever held.
John P. Altgeld, ex-governor Of Illinois,
addressed this great audience for two
hours upon the political issues OF the
day The audience contained more re-
publicans than usually permit them
selves to be tempted, by attending a
democratic meeting. Probably many
of them came out of curiosity; they
wanted to see and hear this man, whom
the republican newspapers of the coun-
try had assured them was one of the
most blood-thirsty anarchists upon
earth. If they expected something in
accord with the mental picture of the
man impressed upon them by their
newspapers they were happily disap-
pointed.
The rogtrnm was handsomely decor
ated with towering plants, palms and
ferns and there was large American
flag in The background To each one
who came in slip was given on which
the song, America" was printed, and
when the curtain went up Judge Mar
chetti stepped forward and asked the,
audience to arise and sing this great
song and it was done in manner to
nearly lift the roof from the building.
In introducing the speaker to the
audience Judge Marchetti said: 'He
is no callow politician; when this coun
try was threatened with disruption,
John p Altgeld did not plead the baby
act or some other excuse for patriotic
delinquency, but he shouldered a
musket, although but Is years of age,
and went forth to battle for Liberty
and Union, now and forever, one and
inseparable.' / believe him to be the
most beloved, and the best hated man
in the United States today; but when
the impartial historian will come here
after to pass judgment upon the life
and character of John p. Altgeld they
will place him in the ranks of men,
who, like BeE1. Franklin, Thos, Jeffer-
son, Abraham Lincoln and Henry
George, have devoted their lives to the
elevation of the human race"
Mr.. Altgeld lost no time in introduc-
tory remarks. He had much to say and
wasted neither time nor words. He
began upon the trust question. He did
not deal with it rs partisan question.
He said the trusts put their hands into
the pockets of democrats and republi-
cans alike, and were not respectors of
parties, but cared only for the party
machinery. Republicans did not want
the trusts any more than the demo-
Gratis, but the trusts had obtained con
troll of the republican machine at Wash
ington, and the machine managed the
party, without much regard to the wish
es of republican voters, and cared very
little to hear from the republican voters
any time except upon election day.
We are told that the republican policy
has given us prosperity and a full din
ner pail Whose dinner pail is full i?
He had travelled over large part of
the United States; had found that farm
ers were paving more for what they
had to buy and getting less for what
they had to sell than in 1895; that in
many parts of the country wages of
laborers had been reduced and their
cost of living increased; that in some
parts of the country there are more
mortgages being foreclosed than there
were during the late panic; these men
have not got the full dinner pail. Who
has it The trusts have all the time
been declaring large dividends upon