New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-10-27
THE SQUARE ABLAZE.
CROWDS AND FIRE AND MU,SIC
AND CHEERS.
HUNDREDS OF SPEAKERS TALK TO
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AMID
BURSTING BOMBS AND STRAINS
OF PATRIOTIC AIRS.

Or IAIIOIlC AIRS.
The great demonstration Of enthusiasm, -,
Governor Roosevelt in Madison souar. ,a..
evening was made effective in great part bv ths
outdoor meetings There were no fewer tbar
thlrty-two such meetings. The raised platforms
for the speakers were decorated with Aaes a,d
banners. and they extended nearly all the wav
around the square The stands were so close on
the Madison-ave side that the speakers at one
stand could hear the speakers at the stands on
either hand. Every stand was surrounded bv a
host of people. Madison Square was filed so frl1
OF humanity that thousands were crowded or
the walks, and the grass plots were covered with
moving masses OF people The crowds at every
outdoor meeting were changing constantly. The
reports OF bombs bursting in midair and the
sPuttering of other fireworks prevented the
speakers from being heard plainly. except hv
those who could get near the stands but in sni.s
or the many distractions the speeches were
listened 10 by thousands who showed their in
terest and enthusiasm by frequent and hearty
applause
Such flood Of campaign oratory never had
been let loose in Madison Square as that which
flowed there for three hours last night There
had been detailed to the thirty-two outdoor
meetings 142 campaign speakers OF whom sew
enty-fve are on the list of the Republican State
Committees Speakers Bureau. and sixty-seven
are volunteer speakers the list Of the Re-
publican County Committees Speakers Bureau.
Every one went into Madison Square last even
ing in good voice. and fully prepared to make
good speech The speIlbinders were assigned
TO stands according to an arrangement by which
| four speeches were delivered from some stands
and five speeches from Others
AN ORDEAL FOR THE SPEAKERS.
| Speaking at most Of the outdoor meetings he.
| gan at 3 O'Clock, and it was at that time that
the speakers encountered the greatest dif5cuItv
| In making themselves heard. 1t was a trvfn-
ordeal for speaker to have bomb burst IN
the air above his head and send out a zreat
shower OF shooting stars or fiery serpents when
ne was In the middle OF a sentence Ar s,cb =
| moment his hearers would turn their faces slx,,-
ward, and many would give excIamations Of de-
light at the heeting spectacle. Often the orator
would turn to look, too, and temporarily lose tba
thougnt to which he was giving expression. No
sooner would he begin again than another dis
play would interrupt him
Inen came the music Of the bands drowning
the voices Of the orators as parade after parade
tried to force way into the already crowded
square With the parading hosts came crowds
Of boys. attracted by the torchlights and the
music The youngsters shouted at every disuIav-
Of fireworks Not content with that thew
shouted many disturbing remarks about the
speakers.
In spite OF all the din and distraction in the
square, however. the campaign speakers on the
stands stuck to their work and most of them
used the full power of their lungs to make their
voices reach the multitude. People in the mid
die Of the square could hear the loud tones OF the
orators from many stands rising above the shout
of the small boy, the booming of the fireworks
and the braying OF the bands Tired Of the
glare and glitter Of the fireworks at length
thousands of people pressed closer to the stands
| and listened to the speeches.
1t evident that the great mass Of people
in the square last evening sympathized with the
speakers The applause was too hearty and too
frequent to allow any doubt that point The
| speeches were such have been heard at many
Republican campaign meetings for weeks past
They touched upon every issue OF the campaign.
A FEW DIsTURBERs.
1t was not surprising. however that in the
multitude were some Bryaaites and Tammany
symPathizers. and they made themselves heard
occasionally in derisive cries and in shouts for
Bryan and Croker They did not greatly dis
turb the meetings. because the majority OF the
people at the meetings were too intent on hear
ing the speeches to pay much heed to the dis
| turbers- Occasionally one Of the speakers would
hear shouted remark by Bryanite in the
crowd and make reply 10 it. but a rule the
| disturbing shouts were not noticed by the speak
| ers.
About 10 o'clock there was movement OF the
crowds in the square TO get away. That meant
! confusion at several Of the stands. and at
few the speaking was discontinued. Then there
were thousands Of people who had not been
| able to get into the square up to that time. and
| they flOcked in. The streams Of people coming
and going continued to fiII the square until an
| hour before midnight
At most Of the stands the speeches continued
until after IL o'clock. The arriving and depart
| ing crowds INDUCED in cheers. The noise in the
square seemed incessant. If all the speeches
| delivered and ap2lauded in Madison Square last
| night were printed in one book they would make
| q formidable array of campaign arguments.