The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1903-12-26

| ''Ihe Union forever, hurrah, boys,
hurrah!
Down with the traitor and up With
the stars;
And We'll rally round the flag, boys,
Rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom"
Grants letter of acceptance to Gen
eral Hawley ended with the famous
phrase. Let us have peace" \ strange
coincidence. not noted heretofore was
| that the letter of Schuyler ColfaN, of
! Indiana. accepting the vice presidcn-
tial nomination on the same ticket
also ended with the word peace"
Mr.. ColfaN's closing phrase was one
expressing the hope that there would
he continuance of national concord
and peace"
The Republican convention of 1880
was in point of spectacular interest
the most memorable in the partys his
tory. The senatorial syndicate of
Conkling. Cameron and Logan, backed
by a large element of the party. had
come here determined to name for Il
third term the great general of the
civil war. The Exposition building,
at the foot of Monroe street, was the
scene of Il contest between the forces
Of Grant and the adhcrents of Blaine
that lasted Il full week, and came
nearer to diSrupting the party than
amy Discussions it has ever known.
Blaine had almost secured the prcsl-
DENTAL prize at Cincinnati four years
before. The tlord cloqucnce Of Robert
G. Ingersoll in placing him in nomina-
ton as the ''pumcd knight" of his
party was still ringing in the ears of
those who had heard it. and the cause
of the Maine senator had grown in
favor from that time. But General
Grant had returned from Il tour of
the world, his old admirers rallied
around him again, and formidable
movement to place him in nomina ton
had retarded the boom for Blaine.
Seats were at an immense premium
throughout the convention. The
giants of an undcfcatcd party were
there to measure their strength, and
the prospect of the struggle that WAS
to ensuc brought to the city all the
men eminent in tho party except the
avowed candidates themselves. and at
tlactcd thousands of others of the
kind that love Il mighty intellectual
battle for its own sake. Ono of the
first resolutions presented WAS that by
Senator Roscoe Conkling. pledging
every delegate to support the nom
incc of the convention. This created
some opposition, but after he had
sounded the delegates on the question,
Conkling withdrew it.
When the day came for the ballot
ing, an eager, intense throng filled
every available foot of space in the
great hall. Blaine was nominated ny
JOY. of Michigan. Seconds came from
PiXlry, Of California;, and Fry, of
Maine. Tho speeches We're able and
fairly eloquent. But it was not until
COnliling stepped to the fore to name
the conqueror of Ice for Il third term
that enthusiasm reached it's height.
The fascination Of the speakers man
ner and the splcndOr of his intellect
were conceded by his bttcrest enc
mics. He was never more Fascinating.
never more splendid than when he
took his position on the desk of IL
newspaper correspondent and faced
the chairman, Senator Ioar. and then
the cNpcctant audience. And this is
the way lie began:
"And when asked what state he halls
from,
Our sole reply shall be:
He halls from AppomattON
And its famous apple tree
Had the audience possessed the
power to nominate Grant ut that mo-
ment there is no doubt of what the
result would have been. The tumut
superb Conlling lifted his arm, and
with imperious micn and flushing eye
continued his speech.
1.-The election before us is the Aus
terlitz of American politics." he said.
1T will decide for many years whetll-
or the country shall be Republican or
Cossack." lie declared the supreme
need of the hour to be man who
could inspire the people to victory as
no one but Grant could inspire them.
He continued:
His integrity, his common sense,
his courage, his unequnled experience,
are the qualities offered to his coun-
try. The only argument-the only
| One--that the wit of man or the
stress Of politics has devised is one
which would dunbfOund Solomon, be-
cause Solomon thought there was
nothing new under the sun. Having
tried Grant twice and found him
faithful, we are told that we must
not, even after an interval of years,
trust him again."
The speaker lifted his hands i'm
ploringly. "My countrymen! - my
countrymen!-what qualification does
not such fallacy involve! The Amer