Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-23

Alert with Tense, Nervous Fore.
faced the crowd, his whole being alert with
tense nervous force. a low murmur. like
ground swell. ran from to row of
seats, and found its echo in the galleries.
where hundreds of the townspeople had
packed themselves to hear the nominating
speeches, and to witness. with varying emo
tons, the GROWING victory of Caleb Con-
over.
in the midst of a silence in which the fall
| of the proverbial pin would have sounded
| like the early morning milk wagon, Give
| Standish began the most unusual speech
| that a Mountain state convention had ever
| heard.
My friends"
From shevlin's rooters came volley of
| Kisses and cat-calls, but the disturbance
I and the dlsturberS Were speedily Sluelched.
| From the galleries and from the back of
| the stage. where many prominent towns
| folk sat. there sprang up a roll of protest
| so menacing in its tone that the half
| drunken thugs cheer-ieaderS deemed it the
| better part of valOr to draw into their
| shells and remain there mute.
MY friends, repeated StandiSh, his pow
erful voice echoing from floor to roof,
| Abraham Lincoln freed the black men
| forty-odd years ago It's time that some
| body freed the white brother. For years
| this state has groaned under the tribute of
relentless machine under the rule of
railroad that was all stomach and no con-
science. all bowels and no heart, all greed
and no generosity. Our party-and with
pocket asset of this vile corporation. For
months past. and more especially today,
you have seen what its power is. as OPP
posed to the power of the more honest citi-
zens OF our party. 1t won today, it won
yesterday, and 1t won the day before. 1t
always has won. 1t rests with us here to-
day, now and in this hour to decide VINE; her
a new proclamation of emancipation is to
be issued or whether the great democratic
party in the Mountain state shall continue
to be the chattel, the creduous. simple,
weak kneed. backboneless, hopeless, help
less victim of the greedest most corrupt
railroad that ever trailed its steel shackles
across the face of the earth Whether or
not the boss-guided machine shall beat
to earth and hold US there forever We
have tried reforming the party from the in
side. and have failed. Has the time
come to reform 1t from the outsider
He paused. and the answer came. From
the Conover hosts went up shout of NO.
No!' mingled with hiss and groan. But in
| stantly. from the great scattered mass of
the audience. and from the Standish dele
gates on the floor, there arose an outburst
of cheering that drowned the barking mega
tives of what had been but ten short min
utes before majority of that convention.
The effect of this outburst was diverse
on its hearers. With Standish itself it
| acted as tonic. as an electric battery
which gave him added force and vigor for
| what he had yet to say Karl Ansel 1t
seemed for a moment to Supply and para
! lyZe. Conovers lieutenants it threw into a
state OF CONSIDERATION. winch approached
frenzy, panic. decentralization. They ran
aimlessly to and fro, comforting excitedly
| in hoarse whispers
| Conover. alone. from his den at the rear
of the stage. smiled to himself and gave no
| other sign of interest
Standish was speaking again, and now
! behind him stood Karl Ansel recovering
| from his amazement, and intent to catch
his leaders every word
Il tell you. Numbered Give. beside him
! self wit IN excitement I'VE have tn
! and to act now. / tell you that the people
| of this state. irrespective of party, are
waiting for half chance to throw off the
yoke of the railroad-of the machine. All
| over this country of ours bosses are being
Overthrown. They are going down to ruin
| in the wreckage of their own machines; and
| 1t is the PEOPLE who are downing Them
| The day of bossism is passing-passing for
| ever. We came into this convention as
\ free men. Some of us did. And l for one
| propose to walk out of it free man. If we
| go before the people Of this state on the
| issue of honest government as opposed to
dishonesty. / tell you that we will win. 1t
| only needs man with match, and the
| nerve to use that match, to start a confla-
grafton that will burn party ties to cinders
| and leave free. emancipated people.
Let them call me bolter. If they will!
| Let them call me traitor. migrate, renegade!
I l would rather be a bolter than thief.
| would rather rip my party, dearly as
| love it, to rags and tatters, than to sacri-
| flee my own self-respect any longer!
| would rather see the democratic party pass
| from existence altogether than to see 1t
| continue the tool and the creature of greed
| and dishonesty.
Yes, they may call me bolter, and prop
| erly so, for am going to bolt this conven-
/ ton! Is there a man who will follow me
| out of doors? Out of the filthy atmosphere
/ of this machine ridden, boss-owned conven-
| ton, into the pure sunshine of Gods own
| people?"
In the midst of an indescribable tumult,
! in which Kisses and cheers were mady in
1 termingled, Give Standish leaped off the
platform cleared the orchestra railing and
strobe up the middle aisle toward the open
door at the far end of the hall
And then a strange thing occurred. Karl