Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-05-30
CURTIS TELLS HOW
 REpUbLICkNPhRTy ! CAME INTO BEING q
Coming Convention Near the Scene of Birth of Or
 ganization

Chicago, May 29.-In assembling at Chicago in June the republican national convention will be sitting in the section where the republican party was first named and within 200 miles of where the first recorded re- publican meeting was held 66 years ago. The approach of the conven- ton recalls this early history, tho with the passing of the years and the development of new issues the first steps of the party have pass ed from common view.
 ~ ' Ut will probably not be possible to trace to the earliest date the first positive meeting which led to the for nation of the new party writes Francis Curtis, in his history of the republican party. "It is quite like ly that there was no considerable gathering of men, nor discussion of plans and policies, until MT. A. E. Bovay, Whig of Ripon, Wis, to- gether with MT. Bowen, a democrat, and MT. Baker free soiler issued call for a public meeting to con- slider "the now alarming situation"
 The great issue of the hour was the extension of slavery. Of the
 
 nation of the republican party, Mr. ' Curtis says, mo political party was able to elect enough members of con gross to overrule the united will of the shareholders, and until the anti slavery sentiment of the North should be so welded together, and it's opponents should be so united in one party as to be able to send to Wash ingt0n enough men to outvote the representatives of the slave power, there was no hope that it's advance could be checked.'
 Reference was made to the Rip- on meeting by Henry Wilson, when vice president of the United Statse, in his book "Rise and Fall of the Slave Power,' published in 1874. "One of the earliest, if not the earli est, of the movements" he said. ,'sthat contemplated definite action and the formation of a new party was made in Ripon, Fond du Lac coun- ty in the early months of 1854, consequence of very thorough canvas, conference, and general com parison of views inaugurated by A. E Bovay, prominent member of the Whig party, among the Wings, Free Spilers, and democrats of that town.
  ing to consider the grave issues which were assuming an aspect of !, such alarming proportions" The meeting thus called, wrote Charles M. Harvey in the Chautau- qua, September, 1897, twas held in the congregational church at Ripon February 2S, 1854. A resolution was adopted in the meeting that if the s bill then pending in the senate to throw open slavery the territories of Kansas and Nebraska should pass the old party organization in Ripor should @e cast off, and new party ! to be called the republican, formed on the sole issue of opposition to slavery extension.
 "The bill passed the senate, in which body it originated, on Marcf 3, 1854, and on March 20, the sccono meeting participated in by men of al parties, was held, this time in { schoolhouse at which Bovay was thv leading spirit.
 "By vote of the assemhlage, tho town committees of the Whig anf Free Soil parties were dissolved, ant S committee of five, three Whigs one democrat and one Free Soile, was chosen to begin the task of form ing new party.
 At these two meetings was start \ ed the earliest systematic work be \ gun--anywhere in the country t, 2 bring about the coalition of the enc mics of slavery extension, who wer \ eventually fused into homogeneou and aggressive party, adopting thu name republican"
 < MT. Harvey quoted letter Bova, later wrote to him about this meet ing, in which he said
 "I went from house to house an, from shop to shop and halted men ol the streets to get their names fo #the meeting of March 20, 1854 A
 that time there were not more thai
 hundred voters in Ripon, and b,
 vast deal of earnest talking I ob
 tained 53 of them. We went into
 little meeting, Wings, Free Sellers
 and democrats. We came out of i
 republicans and we were the first re
 publicans in the union. l had on
 great advantage in this work. wa
 an intimate friend of Horace Gree
 ley's and he would always lister
 to me on political matters. He di, Nnot always assent to my propositions
 but in the end he did to most o them, and he did to this one afte
 good deal of nagging. It wa
 not one letter that I wrote to him
 but many, before he displayed tn
 republican flag in the Tribune
 columns.
 Mr. Harrcy, in his article, quot
 ed in MT Cuitis' book, continues:
 "It is not claimed here that Bova,
 is the creator of the republican par
 ty. The spirit was active in 1854
 in every village and city in the ire
 states, which would have created tha
 party even if Bovay and Greeley ha,
 never been born. Bovay, however
 was the first person who set out il
 resolute, persistent, and practica
 way to form the party; he was th as first to suggest the name and Gree
 3ey, thru his paper, which had tn, largest circulation and influence O
 any journal in the country at tha time, gave his valuable aid in mak
 ing the party project and name knowl to the country"
 The first national republican con
 vention was held in Philadelphia tw' -- I-lz