with which we have grappled, upon which we have proclaimed a policy,
or which we must meet in the near future. I am only here to-night
briefly to sketch to you the magnificent career of this party to which
we give our allegiance--a union of the States, restored, cemented,
regenerated; a Constitution cleansed of its compromises with slavery
and brought into harmony with the immortal Declaration; a race
emancipated, given citizenship and the ballot; a national credit
preserved and elevated until it stands unequalled among the nations of
the world; a currency more prized than the coin for which it may be
exchanged; a story of prosperity more marvellous than was ever written
by the historian before. This is in brief outline the magnificent way
in which the Republican party has wrought. It stands to-day for a
pure, equal, honest ballot the country over. It stands to-day without
prejudice or malice, the well-wisher of every State in this Union;
disposed to fill all the streams of the South with prosperity, and
demanding only that the terms of the surrender at Appomattox shall be
complied with. When that magnificent act of clemency was witnessed,
when those sublime and gracious words were uttered by General Grant
at Appomattox, the country applauded. We said to those misguided men:
"Go home"--in the language of the parole--"and you shall be unmolested
while you obey the laws in force at the place where you reside." We
ask nothing more, but we cannot quietly submit to the fact, while it
is true everywhere in the United States that the man who fought for
years against his country is allowed the full, free, unrestricted
exercise of his new citizenship, when it shall not also be true
everywhere that every man who followed Lincoln in his political views,
and every soldier who fought to uphold the flag, shall in the same
full, ample manner be secured in his political rights.
This disfranchisement question is hardly a Southern question in all
strictness. It has gone into Dakota, and the intelligent and loyal
population of that Territory is deprived, was at the last election,
and will be again, of any participation in the decision of national
questions solely because the prevailing sentiment of Dakota is
Republican. Not only that, but this disregard of purity and honesty in
our elections invaded Ohio in an attempt to seize the United States
Senate by cheating John Sherman, that gallant statesman, out of his
seat in the Senate. And it came here to Illinois, in an attempt also
to defeat that man whom I loved so much, John A. Logan, out of his
seat in the United States Senate. And it has come into our own State
(Indiana) by tally-sheet frauds, committed by individuals, it is true,
but justified and defended by the Democratic party of the State in an
attempt to cheat us all out of our fair election majorities. It was
and is a question that lies over every other question, for every other
question must be submitted to this tribunal for decision, and if the
tribunal is corrupted, why shall we debate questions at all? Who can
doubt whether, in defeat or victorious, in the future as in the past,
taking high ground upon all these questions, the same stirring cause
that assembled our party in the beginning will yet be found drawing
like a great magnet the young and intelligent moral elements of our
country into the Republican organization? Defeated once, we are ready
for this campaign which is impending, and I believe that the great
party of 1860 is gathering together for the coming election with a
force and a zeal and a resolution that will inevitably carry it, under
that standard-bearer who may be chosen here in June, to victory in
November.
INDIANAPOLIS, JUNE 25, 1888.
_Nomination Day._
A few hours after the receipt of the news of the nomination of General
Harrison for President, on Monday, June 25, 1888, delegations from
neighboring cities and towns began to arrive to congratulate him. From
the moment the result at Chicago was known, and for two days thereafter,
the city of Indianapolis was the scene of excitement and enthusiasm
unparalleled in its history.
The first out-of-town delegation to arrive was the Republican Club of
Danville, Hendricks County, Indiana, three hundred strong, led by the
Hon. L. M. Campbell, Rev. Ira J. Chase, Major J. B. Homan, Joel T.
Baker, Capt. Worrel, and E. Hogate.
They came on the afternoon of the twenty-fifth and marched to the
Harrison residence escorted by about five thousand excited citizens of
Indianapolis, and it was to these men of Hendricks that General Harrison
made his first public speech--after his nomination--which proved to be
the opening words of a series of impromptu addresses remarkable for
their eloquence, conciseness and variety, and generally conceded by the
press of the day to have been the most brilliant and successful campaign
speeches of his generation.
To the Danville Club General Harrison said:
_Gentlemen_--I am very much obliged to my Hendricks County friends
for this visit. The trouble you have taken to make this call so soon
after information of the result at Chicago reached you induces me
to say a word or two, though you will not, of course, expect any
reference to politics or any extended reference to the result at
Chicago. I very highly appreciate the wise, discreet and affectionate
interest which our delegation and the people of Indiana have displayed
in the convention which has just closed at Chicago. [Cries of "Good!"
"Good!" and cheers.] I accept your visit to-day as an expression of
your confidence and respect, and I thank you for it. [Great cheering.]
Scarcely had the Danville visit concluded before another organization
from Hendricks County arrived, the Republican Club of Plainfield, led by
Dr. Harlan, William G. Ellis, Oscar Hadley, and A. T. Harrison.
Responding to their call, General Harrison said:
_Gentlemen_--I can only thank you for this evidence of your
friendliness. That so many of my Hendricks County friends should have
reached Indianapolis so soon after hearing the result at Chicago is
very gratifying. The people of your county have always given me the
most hearty support whenever I have appealed to them for support. I
have a most affectionate interest in your county and in its people,
especially because of the fact that it furnished two companies to the
regiment which I took into the field. Some of the best and most loyal
of these soldiers gave their lives for their country in the battles in
which the regiment was engaged. These incidents have attached me to
the county, and I trust I have yet, even here among this group, some
of my friends of the Seventieth Indiana surviving, who will always be
glad to extend to me, as I to them, a comrade's hand. I thank you for
this call.
A few moments later two large delegations arrived from Hamilton and
Howard Counties: Hon. J. R. Gray of Noblesville and Milton Garrigus of
Kokomo delivered congratulatory addresses on behalf of their townsmen,
to which General Harrison responded:
I thank you, my friends of Hamilton County, for this call. I know
the political steadfastness of that true and tried county. Your people
have always been kind to me. I thank you for this evidence of your
confidence and respect.
Howard County. Of that county I may say what I have said of Hamilton
County. It is a neighbor in location and it is a neighbor in good
works. [Great cheering.]
On the evening of the twenty-fifth five thousand or more neighbors and
residents of the city congregated before the Harrison residence.
The General, on appearing, was greeted by a demonstration lasting
several minutes. The standard-bearers, carrying the great banner of
the Oliver P. Morton Club, made their way to the steps and held the
flag over his head. Hon. W. N. Harding finally quieted the crowd and
presented General Harrison, who spoke as follows:
_Neighbors and Friends_--I am profoundly sensible of the kindness
which you evidence to-night in gathering in such large numbers
to extend to me your congratulations over the result at Chicago.
It would be altogether inappropriate that I should say anything
of a partisan character. Many of my neighbors who differ with me
politically have kindly extended to me, as citizens of Indianapolis,
their congratulations over this event. [Cries of "Good!" "Good!"] Such
congratulations, as well as those of my neighbors who sympathize with
me in my political beliefs, are exceedingly grateful. I have been a
long time a resident of Indianapolis--over thirty years. Many who are
here before me have been with me, during all those years, citizens of
this great and growing capital of a magnificent State. We have seen
the development and growth of this city. We are proud of its position
to-day, and we look forward in the future to a development which shall
far outstrip that which the years behind us have told. I thank you
sincerely for this evidence that those who have known me well and long
give me still their confidence and respect. [Cheers and applause.]
Kings sometimes bestow decorations upon those whom they desire to
honor, but that man is most highly decorated who has the affectionate
regard of his neighbors and friends. [Great applause, and cries of
"Hurrah for Harrison!"] I will only again thank you most cordially
for this demonstration of your regard. I shall be glad, from time to
time, as opportunity offers, to meet you all personally, and regret
that to-night this crowd is so great that it will be impossible for me
to take each one of you by the hand [cries of "We'll forgive you!"],
but we will be here together and my house will always open its doors
gladly to any of you when you may desire to see me. [Great cheering.]
INDIANAPOLIS, JUNE 26.
The evening of the day following his nomination General Harrison was
visited by the surviving members of his old regiment, the Seventieth
Indiana Volunteers, led by Major George W. Grubbs of Martinsville. There
was also present a delegation from Boone County headed by the Hon. Henry
L. Bynum, O. P. Mahan and S. J. Thompson; also the returning delegates
from Vermont to the Chicago convention, headed by Gov. Redfield Proctor
and General J. G. McCullough.
Responding to the address of Major Grubbs, on behalf of the veterans,
General Harrison said:
_Comrades_--Called, as I have been, by the national convention of
one of the great political parties of this country to be its candidate
for the presidency, it will probably be my fortune before the election
to receive many delegations representing various interests and classes
of our fellow-citizens, but I am sure that out of them all there will
come none whose coming will touch my heart so deeply as this visit
from my comrades of the Seventieth Indiana and these scattered members
of the other regiments that constituted the First Brigade of the Third
Division of the Twentieth Army Corps. I recall the scene to which
Major Grubbs has alluded. I remember that summer day, when, equipped
and armed, we were called to leave our homes and cross the Ohio River
and enter the territory that was in arms against the Government which
we were sworn to support. I recall, with you, the tender parting, the
wringing of hearts with which we left those we loved. I recall the
high and buoyant determination, the resolute carriage with which you
went to do your part in the work of suppressing the great rebellion.
I remember the scenes through which we went in that hard discipline
of service and sickness, and all of those hard incidents which are
necessary to convert citizens into veterans.
I remember the scenes of battle in which we stood together. I
remember especially that broad and deep grave at the foot of the
Resaca hill where we left those gallant comrades who fell in that
desperate charge. I remember, through it all, the gallantry, devotion
and steadfastness, the high set patriotism you always exhibited. I
remember how, after sweeping down with Sherman from Chattanooga to the
sea and up again through the Carolinas and Virginia, you, with those
gallant armies that had entered the gate of the South by Louisville
and Vicksburg, marched in the great review up the grand avenue of our
Nation's capital.
I remember that proud scene of which we were part that day; the
glad rejoicing as our faces were turned homeward, the applause which
greeted us as the banner of our regiment was now and then recognized
by some home friends who had gathered to see us--the whole course of
these incidents of battle, of sickness, of death, of victory, crowned
thus by the triumphant reassertion of national authority, and by the
muster out and our return to those homes that we loved, made again
secure against all the perils which had threatened them.
I feel that in this campaign upon which I am entering, and which
will undoubtedly cause careful scrutiny, perhaps unkind and even
malicious assault, all that related to my not conspicuous but loyal
services with you in the army I may confidently leave, with my honor,
in the hands of the surviving members of the Seventieth Indiana,
whatever their political faith may be. [Cries of "That is true,
General!" and "Yes!" "Yes!"]
May I ask you now, for I am too deeply moved by this visit to speak
as I would desire, that each one will enter this door, that will
always open with a hearty welcome to you, and let me take you by the
hand? [Cheering.]
The event of the night was the visit of the California delegation,
at ten o'clock, accompanied by the Indiana delegation to Chicago and
several hundred personal friends and neighbors of General Harrison just
returned from Chicago, where they had been laboring for his nomination.
The Hon. M. H. de Young and John F. Ellison of California delivered
congratulatory addresses, on conclusion of which the Californians
hastened to their train; after they departed the great crowd refused to
disperse and called repeatedly for General Harrison, who responded as
follows:
_Fellow-Citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen_--I am very deeply impressed
and gratified with this magnificent demonstration of your respect. No
man can be so highly honored by any convention, or by any decoration
which any of the authorities of the Government can bestow, as by the
respect and confidence of those who live near him. My heart is touched
by this demonstration which my fellow-citizens have given me of their
personal respect for me. I do not, however, accept this manifestation
of interest as wholly due to myself. The great bulk of those who
are assembled here to-night manifest rather their interest in those
political principles which I have been called by the representatives,
in national convention of the Republican party, to represent in this
campaign. But I will not discuss any of those high issues to-night,
because I am glad to know that among those who are gathered here,
and among those who have paid me the compliment of their presence in
my home, there are many citizens of Indianapolis who differ with me
politically. I would not, therefore, if it were otherwise proper, mar
this occasion by the discussion of any political topic. I am glad to
have an opportunity to return my sincere and heartfelt thanks to the
Indiana delegation, and to that band of devoted friends who gathered
about them and assisted them in their work at Chicago. When I saw in
the newspaper press of the East and of the West the encomiums that
were passed by the correspondents upon the deportment and character of
the representatives of Indiana at Chicago, I was greatly pleased. When
I heard of their affectionate devotion, of their discreet and wise
presentation of the claims of Indiana, I was still further gratified.
And if the result of that convention had been, as it well might have
been if individuals had only been considered in the contest that was
there waged, the selection for this high place of some one other
than myself, I should have felt that the devoted interest, the wise
and faithful presentation by the Indiana delegation of the Indiana
situation was such that the failure to yield to their argument would
still have left me crowned with the highest crown that can be placed
upon mortal brow--the affection and confidence and discreet support
of my friends from Indiana. [Cries of "Good!" "Good!"] I am glad that
the despatches said of them, and truly said, that they conducted their
canvass with that gentle and respectful regard to the interests and
character of the others who were named for this high place, and that
they came home without those regrets which must have followed if this
victory had been won at the expense of any of those noble names that
were presented for the suffrage of the convention.
I do not feel at all that in selecting the candidate who was chosen
regard was had simply to the individual equipment and qualifications
for the duties of this high office. I feel sure that if the convention
had felt free to regard these things only, some other of those
distinguished men, old-time leaders of the Republican party, Blaine,
or Sherman, or Allison, or some of the others named--would have been
chosen in preference to me. I feel that it was the situation in
Indiana and its relation to the campaign that was impending rather
than the personal equipment or qualifications of the candidate that
was chosen that turned the choice of the convention in our direction.
We are here to-night to thank those members of the convention who
have done us the honor to pay our capital a visit to-night not only
for this visit, but for the support and interest which they took in
the Indiana candidacy in the convention at Chicago. I thank you again
for gathering here to-night. I am sure that in this demonstration
you give evidence that the interest in this campaign will not flag
until the election has determined the result of the contest. And I
feel sure, too, my fellow-citizens, that we have joined now a contest
of great principles, and that the armies which are to fight out this
great contest before the American people will encamp upon the high
plains of principle, and not in the low swamps of personal defamation
or detraction. [Cries of "Hear!" "Hear!" and "Good!"] Again I thank
you for the compliment of your presence here to-night, and bid you
good-night. [Great cheering.]
INDIANAPOLIS, JUNE 30.
During the afternoon representatives of the Marquette Club of
Chicago--of which General Harrison is an honorary member--called to
present a set of congratulatory resolutions adopted by the club. The
committee comprised Geo. V. Lauman, H. D. Crocker, W. S. Gilbert, E. B.
Gould, H. M. Kingman and J. S. Moore.
One of the resolutions recited that
"The Marquette Club of Chicago takes great pride in the fact that within
its walls and at its board was fired the first gun in Chicago of that
memorable contest which has culminated in the nomination of its most
honored member, General Benjamin Harrison, to fill the highest office
within the gift of the American people."
General Harrison in response said:
_Gentlemen of the Marquette Club_--I sincerely thank you for the
congratulations of the Marquette Club of Chicago. I well recollect
the evening I spent with you last February, and I remember how
favorably your club impressed me at that time as a body of active,
energetic young Republicans: not so much an organization for social
purposes as for active advancement of Republican principles in your
vicinity, and in the country as well. I thought I recognized in you
then an efficient body for work in the State of Illinois, one that
could in the coming campaign render signal service to the party whose
principles its members maintain. I rejoice in your coming to call on
me here, and I hope you will carry my sincere thanks to your members,
and make yourselves welcome at my home now and whenever you are in
Indianapolis.
On the evening of June 30 several thousand citizens, irrespective of
party, paid their respects to General Harrison; at the head of the
column marched four hundred veterans commanded by Moses G. McLain. Major
James L. Mitchell, a prominent Democrat, was spokesman for the veterans.
General Harrison, responding, said:
_Comrade Mitchell and Fellow-Soldiers_--I sincerely thank you for
this evidence of your respect and comradeship. I am very certain that
there is no class whose confidence and respect I more highly prize or
more earnestly covet than that of the soldiers who, in the great war
from 1861 to 1865, upheld the loved banner of our country and brought
it home in honor. The comradeship of the war will never end until our
lives end. The fires in which our friendship was riveted and welded
were too hot for the bond ever to be broken. We sympathize with each
other in the glory of the common cause for which we fought. We went,
not as partisans, but as patriots, into the strife which involved
the national life. I am sure that no army was ever assembled in the
world's history that was gathered from higher impulses than the army
of the Union. [Cries of "Right!" "Right!"]
It was no sordid impulse, no hope of spoils that induced these men
to sunder the tender associations of home and forsake their business
pursuits to look into the grim face of death with unblanched cheeks
and firm and resolute eyes. They are the kind of men who draw their
impulses from the high springs of truth and duty. The army was great
in its assembling. It came with an impulse that was majestic and
terrible. It was as great in its muster-out as in the brilliant work
which had been done in the field. When the war was over the soldier
was not left at the tavern. Every man had in some humble place a chair
by some fireside where he was loved and towards which his heart went
forward with a quick step. [Applause.]
And so this great army that had rallied for the defence and
preservation of the country was disbanded without tumult or riot or
any public disturbance. It had covered the country with the mantle of
its protection when it needed it, as the snows of spring cover the
early vegetation, and when the warm sun of peace shone upon it, it
disappeared as the snow sinks into the earth to refresh and vivify
the summer growth. They found their homes; they carried their brawn
and intellect into all the pursuits of peace to stimulate them and
lift them up; they added their great impulse to that great wave of
prosperity which has swept over our country ever since. [Applause.]
But in nothing was this war greater than in that it led a race into
freedom and brought those whom we had conquered in the struggle
into the full enjoyment of a restored citizenship, and shared again
with them the responsibilities and duties of a restored government.
[Applause.]
I thank you to-night most sincerely for this evidence of your
comradeship. I thank, specially, those friends who differ with me in
their political views, that they have put these things aside to-night,
and have come here to give me a comrade's greeting. [Applause.] May I
have the privilege now, without detaining you longer, of taking by the
hand every soldier here? [Applause.]
Later, the same evening, the Harrison League of Indianapolis, numbering
three hundred colored men, assembled on the lawn and congratulated the
Republican nominee through its spokesman, Mr. Ben D. Bagby. General
Harrison's response was as follows:
_Mr. Bagby and Gentlemen of the Harrison Club_--I assure you that I
have a sincere respect for, and a very deep interest in, the colored
people of the United States. My memory, as a boy, goes back to the
time when slavery existed in the Southern States. I was born upon the
Ohio River, which was the boundary between the free State of Ohio and
the slave State of Kentucky. Some of my earliest recollections relate
to the stirring and dramatic interest which was now and then excited
by the pursuit of an escaping slave for the hope of offered rewards.