tempting invitation to the settler. I have heard it suggested that one
reason why you have outstripped Indiana in population was because the
men who were afraid of the "deadening" passed over us to seek your
treeless plains. [Applause.] But you have not been contented to be
only an agricultural community. You have developed your manufactures
and mechanical industries until now, if my recollection is not at
fault, for every two persons engaged in agricultural labor you have
one engaged in manufacturing, in the mechanical arts and mining. It is
this subdivision of labor, these diversified industries, that make
Illinois take rank so near the head among the States. By this home
interchange of the products of the farm and shop, made possible by our
protective system, Illinois has been able to attain her proud position
in the union of the States. Shall we continue a policy that has
wrought so marvellously since the war in the development of all those
States that have given hospitable access to manufacturing capital and
to the brawn and skill of the workingman? [Cries of "Good! good!" and
cheers.]
From Louisville, Ky., came 1,000 enthusiastic visitors, led by the Hon.
Wm. E. Riley, Hon. R. R. Glover, Hon. Albert Scott, W. W. Huffman, W. M.
Collins, M. E. Malone, and J. J. Jonson. A. E. Willson, of Louisville,
delivered a stirring address on behalf of the Republicans of Kentucky,
to which General Harrison responded as follows:
_My Kentucky Friends_--There have been larger delegations assembled
about this platform, but there has been none that has in a higher
degree attracted my interest or touched my heart. [Applause.] It
has been quite one thing to be a Republican in Illinois and quite
another to be a Republican in Kentucky. [Applause.] Not the victors
only in a good fight deserve a crown; those who fight well and are
beaten and fight again, as you have done, deserve a crown, though
victory never yet has perched on your banner. [A voice, "It will perch
there, though, don't you forget it!"] Yes, it will come, for the
bud of victory is always in the truth. I will not treat you to-day
to any statistics from the census reports [laughter], nor enter the
attractive field of the history of your great State. I have believed
that these visiting delegations were always well advised as to the
history and statistics of their respective States. [Laughter.] If
this trust has been misplaced in other cases, certainly Kentuckians
can be trusted to remember and perhaps to tell all that is noble in
the thrilling history of their great State. [Great applause.] Your
history is very full of romantic and thrilling adventure and of
instances of individual heroism. Your people have always been proud,
chivalric, and brave. In the late war for the Union, spite of all
distraction and defection, Kentucky stood by the old flag. [Applause.]
And now that the war is over and its bitter memory is forgotten,
there is not one, I hope, in all your borders, who does not bless the
outcome of that great struggle. [Applause.] Surely there are none in
Kentucky who do not rejoice that the beautiful river is not a river
of division. [Great applause.] And now what hinders that Kentucky
shall step forward in the great industrial rivalry between the
States? Is there not, as your spokesman has suggested, in the early
and thorough instruction which the people of Kentucky received from
the mouth of your matchless orator, Henry Clay [applause], a power
that shall yet and speedily bring back Kentucky to the support of our
protective system? [Applause.] Can the old Whigs, who so reverently
received from the lips of Clay the gospel of protection, much longer
support a revenue policy that they know to be inimical to our national
interests? If when Kentucky was a slave State she found a protective
tariff promoted the prosperity of her people, what greater things will
the same policy not do for her as a free State? She has now opened
her hospitable doors to skilled labor; her coal and metals and hemp
invite its transforming touch. Why should she not speedily find great
manufacturing cities spring up in her beautiful valleys? Shall any old
prejudice spoil this hopeful vision? [Great applause.] I remember that
Kentucky agitated for seven years and held nine conventions before
she secured a separate statehood. May I not appeal to the children of
those brave settlers who, when but few in number, composed of distant
and feeble settlements, were received into the Union of States, to
show their chivalry and love of justice by uniting with us in the
demand that Dakota and Washington shall be admitted? [Applause.] Does
not your own story shame those who represent you in the halls of
Congress and who bar the door against communities whose numbers and
resources so vastly outreach what you possessed when you were admitted
to statehood? We look hopefully to Kentucky. The State of Henry Clay
and Abraham Lincoln [enthusiastic cheering] cannot be much longer
forgetful [cries of "No! no!"] of the teachings of those great leaders
of thought.
I believe that Kentucky will place herself soon upon the side of the
truth upon these great questions. [A voice, "We believe it!" Another
voice, "We will keep them out of Indiana, anyhow!" Great cheering.]
Thank you. There is no better way that I know of to keep one
detachment of an army from re-enforcing another than by giving that
detachment all it can do in its own field. [Applause and laughter.]
The last visitors of the day were 200 delegates, in attendance upon
the sessions of the National Association of Union Ex-Prisoners of War.
They were led by Gen. W. H. Powell, of Belleville, Iowa, President of
the Association; E. H. Williams, of Indianapolis, Vice-President;
Chaplain C. C. McCabe, New York City; Historian Frank E. Moran,
Philadelphia; President-elect Thomas H. McKee and Secretary L. P.
Williams, Washington, D. C.; S. N. Long, of New Jersey, and J. W. Green,
of Ohio. Every one of the visiting veterans had undergone imprisonment
at Andersonville, Libby, or some less noted Southern prison. Conspicuous
among them was Gen. B. F. Kelly, of Virginia, the first Union officer
wounded in the rebellion, and J. A. January, of Illinois, who amputated
both his own feet while in Libby Prison, to prevent gangrene spreading.
General Powell, in a brief address, touchingly referred to the perils
and hardships they had survived. General Harrison was greatly affected
by the scene--the veterans grouped closely about him in his own house.
He paused a moment in silence, then in a low, sympathetic voice, said:
_General Powell and Comrades_--I am always touched when I meet
either with those who stood near about me in the service, or those who
shared the general comradeship of the war. It seems to me that the
wild exhilaration which in the earlier reunions we often saw is very
much sobered as we come together now. I have realized in meeting with
my own regiment this fall that it was a time when one felt the touches
of the pathetic. And yet there was a glow of satisfaction in being
together again and in thinking of what was and what is. The annals of
the war fail to furnish a sadder story than that of the host of Union
veterans who suffered war's greatest hardship--captivity. The story of
the rebel prison pens was one of grim horror. In the field our armies,
always brave, were generally always chivalric and humane. But the
treatment of the captured Union soldiers surpassed in fiendish cruelty
the best achievements of the savage. It is the black spot without any
lining of silver or any touch of human nature. But you have cause for
congratulation that you have been spared to the glory and prosperity
that your services and sufferings have brought to the Nation. The
most vivid imagination has drawn no picture of the full meaning to
our people and to the world of these simple words--we saved the
Union, perpetuated free government, and abolished slavery. [Prolonged
applause.]
INDIANAPOLIS, SEPTEMBER 19.
Five delegations paid their respects to the Republican nominee this day.
The first was sixty veterans of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry--General
J. P. Shanks' old regiment. Colonel Lewis Reeves, of Mentone, Ind.,
made the address on behalf of the veterans, to which General Harrison
responded:
_Comrades_--I recall the services of your gallant regiment.
I welcome you as men who had as honorable a part in the great
achievements of the Union army as any in the Civil War. I congratulate
you that you have been spared to see the fruits of your labors and
sacrifices. In these meetings the thought of those who did not live to
see the end of the bloody struggle is always present. Their honor also
is in our keeping. I am glad to know that at last in our State a shaft
is being lifted to the honor of the Indiana soldier. It will not only
keep alive a worthy memory, but it will instil patriotism into our
children. I thank you for this friendly visit. [Cheers.]
From Illinois came two large delegations--that from Iroquois County
numbering 1,000, commanded by Chief Marshal Slattery, of Onargo. A
Tippecanoe club of veterans headed their column, led by Chairman Owen,
followed by the John A. Logan Club, commanded by Capt. A. L. Whitehall.
Prominent in the delegation were State Senator Secrist, Judge S. G.
Bovie, B. F. Price, J. F. Ireland, A. Powell, James Woodworth, G.
B. Joiner, W. M. Coney, Dr. J. H. Gillam, Dr. Scull, editors E. A.
Nye and M. S. Taliaferro, of Watseka; also W. H. Howe, of Braidwood,
father of the "Drummer Boy of Vicksburg." Robert Meredith, of Onargo,
spoke on behalf of the colored members of the delegation, and Capt.
R. W. Hilscher, of Watseka, for the veterans. La Porte County, Ind.,
was represented by a large delegation, the Michigan City detachment
commanded by Major Biddle, Uriah Culbert, and Major Wood. The Laporte
City clubs were led by Wm. C. Weir, Marshal of the delegation. Other
prominent members were S. M. Closser, W. C. Miller, Frank E. Osborn,
J. N. Whitehead, M. L. Bramhall, Nelson Larzen, Samuel Bagley, Brook
Travis, Wm. Hastings, S. A. Rose, Swan Peterson, and editor Sonneborn.
The presentation address was made by Col. J. W. Crumpacker, of Laporte.
To these several addresses General Harrison responded:
_My Illinois and my Indiana Friends_--If I needed any stimulus to
duty, or to have my impression of the dignity and responsibility of
representative office increased, I should find it in such assemblies
as these and in the kind and thoughtful words which have been
addressed to me in your behalf. The American people under our system
of government have their public interests in their own keeping. All
laws and proclamations may be revoked or repealed by them. They will
be called on in November to mark out the revenue policy for our
Government by choosing public officers pledged to the principles
which a majority of our people approve. Fortunately you have now an
issue very clearly drawn and very easy to be understood. In previous
campaigns we have not quite known where our adversaries stood. Now we
do know. Our Democratic friends say a protective tariff is robbery.
You see this written at the head of campaign tracts circulated
by their committees. You hear it said in the public speeches of
their leaders. You have not once, I think, in the campaign heard
any Democratic speaker admit that even a low protective tariff was
desirable. Those who, like Mr. Randall, have in former campaigns
been used to allay the apprehension of our working people by talking
protection have been silenced. On the other hand, the Republican party
declares by its platform and by its speakers that a protective tariff
is wise and necessary. There is the issue. Make your own choice. If
you approve by your votes the doctrine that a protective tariff is
public robbery, you will expect your representatives to stop this
public robbery, and if they are faithful they will do it; not seven
per cent. of it, but all of it. [Applause and cries of "That's it!"]
So that I beg you all to recollect that you will vote this fall for
or against the principle of protection. You are invited to a feast of
cheapness. You are promised foreign-made goods at very low prices,
and domestic competing goods, if any are made, at the same low rates.
But do not forget that the spectre of low wages will also attend the
feast. [Applause and cries of "That's so!"] Inevitably, as certain as
the night follows the day, the adoption of this policy means lower
wages. Choose, then, and do not forget that this cheapening process
may be pushed so far as to involve the cheapening of human life and
the loss of human happiness. [Applause.]
And now a word about the surplus in the Treasury. Our Democratic
friends did not know what else to do with it, and so they have
deposited it in certain national banks. The Government gets no
interest upon it, but it is loaned out by the banks to our citizens at
interest. Our income is more than our current expenses. There is no
authority for the Secretary of the Treasury to lend the money, and so
only three methods of dealing with it presented themselves, under the
law--first, to lock it up in the Treasury vaults; second, to deposit
it in the banks without interest; or, third, to use it in the purchase
of bonds not yet due. The objection to the first method was that the
withdrawal of so large a sum might result in a monetary stringency;
the second obviated this objection by allowing the banks to put the
money in circulation; but neither method resulted in any advantage to
the Government.
As to it the money was dead; only the banks received interest for
its use. By the third method the money would be returned to the
channels of trade and the Government would make the difference between
the premium paid for the bond and the interest that the bonds would
draw if left outstanding until they matured. If a Government bond
at the market premium is a good investment for a capitalist who is
free to use his money as he pleases, can it be bad finance for the
Government, having money that it cannot use in any other way, to use
it in buying up its bonds? [Great applause.] It is not whether we will
purposely raise money to buy our bonds at a premium--no one would
advise that--but will we so use a surplus that we have on hand and
cannot lawfully pay out in any other way? Do our Democratic friends
propose to give the banks the free use of it until our bonds mature,
or do they propose to reduce our annual income below our expenditure
by a revision of the tariff until this surplus is used, and then
revise the tariff again to restore the equilibriums? [Great applause.]
I welcome the presence to-day of these ladies of your households. We
should not forget that we have working-women in America. [Applause and
cries of "Good! good!"] None more than they are interested in this
policy of protection which we advocate. If want and hard conditions
come into the home, the women bear a full share. [Applause.] And now
I have been tempted to speak more at length than I had intended.
I thank you for this cordial manifestation of your confidence and
respect. [Cheers.]
The fourth delegation of the day came from Grundy County, Illinois,
headed by the Logan Club of Morris. An enthusiastic member of this
delegation was the venerable Geo. P. Augustine, of Braceville,
Ill., aged 77, who in the summer of 1840 employed the boy "Jimmie"
Garfield--afterward President of the United States--to ride his horses
on the tow-path of the Ohio canal between Portsmouth and Cleveland.
Hon. P. C. Hayes, of Morris, was spokesman for the delegation. General
Harrison said:
_General Hayes and my Illinois Friends_--I regret that your arrival
was postponed so long as to make it impossible for you to meet with
the other friends from your State who, a little while ago, assembled
about the platform. I thank you for the kind feelings that prompted
you to come, and for the generous things General Hayes has said in
your behalf. There is little that I can say and little that I can
appropriately do to promote the success of the Republican principles.
A campaign that enlists the earnest and active co-operation of the
individual voters will have a safe issue. I am glad to see in your
presence an evidence that in your locality this individual interest
is felt. [Applause.] But popular assemblies, public debate, and
conventions are all an empty mockery unless, when the debate is
closed, the election is so conducted that every elector shall have
an equal and full influence in determining the result. That is our
compact of government. [Cheers.] I thank you again for your great
kindness, and it will now give me pleasure to accede to the suggestion
of General Hayes and take each of you by the hand.
The fifth and last delegation of the day reached the Harrison residence
in the evening, and comprised 200 survivors of the Second and Ninth
Indiana Cavalry and the Twenty-sixth Indiana Infantry. Col. John A.
Bridgland, the old commander of the Second Cavalry, spoke on behalf of
the veterans. General Harrison replied:
_Colonel Bridgland and Comrades_--I am fast losing my faith in men.
[Laughter.] This morning a representative or two of this regiment
called upon me and made an arrangement that I should receive you at
this hour. It was expressly stipulated--though I took no security
[laughter]--that there should be no speech-making at all. Now I find
myself formally introduced to you and under the necessity of talking
to you. [Laughter.] I am under so much stress in this way, from day
to day, that I am really getting to be a little timid when I see a
corporal's guard together anywhere, for fear they will want a speech.
[Laughter.] And even at home, when I sit down at the table with my
family, I have some apprehensions lest some one may propose a toast
and insist that I shall respond. [Laughter.]
I remember that the Second Indiana Cavalry was the first full
cavalry regiment I ever saw. I saw it marching through Washington
Street from the windows of my law office; and as I watched the long
line drawing itself through the street, it seemed to me the call
for troops might stop; that there were certainly enough men and
horses there to put down the rebellion. [Laughter.] It is clear I
did not rightly measure the capacities of a cavalry regiment, or the
dimensions of the rebellion. [Laughter.] I am glad to see you here
to-day. You come as soldiers, and I greet you as comrades. I will not
allude to political topics, on which any of us might differ. [A voice,
"There ain't any differences!"] Of course, the members of the Ninth
Cavalry and the Twenty-sixth Infantry must understand I am speaking
to all my comrades. [A voice, "The Twenty-sixth were waiting for the
cavalry to get out of the way!" Laughter.] Well, during the war you
were willing to wait, weren't you? [Hearty laughter.] I was going to
say that I had an express promise from Mr. Adams, of the Twenty-sixth
Indiana, there should be no speaking on the occasion of your visit.
[Laughter.] Perhaps his comrades of the Twenty-sixth will say I had
not sufficient reason for so thinking, as we all know that he is given
to joking. [Laughter.] I will be pleased now to meet each of you
personally.
INDIANAPOLIS, SEPTEMBER 20.
On September 20 a distinguished delegation arrived from Cincinnati,
for the purpose of inviting General and Mrs. Harrison to attend the
Cincinnati Exposition. The committee, representing the Board of
Commissioners of the Exposition, was headed by Chairman Goodale and
President Allison and wife, accompanied by Mayor Amor Smith and wife,
Comptroller E. P. Eshelby and wife, Hon. John B. Peaslee, Mrs. and Miss
Devereaux, C. H. Rockwell and wife, and others.
In the evening 300 gentlemen, exhibiting implements and agricultural
machinery at the State Fair--then in progress--called on General
Harrison. John C. Wingate, of Montgomery County, was their spokesman.
Responding to their greeting the General said:
_My Friends_--When I was asked yesterday whether it would be
agreeable to me to see about one hundred gentlemen who were here in
attendance upon the Indiana State Fair and connected with the exhibit
of machinery, I was assured their call would be of the most informal
character--that they would simply visit me at my home and spend a few
moments socially. [Laughter.] Until I heard the music of your band and
saw the torchlights, that was my understanding of what was in store
for me this evening. I am again the victim of a misunderstanding.
[Laughter and applause.] Still, though my one hundred guests have been
multiplied several times, and though I find myself compelled to speak
to you en masse rather than individually, I am glad to see you. I
thank you for your visit, and for the cordial terms in which you have
addressed me. What your speaker has said as to the favorable condition
of our working people is true; and we are fortunate in the fact that
we do not need to depend for our evidence on statistics or the reports
of those who casually visit the countries of the Old World. There is
probably not a shop represented here that has not among its workingmen
those who have tried the conditions of life in the old country, and
are able to speak from personal experience. It cannot be doubted that
our American system of levying discriminating duties upon competing
foreign products has much to do with the better condition of our
working people. I welcome you as representatives of one of the great
industries of our country. The demands of the farm have been met by
the ingenuity of your shops. The improvement in farm machinery within
my own recollection has been marvellous. The scythe and the cradle
still held control in the harvest field when I first went out to
carry the noon meal to the workmen. Afterward it sometimes fell to my
lot in the hay-field to drive one of the old-fashioned combination
reapers and mowers. It was a great advance over the scythe and cradle,
and yet it was heavy and clumsy--a very horse-killer. [Laughter and
applause.] When the drivers struck a stump the horse had no power
over the machine in either direction. Now these machines have been so
lightened and improved that they are the perfection of mechanism. Your
inventive genius has responded to the necessities of the farm until
that which was drudgery has become light and easy. I thank you again
for your call, and will be glad to meet personally those strangers who
are here. [Applause.]
INDIANAPOLIS, SEPTEMBER 21.
Randolph and Jay counties, Indiana, contributed 3,000 visitors on
September 21. At the head of the Randolph column marched 200 members
of the "Old Men's Tippecanoe Club," of Winchester, led by Marshals J.
B. Ross, A. J. Stakebake, and Auditor Cranor. Other leaders in the
delegation were Mayor F. H. Bowen, Hon. Theo. Shockley, Geo. Patchell,
W. S. Ensign, Frank Parker, Samuel Bell, Dr. G. Rynard, and Washington
Smith, of Union City; J. W. Macy, J. S. Engle, Reverdy Puckett, A. C.
Beeson, and John E. Markle, of Winchester.
The Jay County contingent was led by James A. Russell, B. D. Halfhill,
Isaac McKinney, J. W. Williams, Eli Clark, J. C. Andrews, T. J.
Cartwright, and Albert Martin. L. C. Hauseman was spokesman for the
Hoosiers. Gen. Stone, of Randolph, spoke on behalf of the veterans.
From Dayton, Ohio, came 500 visitors, including 60 veterans of the
campaign of '40, led by Secretary Edgar. Marshal James Applegate, Mr.
Eckley, Dr. J. A. Ronspert, and W. R. Knaub were other leaders of the
Ohio contingent. Col. John G. Lowe was their speaker, and referred to
the fact that Gen. Harrison "had won his education and Miss Caroline M.
Scott, now his estimable wife, when a resident of Ohio."
To these addresses the General, responding, said: