conclusions. How do they do it? [Cries, "They don't; they can't!"]
By endeavoring to prevent and poison the minds of our working people
by utterly false and scandalous campaign stories. [Enthusiastic
cheering.] Let me say in conclusion that I believe the managers of
the Democratic campaign greatly underestimate the intelligence,
the sense of decency, and the love of fair play that prevail among
out people. [Great cheering.] You will pardon further remark. The
evening is drawing on, and many of you, I am sure, have been made
uncomfortable by your muddy walk through the streets of our city. I
cannot omit, however, to thank my friends from Lafayette for this
beautiful floral tribute which they have placed at my side--an emblem
of their profession. [Floral gripsack.] I accept it gratefully, and
very highly appreciate it as a mark of the confidence and respect of
the intelligent body of my own fellow-citizens of Indiana. [Great
cheering.]
INDIANAPOLIS, OCTOBER 22.
Three thousand enthusiastic citizens of Springfield, Clarke County,
Ohio, paid their respects to the Republican nominee on this date, under
the auspices of the Republican White Hat Brigade, Gen. A. S. Bushnell,
Commander; E. T. Thomes, Vice-Commander; S. J. Wilkerson, Chief of
Staff; J. W. R. Cline, Sam'l Hoffman, and J. H. Arbogast, Aids. The
brigade, comprising 2,300 voters, each wearing a white beaver hat, was
divided into three regiments and accompanied by six excellent bands.
The First Regiment was commanded by Col. J. A. Dickus, Lieut.-Col.
Geo. Lentz, Major Henry Harper. Second Regiment--Col. Wm. F. Bakhaus,
Lieut.-Col. Darwin Pierce, Major Wm. Robinson. Third Regiment--Col.
H. N. Taylor, Lieut.-Col. Henry Hains, Major P. M. Hawk. When General
Harrison entered the hall every Buckeye stood on his chair and
frantically waved his high hat in one hand and a flag in the other.
General Bushnell made the presentation address, to which General
Harrison responded as follows:
_General Bushnell and my Ohio Friends_--The people of Clarke
County owed me a visit. I recall, with great pleasure, two occasions
when I visited your prosperous county and the rich and busy city
of Springfield to speak in behalf of the Republican party and its
candidates. I recall with pleasure the cordiality with which I was
received by your people. [Applause.] I noted then the intelligent
interest manifested by the masses of your people in public questions,
and the enthusiasm with which you rallied to the defense of Republican
principles. [Cheers.] We are glad to welcome you to Indiana, but
regret that this inclement day and our muddy streets have thrown
about your visit so many incidents of discomfort. I hope that you
will not allow these incidents to give you an unfavorable impression
of the beautiful capital city of Indiana. [Cheers and cries of "We
won't!"] Our people are glad to have this added evidence of the
interest which the people of your State take in the question which
the issue of this campaign will settle. I say settle, because I
believe that the question of the life of protective tariff system is
now very distinctly presented. The enemies of the system have left
their ambuscades and taken to the open field, and we are to have a
decisive battle over this question. [Great cheers.] I believe that
never before, in any campaign, has this question been so fully and
ably discussed in the hearing of our people. [Cheers.] There can
be found nowhere in this country a better illustration of what a
great manufacturing centre will do for the farmer in enhancing the
value of his farm and in furnishing a home market for his products
than the city of Springfield. [Cheers.] Your city and county--your
merchants and farmers--are prosperous, because you have a great body
of well-paid wage-earners in your great shops and factories. [Cheers.]
It is the policy of the Republican party to multiply, all through our
agricultural regions, such centres of manufacturing industries as
Springfield. [Cheers.] It is conceded that to all our working people,
all those who earn their subsistence by toil, this campaign involves
most important interests. I will not pursue in its details this
question. You have heard it discussed, and most of you, perhaps all,
have made up your conclusions. It is of such importance as, wholly
without respect to the candidate who may by chance represent it, to
be worthy of the intelligent and earnest thought and vigorous effort
of every American citizen. [Cheers.] Let me now only thank you for
this most remarkable evidence of the interest of your people. We have
rarely, if it all, seen here, in this long procession of delegations,
one that equalled that which I see before me now. [Great cheering.]
At the conclusion of General Harrison's speech General Bushnell
presented him with a highly polished horse-shoe, manufactured from
American steel by S. B. Thomas, formerly an Englishman. Repeated calls
for Mr. Thomas brought that gentleman out, and there was another
prolonged demonstration as General Harrison cordially clasped his hand
and said:
I accept with pleasure this product of the skill and industry of
one who, out of his own experience, can speak of the benefits of a
protective tariff. One who sought our land because it offered better
wages and better hopes [cheers], and who in his life here has been
able to contrast the condition of working people in England and in
America. [Cheers.]
INDIANAPOLIS, OCTOBER 25.
During the campaign in Indiana several prominent labor representatives
from the East canvassed the State in advocacy of a protective tariff
and the Republican ticket. Chief among these speakers were Charles H.
Litchman, of Massachusetts, ex-Secretary-General of the Knights of
Labor; John J. Jarrett, Hon. Henry Hall, Eccles Robinson, and Robert
D. Layton, of Pennsylvania, and Jeremiah Murphy, of New York. These
gentlemen, assisted by John R. Rankin, Marshall C. Woods, and other
prominent Indiana labor leaders, signalized the conclusion of their
campaign work by a notable workingmen's demonstration on October 25.
About 10,000 voters from over the State participated in the parade, led
by Chief Marshal John R. Rankin, assisted by C. A. Rodney, George E.
Clarke, Wm. R. Mounts, John Baker, Fred Andler, Wm. H. Baughmier, Geo.
E. Perry, Lewis Rathbaust, J. N. Loop, Wm. Cook, Gustave Schneider, John
W. Browning, A. Raphel, and Michael Bamberger.
General Harrison, with Hon. William McKinley, Jr., of Ohio, Senator John
C. Spooner, of Wisconsin, and Senator Henry W. Blair, of New Hampshire,
reviewed the column and later attended a great meeting at Tomlinson
Hall. Many ladies occupied seats on the stage, among them Mrs. Harrison.
When General Harrison appeared, escorted by Secretary Litchman, the vast
audience arose and cheered frantically for full five minutes.
L. W. McDaniels, a prominent member of the Typographical Union,
presided, and in his address among other things said:
We are here to repudiate the authority claimed by a few professional
men to speak for the wage-workers of Indiana, to deny the truthfulness
of their statements, and to contradict the assertion that there is
other than the kindliest feeling among the workingmen of Indiana
toward General Harrison. While General Harrison has never acted the
blatant demagogue by making loud professions, yet we have had evidence
of his earnest sympathy and sincere friendship on more than one
occasion, notably his advocacy while in the Senate of the bill making
arbitration the means of settlement of labor troubles and excluding
contract labor from our shores. Also the bill prohibiting the use of
convict labor on Government works, or the purchasing by the Government
of any of the products of convict labor.
As General Harrison arose to respond there was another prolonged
outbreak; he appeared greatly moved, and delivered probably his most
earnest speech of the campaign. The demonstrations of approval were very
marked, especially as the General warmed up to his denials of matters
suggested by Chairman McDaniels' remarks. He said:
_Mr. McDaniels and my Friends_--I have seen, during this
busy summer, many earnest and demonstrative assemblages of my
fellow-citizens. I have listened to many addresses full of the kindest
expressions toward me personally; but, among them all, none have been
more grateful to me, none have more deeply touched me than this great
assemblage of the workingmen of Indiana and these kind words which
have been addressed to me in your behalf. [Great cheering.] There
are reasons why this should be so that will readily occur to your
minds, and to some of which Mr. McDaniels has alluded. Early in this
campaign certain people, claiming to speak for the laboring men, but
really in the employ of the Democratic campaign managers, promulgated
through the newspaper press and by campaign publications that were not
given the open endorsement of the Democratic campaign managers, but
were paid for by their funds and circulated under their auspices, a
number of false and scandalous stories relating to my attitude toward
organized labor. [Great and prolonged cheering.] The purpose of all
these stories was to poison the minds of the workingmen against the
candidate of the party that stands in this campaign for the principle
of protection to American labor. [Great cheering.] I have only once,
in all the addresses I have made to my fellow-citizens, alluded to
these malicious and scandalous stories, but, now and in the presence
of this great gathering of workingmen, I do pronounce them to be
utterly false. [Tumultuous cheering, waving of flags and banners,
continued for several minutes.] The story that I ever said that one
dollar a day was enough for a workingman, with all its accompaniments
and appendages, is not a perversion of anything I ever said--it is a
false creation. [Enthusiastic cheering.] I will not follow in detail
this long catalogue of campaign slanders, but will only add that it is
equally false that anywhere or at any time I ever spoke disparagingly
of my fellow-citizens of Irish nativity or descent. Many of them
are now enrolling themselves on the side of protection for American
labor--this created the necessity for the story. [Cheers.] I want
to say again that those who pitch a campaign upon so low a level
greatly underestimate the intelligence, the sense of decency, and
the love of fair play of the American people. [Prolonged cheering.]
I said to one of the first delegations that visited me that this was
a contest of great principles; that it would be fought out upon the
high plains of truth, and not in the swamps of slander and defamation.
[Great cheering.] Those who will encamp their army in the swamp will
abandon the victory to the army that is on the heights. [Cheers.]
The Republican party stands to-day as the bulwark and defense of the
wage-earners of this country against a competition which may reduce
American wages even below the standard they falsely impute to my
suggestion. [Cheers.]
There are two very plain facts that I have often stated--and others
more forcibly than I--that it seems to me should be conclusive with
the wage-earners of America. The policy of the Democratic party--the
revision of our tariff laws as indicated by the Democratic party,
a revenue-only tariff, or progressive free trade--means a vast and
sudden increase of importations. Is there a man here so dull as not to
know that this means diminished work in our American shops? [Cheers
and cries of "No, no!"] If some one says that labor is not fully
employed now, do you hope it will be more fully employed when you
have transferred one-third of the work done in our shops to foreign
workshops? [Cries of "No, no!"] If some one tells me that labor is not
sufficiently rewarded here, does he hope to have its rewards increased
by striking down our protective duties and compelling our workmen to
compete with the underpaid labor of Europe? [Cheers.]
I conclude by saying that less work and lower wages are the
inevitable result of the triumph of the principles advocated by the
Democratic party. [Cheers.]
And now you will excuse further speech from me. [Cries of "Go
on!"] There are here several distinguished advocates of Republican
principles. You will be permitted to hear now, I understand, from the
Hon. Henry W. Blair, a Senator from the State of New Hampshire, who
has been so long at the head of the Committee on Education and Labor
in the United States Senate; and to-night in this hall you will be
permitted to listen to the Hon. William McKinley, Jr., of Ohio. Now
will you allow me again to thank you out of a full heart for this
cordial tender of your confidence and respect. I felt that in return I
could not omit to say what I have said, not because you needed to be
assured of my friendliness, but in recognition of a confidence that
falsehood and slander could not shake. I have not thought it in good
taste to make many personal references in my public addresses. If any
one thinks it necessary that a comparison should be instituted between
the candidates of the two great parties as to their friendliness to
the reforms demanded by organized labor, I must leave others to make
it. [Great cheering.]
INDIANAPOLIS, OCTOBER 27.
The railroad men of Indiana held their last gathering of the great
campaign on Saturday night, October 27. Its estimated 7,000 voters
participated in their parade under Chief Marshal A. D. Shaw and
Chief of Staff Geo. Butler. The Porter Flambeau Club, the Harrison
Zouaves, and 1,000 members of the Indianapolis Railroad Club--each
man carrying a colored lantern--escorted the visiting organizations.
General Harrison and the Hon. W. R. McKeen, of Terre Haute, reviewed
the brilliant procession from the balcony of the New-Denison and then
repaired to Tomlinson Hall, where the General's arrival was signalized
by an extraordinary demonstration. Chairman Finch introduced Hon.
Mathew O'Doherty, of Louisville, and A. F. Potts, of Indianapolis, who
addressed the meeting later in the evening.
General Harrison was the first speaker. He said:
_My Friends of the Railroad Republican Clubs_--Before your committee
waited upon me to request my presence here to-night I had resolutely
determined that I would not make another address in this campaign. But
when they presented their suggestion that I should meet my railroad
friends, I said to them--the kindness which has been shown to me from
an early period in this campaign by the railroad men of Indiana has
been so conspicuous and so cordial that I could not deny any request
that is presented in their name. [Cheers.] And so I am here to-night,
not to speak upon any political topic, but only to express, if I
can find words to express, the deep and earnest thankfulness I feel
toward you who have shown so much kindness and confidence in me.
[Cheers.] Very early in this campaign there were those who sought to
make a breach between you and me. You did not wait for my answer, but
you made answer yourselves. [Cheers.] And time and again you have
witnessed your faith that my disposition toward you and toward the men
who toil for their living was one of friendliness, and the principles
which I represented and have always advocated were those that promoted
the true interests of the workingmen of America. [Cheers.] I have
always believed and held that the prosperity of our country, that the
supremacy of its institutions and its social order all depended upon
our pursuing such a policy in our legislation that we should have in
America a class of workingmen earning adequate wages that would bring
comfort into their homes and maintain hope in their hearts. [Cheers.]
A despairing man, a man out of whose horizon the star of hope has
gone, is not a safe citizen in a republic. [Cheers.] Therefore I would
preserve against unfriendly competition the highest possible scale of
wages to our working people. [Great cheering.]
I know the stout hearts, I know the intelligence, I know the
enterprise of those men who man our railway trains and push them at
lightning speed through darkness and storm. I know the skill and
faithfulness of those who sit at the telegraph instrument, holding
in their watchfulness the safety of those who journey. I know the
fidelity of the men who conduct this business, which has grown to
be a system as fine and perfect as the finest product of mechanical
art. [Cheers.] And so I value to-night this evidence of your cordial
respect; and let me say that whatever may happen to me in the future,
whether I shall remain a citizen of Indianapolis to bear with you
the duties and responsibilities of private citizenship, or shall be
honored with office, I shall never forget this great demonstration of
your friendliness. [Prolonged cheers.]
General Harrison's unequalled campaign of speech-making closed on the
afternoon of this day with a visit from 80 young lady students of
Oxford, Ohio, College. They were organized as the "Carrie Harrison Club
of Oxford," and their visit was in honor of that distinguished lady,
who, 36 years before, as Miss Carrie Scott, graduated from this same
institution, of which her venerable father, the Rev. Dr. John W. Scott,
was the first President. The students were accompanied by President and
Mrs. Faye Walker and Professors Wilson, Fisher, and Dean.
Miss Nellie F. Deem, of Union City, Indiana, the youngest teacher in
the college, addressed Mrs. Harrison on behalf of the school. General
Harrison responded briefly in a happy little speech, in which he
expressed the pleasure felt by both over the visit of the Oxford young
ladies. He spoke of their mutual memories of the school and the happy
days spent in its charming surroundings, and said they both rejoiced
in the prosperity of the college, noted as it was for its scholarship
and the Christian training of its pupils. In conclusion he thanked them
for their visit, and assured them that the kind words spoken of Mrs.
Harrison and himself were fully appreciated and would be long remembered.
INDIANAPOLIS, NOVEMBER 5.
The last day of the great campaign brought a delegation of nearly 100
ladies and gentlemen from Terre Haute, Indiana, who came to deliver a
handsome present of a miniature silver-mounted plush chair, designated
the "Presidential Chair." They also brought Mrs. Harrison a valuable
flower-stand, voted to her at Germania Fair as the most popular lady. In
returning thanks for these gifts and their visit General Harrison said:
_Captain Ebel and Gentlemen_--I am very much obliged to you for this
friendly visit. It comes in the nature of a surprise, for it was only
a little while ago that I was advised of your intention. I thank you
for this gift. It is intended, I suppose, as a type, and a type of a
very useful article, one that does not come amiss in any station of
life. Only those who for months found their only convenient seat upon
a log or a cracker-box know what infinite luxury there was in even a
common Windsor chair. We are glad to welcome you to our home, and will
be glad to greet personally the members of this club and those ladies
who accompany you.
The General then, in behalf of Mrs. Harrison, thanked the ladies for
their present to her.
THE ELECTION, NOVEMBER, 1888.
It is not the purpose of this work to more than chronicle the result
of the great presidential campaign of 1888. The election fell on
November 6. Twenty States gave the Republican candidate 233 votes in the
Electoral College, and 18 States cast 168 votes for Mr. Cleveland, the
Democratic candidate. The total vote cast in the 38 States, for the 7
electoral tickets, was 11,386,632, of which General Harrison received
5,440,551. The Republican electoral ticket was chosen in Indiana by a
plurality of 2,392 votes.
When it became evident that General Harrison had won the election a
demonstration without parallel was inaugurated at Indianapolis and
continued three days. The exciting street parades and gatherings
witnessed at the time of his nomination were re-enacted with tenfold
energy and enthusiasm. Delegations came from all points in the State
to offer their congratulations, and 10,000 telegrams and letters from
distinguished countrymen poured in upon the successful candidate. From
an early hour on the morning of the 7th, for days thereafter, the
streets of Indianapolis were thronged with enthusiastic visitors.
The first delegation to call upon General Harrison after his election
came from Hendricks County, numbering 400 veterans and others, headed
by Ira J. Chase, the newly elected Lieutenant-Governor, Rev. J. H.
Hull, and John C. Ochiltree. General Harrison made no formal response
to their congratulatory address. On November 9 a delegation from the
Commercial Club of Cincinnati arrived, and at night the saw-makers of
Indianapolis--about 100 in number--bedecked in red from head to foot,
marched with glaring torches to the residence of General Harrison, and
after a serenade called upon him for a speech.
Coming out on the steps the General said:
The time for speech-making is over. The debate is closed, and I
believe the polls are closed. ["Right you are!"] I will only thank
you for your call to-night and for that friendly spirit which you have
shown to me during the campaign.
_A Famous Telegram._
The State of New York gave Harrison (Rep.) over Cleveland (Dem.) a
plurality of 13,074 votes; but for Governor--at the same election--the
State gave David B. Hill (Dem.) a plurality of 19,171 over Warner
Miller (Rep.). These opposite results called forth the following famous
telegram from the President-elect:
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., Nov. 9, 1888.
_To_ HON. WARNER MILLER, _Herkimer, N. Y._:
I am greatly grieved at your defeat. If the intrepid leader fell
outside the breastworks, the column, inspired by his courage, went on
to victory.
BENJAMIN HARRISON.
INDIANAPOLIS, JANUARY 1, 1889.
The installation of officers by George H. Thomas Post, G. A. R., on the
night of New Year's Day, '89, was attended by General Harrison, who for
many years had been an active member of this post. Many comrades from
other posts in the city were present. The President-elect was escorted
by Col. Irvin Robbins, who was commander of the Democratic regiment
during the recent campaign, and Col. George W. Spahr, who commanded a
Republican regiment. He was received with full honors by the retiring
commander, James B. Black, who presented him to the post.
In response to their enthusiastic greeting, General Harrison--speaking
in public for the first time since his election--in substance said: