Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 December 1885 — the Hendricks Memorial Services [ARTICLE]

the Hendricks Memorial Services

There is every probability that the Senate, when it meets ntext week, will choose Gen. Logan President of the Senate pro tent, which would be a very proper thing to do. A full account of the details of the death of Vice President Hendricks is given on our inside pages. The first dispatches were not strictly correct as to the manner and circumstances of his demise. An erronious impression quite generally prevails, that in case the President should die, when there is no Vifce President living, that the President of the. Senate will become President, in the same manner as would the Vice President, were he living. The laws provide, however, that in such cases the President of the Senate sliall fill the presidential office only until a successor can be elected.

Ho one, not even Democrats, denied the gross frauds hy which the Democrats of Cincinnati sought to secure three or four State Senators from that city, but while the Democrats admitted the villainy, they claimed that there was no way of redressing the wrong, and that the Democratic -Senators would be given their seats, but the courts of Cincinnati hate discovered that there is a remedy for the wrong, and have ordered the proper authorities to issu§ certificates of election to the Republican Senators.

We believe that President Cleveland acted wisely an 1 well in deciding not to leave Washington to attend Mr. Hendricks’ funeral, at Indianapolis. Just now when his death would leave the government absolutely without a bead, it was clearly his duty to avoid exposing his life to any unnecessary dangers; and there is always ■ some slight danger ' inseparable from such long railway journeys, and still greater ib the danger that such a great congregation of people would include in its number some murderous crank, like Guiteau, the perverted Avorking3 of whose mind would lead him to attempt to take the President’s life. The danger is, of course, very slight, and Were there another to succeed in case of the death of the Presided, it would not be sufficient to be Considered, but under the peculiar circumstances now existing, we repeat that it was his duty to the country to avoid incurring uimecessary-risk, however slight it might have been!

Tlie editor of tlie Goodland ll> r"M, who exhausts most of liis energies in vairijfatuous attempts to be funny and who gets into his paper a few good things, the most of which he steals, and a good many, poor ones, which all bear the stamp of originality, denies that Mr. Dextra, of Goodland, is distantly related, by marriage, with the mur-dei-eiy and be very ftiuny and sarcastic at the: expense of the editor of the Re-! fublican for tlie publication ofj the item asserting the relationship' above referred to. If it be true, ] as the Aeraiii intimates, that. Mi. | Dexti-a thought it would be a smart thing and a good joke to invent the story bf the relationship, and “stuff” somebody with it, then we only need tc say that the fact that he could commit so gross’y improper an act as to attempt alleged jokes of that character, at such a time and under such cir-j cumstahces, is much more to his ' discredit tliap would be the alleged relat’ortship to the IVartena’s. The Ilr.ruli'* explanatiou of Mil Dextra’s sta'ements has done the lat* ter ho credit whatever

""-w .1 The result of the prohibition campaign in Atlanta Georgia shows, in a most striking way, the truth ot the Republican’s position in regard to the suppression of the Republican vote of the South, —a matter lately discussed in this paper and the Democratic Sentinel. At the prohibition election, which took place last Wednesday; old party lines did not divide the people at all, and consequently the Democrats suddenly lost their fear of “nigger equality” and* all of them became anxious to secure as many colored votes for the side which they happened to favor in the controversy as possible and the result was that, for the first time for years, Atlanta had a genuine election. An election the result of which was not known to a certainty before a single vote was east. An election in which all legal voters were at liberty to participate, with the knowledge that their votes would be fairly counted, and have a full share in determining the final result of the election. And mark the result: -

In the great presidential election of 1884, when in every place that had a free election, almost every legal voter -went to the polls,* Atlanta cast a total vote of only 2,865. That election was not free. Last Wednesday the case was different and the total vote was 7,642. Making a very liberal and indeed, excessive allowance for the increase in the iiumber V>£ the voters of Atlanta during the past year, it is still evident that more than half of the voters ;of that city stayed away from the polls at the general election of 1884, or if they voted, their votes were not counted. Does anyone of common sense believe that if the South had free and fair elections such a state of affairs could have occurred? The suggestion is too preposterous for consideration.

That grand old man, the poetprophet Whittier, whose heavenly mind, is far above the mists and storms of prejudice and passion has recently written a long letter to the Essex Club, of Boston, which ought to put new life and purpose into all those weak-kneed Republicans who are beginning to believe that perhaps the mission of the party is ended. The following is an extract from the letter:

“President Cleveland has proved himself better than his party, and has done some good things which I give him full credit for, but the instinct of his party is against him, and must eventually prove too strong for him, and instead of liis carrying iiis r party it will be likely to carry him. It has already compelled him to put liis hands in his pockets for electioneering, pur poses and travel all the way from Washington to Buffalo to give his vote for a spoilsman and anti civil service machine politician. I would not like to call it a case of “offensive partisanship,” but it looks' a good deal like it. As a Republican from the outset,' I am proud of the noble record of the party, Aut. I should rejoice to sep its behificenfc work taken up by the Democratic party and so faithfully carried on as k to make our organization no longer necessary. But, as far as we cau see, the Republican party has still its mission and its future. When labor .shall everywhere have it just rewards and the gains of it are made secure to the earners; when education shall be universal, and, North and South, nil men shall have the free and full enjoyment of civil rights and priviledges, irrespective of color or-former condition; when every vice which defi&ses the ’cummunity shall be discouraged and, prohibited, and everv virtue which elevates it fostered and- strengthened; when merit and ; fitness shall be the .conditions, of office, and when sectional distrust prejudice shall give place to well-merited confidence ip the loyalty apd pat riotism of all, then will t?rO work of tlye Republican party, as.ap&rty be ended, and all political ri\ felnes be merged into one great party , of the pe«pl£, with ho other a_|n than the common welfare, and no other watchwords than Peace, I hdertyiind Union?” .

At the time of his death, Mr. Hendricks was the dtcond highest officer in the Nation, and officially considered the most exalted citizen of the state "of Indiana. These facts, together with his eminent private virtues made it right and proper that people of all parties should unite in paying the last tributes of respect to his memory. At Rensselaer, commemorative exercises were held at the court house on Tuesday afternoon. The room was filled beyond its seating capacity by the audience, a large part of whom were the’ school children, who were there by direction of the School Trustees. J. W. Doutliit Esq., was the principal orator, and remarks were made by Messrs E. C Nowels, I B. Washburn, J. H. Jessen, >1 F. Ohilcote, S. P, Thompson, W L. Spitler, Horace E. James, and S. W- Ritchey. • The venerable Dr. James R i * hey who had known Mr. Hendricks from boyhood, was president of the meeting and made a brief address. Messrs. I C. Kelly, S. W. Ritchey, G. E. Marshall and J. W. McEwen were the Vice-Presidents. The? Rev. D. Handley offered prayer, and several appropriate songs were sung by the choir.

The resignation of J. H. Sain, postmaster at Monon, has been accepted and John M. Winkley is appointed in his place. The Monon Dispatch says significantly that the appointee can read and write and thinks that hereafter the mails of that town will be delivered more regiuarly. It is claimed that in politics Winkley is a Mugwump, and that his appointment is very distasteful to t)an Voorhees and the leading Democratic politicians of White county, and the Dispatch is unkind enough to ask them what they are going to do about it.