Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 January 1902 — A LOVE FEAST [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A LOVE FEAST

Indiana Republicans Meet to Renew the Ties of Allegiance to Party. ■i - - THE NOTABLE ADDRESSES Keynote of the Coming Campaign Sounded By the Party Leaders. } ,lir The New State Chairman Makes His initial Appearance In Public Meeting. Indianapolis. Jan. 1. —If there is anything in an outward expression of enthusiasm, the Republican party in Indiana may fairly declare itself in fit and excellent condition for an entrance upon the coming campaign. For evidences of this enthusiasm were everywhere present yesterday at the annual Republican “love feast,” and the signs were taken to be encouraging in an unusual degree. The meet<jf tlje Republican party workers of the state preliminary to the opening of the campaign was“ very largely attended, all sections of the state being represented, and the interest displayed on all sides and the evidences of complete harmony everywhere apparent gave cause for felicitation among the leaders of the party. The formal meeting at the Denison hotel was presided over by State Chairman Goodrich. To many present this was the first introduction to the Hew chairman, and it iip clear that he left a very agreeable impression upon those within the sound of his voice j .when he called the meeting to order. His introduction of the several speak- ; ers was performed in a happy man- | ner. The first to speak, by right of his position in state politics, was Sen- * ator Charles W. Fairbanks, who, as [ did all the speakers, found the audience liberal with applause. Senator Fairbanks said : Senator Fairbanks’ Speech. It has been quite difficult for me to meet with you today because of duties and responsibilities which rest upon me elsewhere, but I could not allow any demands anywhere else to prevent me from enjoying with you this info: mal gathering of Republicans who have touched elbows in so many hard-

fought political campaigns. There is ’ eomething that is individually helpful j and inspiring in such meetings as this, composed of those who have served , well their party and their country. I /am one who Holds to the belief that every man should discharge well his civic duty, and that he can do it in no better way than by serving in the Republican party. Party service is honorable and commendable if it is rendered for exalted purposes and for .wholesome ends. «Jlf rendered for such purposes, it can never be dishonorable «r censurable. The Republican party of Indiana has a brilLun; and honorable record. It I 3 from the beginning served well t. -•.a e and no stain rests upon it. ILi .. star has ever been the public in: ere. and it has never departed iro n th olendid truth, either in defeat or in .. tory. I coagratw 3 youXhat we meet unifier su b ag- able circumstances, and when th y.ospects for continued Republic/ .3cendancy a:e so promising. Condit. ns everywhere are proclaiming ;he v sdom of Republican policies WUd th oundness of Republican adTOlnJeiva.:' 't», state and national. The p- hf been tested in the severe of a< ual experience, and it has m, i every reasonable demand upon it. jSt> more could be required? ( r party judgment upon great pubV Motions has invariably been the esi When man: states wavered ft qulvacated, Indiana has stood II -ion lie great cardinal doctrines %' ha * 3 given us national and •V "yrcjnr.cy and filled the country a - rlty and contentment. We n rrinue to subject to the most ft n ’ny the prc lapr itlon of our f -V; and we rm.j* let the world r Indiana Rio hblleans have for polio b k born of hysor for hysterical statesmanship. |i parry euecesn 1# bpsa: It ia

utterly meaningless if it does not promote the public welfare. The people have given us their confidence in an especial degree; we must not forfeit it; we must continue to deserve to hold it, and this we shall do if we are but true and faithful in the discharge of the public business. Republicanism must be synonymous with sound and economical administration. It has always been so; it is so today; it must ever continue so .o be. The Republican party has always been an assurance to both capital and' labor of that stability which is essential to of’'each. it has never yet for ,the purpose .of mere temporary triumph attempted to set one at war with the other, knowing full well that that victory which is not founded upon truth and righteousness is but temporary, and in the end worse than defeat itself. We must not only enunciate sound and wholesome principles, but must nominate good men, men who will faithfully, intelligently and successfully administer the public business. The battle is half won when the very best men who can be induced to serve are offered for the suffrage of the people. There are no offices so insignificant that we can afford to nominate for them unfit or inefficient men. Wherever any office is to be filled it should not be filled by anyone who proposes or desires to subordinate it to mere personal aggrandizement. An important campaign lies immediately before us. I have never seen the party in this great state more eager lor the contest or more confident of>the result. We will meet it upon the high plane ot principle; it shall be a contest of principles, and we shall set Republican fulfillment against Democratic prophecy. We shall offer good men for the people’s suffrage, and v.’e invite our political adversaries to do likewise. In this connection permit me to observe that it has seemed to me that during the last few years we have been putting politics in Indiana upon a higher plane than ever before. There is less of defamation than in earlier years, and more appeal to the reason and judgment of men. May it always be so. Republican victory the coming year means much. The legislature to be chosen must apportion the state for legislative purposes. This is really its most important function. It is essential that we should carry both branches of the legislature in order that we may enact a fair apportionment law —one that is free from any taint or suggestion of the gerrymander. There are many here that recollect full well the long and arduous task we had in tearing up, root and branch, the Democratic gerrymanders and putting upon the statute books an apportionment law which is fair and just to all parties. We meet with no trace of factional disturbance. To the administration of President Roosevelt we yield loyal allegiance. With the party harmonious and united throughout the state, this is indeed a happy augury. It forecasts certain Republican victory. Senator Beveridge’s Address. Senator Beverdige was then introduced by the chairman, who made fitting reference to the senator’s recent trip around the world and of his special observations in the Philippines. Senator Beveridge was given the acclaim of the gathering. He said: Fellow Republicans: Glorification of the Republican party is always beautiful, and at a love feast of party workers it is especially appropriate. It is therefore with pleasure that I echo the sentiments of my distinguished colleague. But, after all, the Republican party is not the end —it is the means. It is the welfare of the American people that is the end. It is the power and glory of the American nation that is the end. The Republican party is splendid in history and dear to us today solely and only because it has been the agent of American progress at home and American supremacy abroad. It is because the millions of American citizens have understood this that they became Republicans. It was this which drew to our organization the myriads of former Democrats who have wrought so sturdily for our recent victories and who constitute today so valuable and so valued an element of our strength. Every true Republican is such only because he thinks tnat that is the best way for him to be an American. Republicanism is only a method of Americansm—the highest method yet developed, and that is the cause of the continuity of our power. But. fellow Republicans, it is not enough that we have been this in the past —we must be all this intensified in the present and the future. 1 discredit not the Republican party’s past —I hold its record dear, as history holds it glorious; all its deeds for country and for man; all its ordinances for human rights; all its enactments for the permanent prosperity of the republic —memories of battlefield and council hall, of heroes, warriors, statesmen, of mighty names, historic work and deathless fame, of Lincoln, Sumner, Grant, of Morton, Harrison and Blaine; of homestead laws, of the policy of resumption, of the great,statu.es of protection, of the equality amendments to the constitution —all these are ours as much today as when they were vital with the necessity of the hour. But these are conditions executed, the record of thin"- achieved —not problems existing and pressing for an answer. And it is-to these last that w*» iuuri address ou' elves. We cannor depend cxclus' . tv even on our recent p-i whose illlant splendor Ik fi i, Wlt w- night blind us— Ujc new immo- name* we have given world i;ew and destfny-

determiulng deeds, new victories for the nation’s honor and the majesty of the flag. , We have fought and won the battle fo'r honest money. We have saved the name “United States” from shame. We have driven from the islands of the Occident and Orient the savagery and incompetence of a senile race, and we are building there the best administration ever given by a governing nation to its wards in all the history of the world. We have lifted the financial center of the human universe out of Europe and set it “down within the boundaries of the American republic, Germany sells her bonds to us. England comes to us for funds. Russia advertises her securities for sale in Chicago daily newspapers. Our lines of trade, even though they have been carried on foreign ships, have woven a golden network of American com-

merce around the globe. But we cannot rest on this. The law of the Republican party s life is progress, to do new things as moving time demands them, to counsel with events, to fit new methods to new conditions which the old methods no longer fit, to move onward as the world moves onward, aye, and from this beginning of the Twentieth century to see that the United States actually leads in the march of the nations. The Republican party is the only political organization that ever grew great on victory, and this is the reason of that miracle —for us victory has meant nothing but an opportunity to do new and constructive work, to make wise progress, to achieve conservative advance. This is what has won for us the allegiance of the thoughtful, earnest, progressive men of other parties, this is why it is that in American public life today there is nothing but the party of the government on the one hand, and on the other hand a disorganized opposition without a single clear belief or a single concrete conception. This tells why the confidence of the country is ours, and this warns us how that confidence may be lost. Organization is invaluable, even in its narrow sense, but ideas and ideals alone make organization vital. Principles are the life-blood without which the organization, however perfect, is lifeless. The people care nothing for the spoils of office. The people despise the feuds of faction. But the people care everything for the prosperity of the country; the people care everything for the power and glory of the republic over all the earth and on all the seas. Therefore it is to the future that we must turn our faces, and to new work that we must put our hands; and it is upon the "work that we do and the progress we make that the next campaign must be fought and won, and not on progress past or work accomplished yesterday. AH the problems are not solved. The great Question of American ships on the world's high seas must be discussed and settled—and that i 3 a question profoundly grave. The readjustment of our commercial x - elations with the world whose trade we must retain and increase, must be studied with caution, solved with regard to the intricate interlacings of industry, executed fearlessly and firmly, but with conservatism and delicacy, and that is a problem graver still. An American colonial policy must be builded sldwly, carefully, wisely, with scientific method, until the world shall admit that America’s way of governing a dependent people is the best way yet devised, just as the world has been forced to admit that American inventiveness has produced the best machines yet constructed. The reform of our financial chaos, so solidly and brilliantly begun, must be continued until our finances are arranged* in scientific system, responding to improving business methods — for finance exists for business, not business for finance. Scores of national necessities branching out from these fundamental lines will one by one require attention. And this is the weighty task before the administration. And upon the record the administration makes in doing this work the Republican party must appeal to the American people. And, fellow workers of the Republican party, the Republican administration will do that great work well. Inspired by the example of the greatest American president since Lincoln —the immortal McKinley—with the chart of .the future made by that master mariner before him, with the voyages McKinley traced thereon and the ports he marked to guide him, with the final orders of our greatest captain sounding in hiß very soul, with his own clear, even, firm mind and fearless' heart thus aided, with the prayers and faith of the American people to uplift and sustain him, Theodore Roosevelt, our new commander, will guide the republic safely through every storm and over every sea. Our highest hope for him, our best belief in him is that he Will

prove the worthy successor of that best beloved of presidents, whose world-policy and unyielding conviction gave to America a new place and a new name among the nations —and b 9 will. With sympathies as varied as American interests, with outlook as broad as American destiny, with courage as high -as America’s mission in the scheme of civilization, with purpose as steady as American character, with faith in and love for the American people, the very passion of his life, Theodore Roosevelt will rise to the sublime heights to which the successor of William McKinley needs must rise as the chief magistrate of the first nation of the world, the president of the United States. The Governor’s Address. Governor Durbin was then introduced. The governor said: Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: I am a Republican! I deem it hardly necessary to make this statement in proof of my fidelity to the party, but rather for the purpose of emphasizing the fact that each of us should accept it in our minds and hearts as a cardinal principle, shorn of all selfish purpose, open to but one interpretation —the permanent good of the organization to which we here renew our allegiance, regardless of mere personal considerations or individual ambitions. We are not the Republican party of Indiana; only its humble representatives, and whatsoever we may do or contemplate doing will prove of no avail unless it has the stamp of approval of the great mass of sovereigns of this commonwealth, each of whom, happily, has equal voice in the affairs of government. The immortal Abraham Lincoln left to us as a valued inheritance the forceful injunction, “Keep close to the people.” Let us, therefore, bear in mind, especially those of us who have been favored by preferment, that we are but servants of sovereigns who have the power to create and unmake, to determine and condemn. The Republican party has achieved success by systematically and determinedly adhering to positive policies. To recount its victories, to enumerate its beneficences, to dwell upon its glorious achievements in peace and war, would be hut to repeat nearly all that is comprised in the pages of history concerning the progress of the republic. The eyes of the nations of the world are now upon us. From every quarter of the civilized world come mutterings against the so-called “commercial invasion by the United States.’ The earth has been traversed and oceans have been spanned by American genius and industry. We have expanded, not only territorially, but likewise

commercially, so rapidly that the great strides made are not adequately realized except by those who are patient students of statistics. And all this has been accomplished through the wisdom and guidance of the Republican party! We should be thankful for these results, and it is most befitting that we should here and now renew our devotion to the principles which have brought about conditions which redound to the greatness and glory of our country. In the progress that has been made in national affairs, Indiana can consistently claim its full quota of credit and honor. Our senators and representatives in congress have been in full accord with administration policies, and their loyalty is appreciated and commended by their constituents. With such a record, with rarely a note of discord, there is no reason why we should not look to the future with the same feeling of hopefulness that has so well served the good purpose of crowning the past with achievements as distinctly great as any to be found in the annals of time. Indiana is a Republican state. That fact has been established by the returns of the several general elections last past, but we must have care that this prestige, obtained only after a long and persistent struggle for supremacy, Is not frittered away by illadvised counsel or action. Fortunately, the party in this state has never been dominated by any one man or close-corporation coterie. Our people are too intelligent, self-reliant and Independent to tolerate anything partaking of the characteristics Jot political bosslsm. Any assumption of dictatorship Is repugnant to their sense of right and justice, and they may be confidently counted on to resent the

least encroachment upon what they consider their vested prerogatives as free men. Those who assume ship must ever bear in mind that personal .or political ambition is doopaed to disaster unless it is cordially reinforced by the rank and file. Some other parties may possibly succeed by star-chamber sessions, secret conferences and close-corporation methods, but the Republican party cannot expect to do so. I believe every man, however humble, who shares our political belief should be taken into complete confidence and full fellowship. Furthermore, our constant aim should be to unite all efforts in behalf of party harmony and success, rather than for individual aggrandizement. The counting of chickens before they are hatched is not always productive of results most desired; hence it is far better to defer mathematics along those linse until after the incubator has received proper attention. You gentlemen here assembled are charged with an highly important responsibility. You represent a power that has been instrumental In enhancing the material and social welfare of the state, potent in giving broader significance to our claim to a nation guaranteeing human liberty, influential in aiding to add star after star to the blue sky in the rippling red and white folds of “Old Glory.” Let us jealously guard the sacred trust, ever mindful of our responsibility and obligation to the people, for by no other means can we retain that confidence and support upon which the future success of our ; party depends. Since the preceding annual love j feast, death has claimed three illustrious men to whom we are all cordially attached by ties both political and personal. William McKinley, president, Christian, statesman, American nobleman, fell victim to a bullet fired by a worthless monster. The tragedy was so wanton that it shocked the sensibilities of the whole civilized world, producing grief sincere and universal. To that far-seeing man, whose mortal remains now repose near his old home in Canton, the Republican party owes much and the people of this nation, regardless of party, owe more. He served his countrymen faithfully and efficiently; he died without a blemish on his record in the public service. i Another life of great usefulness and honor was ended with the passing away of our illustrious fellow citizen, General Benjamin Harrison. As long as he lived we were glad to accord 1 him the distinction of being the foremost citizen of our state, the accepted leader of our party. As president of the United States he demonstrated qualities of statesmanship that won the respect of men of this and every other nation. As a citizen, a co-work-er and friend his counsel was always valuable, his assistance much sought. : On the field of battle he proved his ■ courage and patriotism; in the councils of his party he was masterful; in the forum he was invincible. His life was one of usefulness, and his name will survive in the list of imI mortals who have been conspicuously identified with the progress of the j foremost nation of the world. And, still another, whom we respected and loved, answered the dread summons, which came so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that we were dazed by It. When James A. Mount died the Republican party of Indiana sustained a loss that cannot easily be repaired. ; He was essentially a man of the people —great of mind, ot heart and conscience. He had faith In the people, and they had faith in him, because they knew he was honest with them and honest with himself. His Influence for-good was far-reaching for the reason that he was known to he righteous. He had barely cast aside the robes of office he had so signally honored when the hand of death, swift and sure, laid him prostrate and lifeless. His public services were characterized by thoroughness, fidelity and efficiency, and his memory is sacredly cherished by the people who know full well that in all his efforts he was inspired % wholesome, unselfish, lofty purposes. “The good deeds of men live after them." Let us therefore profit by the record of the life-work of these departed statesmen and heroes, by emulating their virtues, by consecrating ourselves anew to correct principles and invoking the grace of the good God above us in all our undertakings In behalf of what we consider to he for the best interests of the party, the state and the nation. Congressman Holliday Talks. Congressman Holliday of the Fifth district was called on, and he spoke briefly hut enthusiastically of the Re- j "publican party, the work It had accomplished and what It expected to do. “We men of the old guard,” he said, “bring greetings to our young friends, and we ask them to press forward as the old men have done before them. A policy is judged by its results. No maxims of government will satisfy the people unless followed by accomplished results. “The history of the nation for the past half century has been the history es the Republican party. The small period during which that party was out of power may ho regarded as a mere interregnum. We are strong because our promises ha been fulfilled. our pledges have been kept, the people have been true to us. They have been true to us because we have been true to them. “The Industrial conditions, the financial conditions in the United States today are the wonder of the world. We are making history now. However prosaic matters may appear, the nation today Is making history. The isthmian canal, so long a dream, is

now in fair progress to reality. And It will be an American canal, built by American capital. Then there are the little brown men beyond the sea. We have been reproached that we were not willing to give them self-govern-ment. Every self-respecting man In the United States would go down on his knees and thank God If they were capable of self-government. * * * But not a dollar that Is collected there as customs is to be covered into our treasury. Every dollar shall go to build up the Filipino people. The world never knew anything like this in the treatment of a colony before. In dealing" with the wards of the the American people have followed the admonition of the Bible, ‘Whatsoever ye would mat others do unto you do ye so unto them.’ If we maintain the standard already set the American people will hold up the hands of the administration as Aaron held up the hands of Moses, and we shall go forward to new victories and greater triumphs for the party and for the country.” The other Indiana congressmen who were present at the meeting were evidently busied about other matters at this stage of the love feast, for though calls came for all of them to address the meeting, only Congressman Overstreet could be found. He responded briefly. Calls then came for Frederick Landis, the rising young “silver tongued” orator oi Logansport. He responded in his characteristic way, paying eloquent tribute to the memary of the great names in the Republican party that are now imperishably recorded on history’s scroll. Dr. C. H. Good of Huntington and Carey Cowgill of Wabash responded briefly to calls upon them, and the meeting adjourned.

SENATOR CHARLES W. FAIRBANKS.

SENATOR BEVERIDGE.

GOVERNOR DURBIN.