The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1882-09-01
old flag and an appropriation" Laughter
and applause There is no doubt about that
usually,


old flag and an appropriation" Laughter
and applause.l There is no doubt about that
usually.
NO STEAL OR JOB IN THE BILL
Now they call it q steal and job, and yet
there is not possibility of steal in it. 1t
is the only bill among the general appropria-
tions that you canuot get a steal into. Now
why is this 500 Not a dol
lar Of this money goes out of
the treasury except some work is done for
it. To hear these editors and these cheap
men who go blowing about this river and
harbor bill, to listen to them you would
think the bulk of this money went right into
the pockets of us fellows who drafted the
bill. There is not man OF us who can get
a dollar of 1t. The people on this river can
not one OF them get a dollar of it until they
earn 1t. They must go and do the work. 1t
Is not possible to get q dollar out of the treas
Dor and material. Now where is your
chance for jobl You cannot put mp a job
in it. You may improve stream that you
ought not to improve, but the congressman
viii not get any of the money il you do. The
people who do the work will get the money
and you will get simply certain amount of
money for certain amount of work that
perhaps ought not to be done There won't
anybody pocket any of this money unless it
is earned IL is not possible to get dollar
of this money except by work. Now wish
to say few words to you in reference to the
manner in which the press of this country
have treated this bill.
AN APPEAL TO THE PRESS.
1t is a very easy matter TO denouuce any
public measure as a ',jobn or ''steal. but 1t
is quite another matter to make your proof,
thief. 1t is an easy matter for George Will
liam Curtis to SIT in the editorial chair of
Harper's Weekly and denounce the river and
harbor bill as a log-rolling job and each man
who voted for it'a thief and q scoundrel,
when at the same time he knows absolutely
nothing of the real provisions OF the bill,
when he has never examined single report
of the engineers in charge of these works and
is wholly ignorant of the proof upon which a
single item is based This kind of
wholesale aspersion of other mems
motives is cheap. select Mr.. Curtis in this
case, not because he Is better than other men
but because he thinks himself so much purer
and better than the average of mortals
And desire here and now to give him full
credit for all that exalted purity and pa
triotism which he so constantly claims is ever
present with him.
How would Mr.. Curtis think il he had been
so treated! Suppose had risen in my seat
in the American congress and stated that he,
Mr.. Curtis had turned out to be
q
the paper he had repeatedly sold himself
for money, that he was blackmailer and
had been guilty of advocating measures in
the columns of his paper simply for gain.
The first thing you would ask for would be
proof, would It notl You would say such
charges are unmanly unless you know what
you are talking about and yon would be
right. Still that is exactly the manner In
which Mr. Curtis has treated 200 members
Of congress. all of whom are his
equals in integrity and many of
them his peers in intelligence and culture.
Now j say the editors OF the country who
have initiated MIR. Curtis i'm this respect are
members of the committees on commerce in
the house and senate are not all thieves and
robbers-neither are the two-thirds in both
houses who voted to pass the bill
over the veto of the President all
scoundrels. If you will scan the
good men voting for as against this bill, and
several of the best who voted against the
bill on its final passage over the veto voted
for IL when it first passed the house, notably
Mr.. Hiscock of New York and Mr.. Reed Of
Maine This simply shows that their OBJ
lection to the bill was in the amend
ments put on 1t by the senate and
planned of by the press of the country. All
ask Of the press Of the country is before
they denounce over two-thirds of the men,
bers of both branches Of the American con-
gress, as they have been doing, to examine
more carefully into the proofs upon which
these men acted and thus enable themselves
to speak more intelligently upon these vast
improvements.
Now look for q moment at the manner In
which the newspapers have treated this bill.
The Evening News of Detroit, paper which
believe claims that il never sacrifices any
thing for the sake Of being anything but
sprightly, in few of its well adjusted clips
at me says that IL is we'll enough that
Horr might have been expected to vote for
that bill as he had S350,000 in it in his
district Now, what Is the facti The bill
has Just SIS, 900 In the old eighth district,
and in the one that you have nominated me
in to-day 1t carries Just S65, 900. The News in
the matter of $3.50. 900 Is only about SOC, 900
out of the way, and that suppose Is as well
as IL generally does. prolonged applause
and laughter.1
CRITICISM AT LONG RANGE.
Now there IL this popularity about thu
newspapers Of this country. have not
found single one Of them, and have ex-
aminsd good many, that pointed out sim
gle defect In the bill IN the locality where
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