Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1886-10-30


him up on the tariff question and
after the most complete and perfect
demolition of Wilson's arguments
by cold facts in the experience ofns
all he turned on him and asked him
to tell what kind OF a tariff he want
ed. What crowd was he in. lie
gave him time to answer, begged
him to answer but Wilson would not
say word, and he did not in his
reply answer. he did not tell us
whether he was IN favor of the Nor
rison bill or not and would not.
Then the General took up Wilson's
ingenious explanation of why he
voted as he did on the Morrison bill
simply to consider it, not to pass
it. He said if he should step out on
the street and see rattlesnake no
bigger than his little finger and no
longer than his hand, his heel would
bruise that serpent's head right
then and there, and that if he were
in Congress and the Morrison rat
| tlesnake tariff bill, putting lumber,
wool and coal on the free list and
reducing the tariff on iron so as to
destroy all the industries of West
Virginia at one fell blow, he would
scutch that rattlesnake tho first
time it showed its head. He said
Wilson's policy was different, that
when he saw the rattlesnake he
manifestly would say "poor little
krattlesnake dear little rattlesnake!
you are only little wee rattlesnake!
I'll not kill you now No, no, I'll
feed you and nurse you and let you
grow and then kill youn The court
house yard never before rang with
such cheers and Wilson had to sit
wrapped in his overcoat and stand
| it all. Then he turned ON Wilson
and reminded him that he had been
charging abuses done by the Repub-
licans and asked him what he had
done. what measure he had offered
to remedy these pretended evils. He
reminded him that he had the abili-
| ty to draft bills. "What have you
done 7" Then turning to the crowd
he asked this question " II it takes
four years IN Congress to do moth
ing how long, in the same ratio would
it take to do something :" and the
crowd answered with cheer after
cheer, and Wilson looked down his
nose and wrapped his overcoat the
tighter abou. him. Then he came
to the Treasury surplus. He sad
Wilson denies now that he said in
1880 that this surplus was 100000
900, and dozen voice cried ont " he
did say it." How humiliating it must
have been to Wilson to have his
falsehood thrown back in his teeth
by the yeomanry who knew because
they heard him utter it. Flick went
on. He called attention that while
Wilson was grieving over his 1884,,
600, 900 of Surplus, nearly one million
Of which came as he said in taxes
from the citizens of West Virginia,
yet he was very careful to vote
against the Blair Educational Bin
which would have given over a mill
ion of his surplus to the free schools
of West Virginia and tile crowd
stopped him with round of cheers
that could have been heard all over
town.
He then took him up on the cleo.
margarine bill and gave graphic
description of what oleomargarine
was and the effect of this vote on
every honest housekeeper's honest
butter and then the crowd went wild
and FlIck's time was up.
1t is said that Il prominent young
Democratic politician here, seeing
how completely Wilson was froze
out, went around toward the close of
Flick's speech and begged " the
boys" to yell little anyhow when
Wilson got up to reply. He sue
ceeded in getting yell but it was a
very weak one. Then Wilson, after
having raised one more yell by re-
ferring to the fact that Judge Flick
had been drawing his salary as Dis
trict Attorney without having topay
the hotel bills of impecunious office
seekers, proceeded to try to work
and twist out from under the load
that Flick had heaped upon him in
dead silence that was positively dis
tressiDg. He sat down in silence
when his time was up. Dave Gall
tried to cheer up his dropping spirits
by presenting him a small bouquet
Of flowers, but even here the effort
failed to accomplish the purpose be-
cause Judge Flick had already been
presented with one twice as large
which had been prepared and sent
up to the stand by a Democrats
wife and when Mr.. Mason formally
called attention to it and General
Flick arose and told the boys to call
down and see him at Washington
next winter and bid them good bye
until then beause the train was