The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-08-20

lies the only expression of the will of tn,
| American people. You suppose that it i.
| mere accident, that Ethere have been eight
thieves among southern state treasurers il
| the last three years. 1t is not an accident
| it is because there is no fair expression oi
popular opinion. To make your govern
| ment pure you cannot begin by corruptlnG
| the source Of government.
Moreover there are evils in our own sec
| tion of the country. There are great cities
| where there are serious frauds on the cleo
| tions. and every fraud so perpetrated nulli
| fies my vote and nullifies yours. All that
| the Republican party asks, all that the bill de
mands, is that we shall spread those elec
| tions open so that all men may look upor
them.
WHERE HONESTY COUNTS.
They say that the Republicans expect tc
| gain seats in Congress by this bill, and that
I is all they expect to gain by it. We expect
to gain seats by honest voting. If party Is
| not cheating they lose nothing by fair elec.
| tions. l will admit that we shall gain by
| honest elections. We are not successful
| party at cheating. We don't do it well. Wt
stand better chance with honest elections
| Yes, we do expect to gain by honest elec
tions, to get there by better confession
than that of wrong doing; we expect to gair
| because we seek honest elections.
| Now. Mr.. Chairman, one word in conclu
before leave this subject: The Republi
l
man freedom. 1t has called itself the party
| Of moral ideas. 1t carried OUT that great
| pledge in behalf of human freedom It Il
| now pledged to protect the American either
| in the most sacred of rights. Whatever get.
across the path Of that issue, whether
| it be the protected industry, or the Issue
| of free trade, or the corporate interest
| whether it be some cowardly thing seeking
| to keep quiet that wrong because it thinks
peace is profitable, 1 tell you that the issue
| which involves the issue of right and wrong
| will crush themlunder its heel, as the slav
cry issue in days gone by crushed out all the
cotton Wings and the Northern dough-faces
| The issue may fail now, may be beaten now
| but the American people when they turn to
| the great question OF right and wrong, have
always decided it right. and they always
The question of honest elections is in ev-
| erybody's mind. 1t may not be ripe now
| for settlement, it may not be perfectly met
IN this bill, but that the people Of the United
States intend to have honest elections foI
admits OF no doubt. 1t may be slow in com
ing. Anti-slavery was slow in coming.
Many other great movements were slow in
coming. If this bill is not right, it is at
least, II 1t moves forward only one notch,
the declaration Of a noble sentiment and a
noble opinion. The Declaration of Indepen-
dence was great sentiment written on pa
per Tor nearly hundred years in this eoun-
Try. IL was lie as to every man whose
skin was black But hat triumphed in the
end? Not the lie, but the great truth con-
tanned in the Declaration or Independence
[Applause.l
DONE UNDER NEW RULES.
have been asked a question here: vii
the Election Law interfere with the
Australian ballot? 1t certainly was not
likely that any bill with which had any.
thing to do, however small the part 1 took,
should Interfere with that system If could
avoid it. | am thorough believer in it, and
have witnessed its good effects in Massa-
chusettS where we have an excellent system
can say that the election bill does not in.
terfere with it in the least; on the contrary
it is arranged to fit in with the Australian
ballot wherever that system is in vogue.
Now, Mr.. Chairman, one single word and
| am done. We were enabled to pass that
bill, and all the other great measures the
previous speaker has enumerated here to-
night. How were we able to do it? But we
did more; he forgot some. 1t is long list
You may go over the last six years of Demo
cratic supremacy and you won't find along
that highway but one or two monuments oi
legislation. 1t is indeed a long list that
could mention. The speaker did not say we
made for the first time proper preparation
for the building up of the Navy; he did not
say that for the first time we have really
taken steps so that British cruiser cannot
lie off your shores and knock your town to
pieces with perfect impunity. For the first
principles which have been adopted
in our platform, and how have we been
able to do it? We have done it by breaking
through the rules of the House as they
stood: There was nothing about that in the
Republican platform, but 1t lay at the root
of the whole thing-at the bottom of every
question. The business of this country has
grown to such magnitude that it cannot be
dealt with by unlimited debate; ii is impos-
sible to do it in that way. Every minority
ought to have an opportunity to debate a
question fairly: but no minority. or any one
else, has any right TO obstruct public busi-
ness. In the Fiftieth Congress, of which
was member, public business was at an
end you could do nothing except by the
unanimous consent. This is literally and
absolutely true. We had got down to the
condition of the Polish Diet, namely, that no
member could do anything any one chose to
veto.
We came to the conclusion to stop that
thing there. We did it under the leadership
of Mr.. Reed. lApplause.l 1 reflect on nc
man when say he was peculiarly adapted
for that great task. He has courage, he has
brains, he has character. There is nothing
in his life that he wants to hide from any
himself at the head of that movement. He
carried it through admirably, and kept his
temper in the midst of the storm of abuse
that fell upon him. He has cut the mark
deep; the notch is there, where it will re.
main; no one will think of going back to the
old miserable system; he has broken it )wn,
come what may. We have stopped the con-
sumption of the public time by wholesale.
There is still much to be done, but the
country is behind this movement to do the
country's business. The people are behind
Mr.. Reed in his determination to put the
public business through. believe no peo-
pie are stronger behind him than his own
people. [Applause.l
THE REPUBLICAN LEADER IN THE HOUSE
They call him Gar, and autocrat and ty.
rant. The American people are not to be
deceived by any such cries as that. When
TIE American people are in danger of tyran
ny and autocracy because a Speaker in the
House of Representatives exercises his law
ful authority, the end of this government Is
very near. But the American people know
very we'll that there is not the least danger
OF tyranny and autocracy. or anything like
y, IN TINS country; and they do ike brains
tney DO like courage and they like to see
the business done, and you cannot make
them believe that when a man is physically
present he Is technically absent. Applause.
They believe that they sent those men there
to DO their work, and that when man il
hoWllng and yelling in the aises against the
| Speaker, he is undoubtedly in the House to
be counted Tor the purposes of legislation.
Your representative has lead in this great
work, he has shown himself one of the great
| est political leaders that has been developed
In this country for maay years. [Applause.
We. open the campaign here in his district
| tonight. No litter place could be chosen. He
| represents all that is aggressive, progressive
and statesmanlike; ali that is best in the Re
| publican party, in American public life
| among American public men. BE makes his
mistakes, OF course; he is human; nobody ii
| perfect that L know of-unless 1t be the mug
| wump editor. Laughter But our leader
| has driven straight to the mark he is mar
| of action: he is the one who has done things
| OF course the men who never do things car
| do them better than the men who do dC
| them. He is the man that is active; he ha:
| led his party, and he comes back-no, ht
| does not come back to you yet. He stays a
| the post of duty, more eloquent by his alb
sence than he could be. by his presence
| Very great applause.l And l say to yol
| people of the first district of Maine that i
| You honor brains, courage and talent you
| will say SO on the 9th ofSeptember, and more
rests upon your giving Thomas B. Reed the
| endorsement he deserves than in any elec
tion that he has come to you before. Grea
| enthusiasm