St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1892-04-14
CONGRESSMAN REEDS SPEECH.

Fellow Citizens: have not come here
to perform a duty, have come here to
enjoy pleasure. 1t is a great comfort
as well as great honor, to stand in the
presence of those who have always been
neighbors. i feel as If / was surrounded by
a century of good deeds reioiceeven in
the one little sin which this state has COM
mitted in a far-gone age of having tolSt-
ed upon long roll of good men, one
democratic governor.
But for that you might have been
translated, and while you would have
undoubtedly adorned the clear upper air
with a new constellation, you would
have deprived the republican party of
four electoral votes and a shining exam
pie to be kept up in perpetuity l sup
pose that here in this place, where there
are no democrats, l may freely express
my opinion about the democratic party
without fear of giving offence to any
BODY You must not understand that |
mean to be harsh
| believe that democrat is democrat
because he can't help it, it is part of his
makeup, his congenital characteristic.
He was born that way or he would not
be that way. 1t is q matter for sadness.
The democratic party is a party remark
able for its powers of moderation. 1t
they are said that they are not so, than
any party that was ever invented since
the pyramids were built.
They can produce more cry and less
wool per sheep than any flock that ever
fed upon the rocky hills of Vermont or
the swelling plains of Australia. Just
think for 4 moment and recall that mis-
cellaneous collection of arguments which
they have used for the last 80 years.
Just call to mind all the debts of 20 cents
on dollar and they got possession of
the house OF repreSen tat!VeS. And there
were two to one, including republicans
against it, in favor OF the free coinage of
silver, and they didn't dare to do it.
They absolutely were unable to carry
their own belief in favor of any positive
measure, no matter how strongly they
believed in it themselves.
Why is this They were so afraid that
they would do something to injure their
contest next time that they did not dare
to do what they had claimed to be right
eousness, at the very top of their voices.
Now, my friends, what is the good of a
party that goes before the people declar-
ing itself in favor of certain propositions;
the people give them the powers and
then they have not the mental force to
carry through what they promised to
the United States. True, it was a bad
thing. We republicans helped to beat it,
not only helped but we did the greatest
part OF it. We did, in proportion to our
strength, almost all of it. Nevertheless,
l like to see people go before the citizens
of this country with honest professions
of what they mean to do and when the
people endorse them with the power to
do thing, go on like men and do it.
| will tell YOU what the remedy is for
l.
feating silver bill; it is rendering this
country SO prosperous that men will
never think of any eXDedients for easing
up upon themselves. L tell you it is only
a sick imam that hunts for patent medicine.
1t is only when this country has disaster,
1t is only when this country IS prostract-
ed, when there are few crops, that they
want the democratic party or any of its
performances. Therefore, l believed in
working might and main to defeat the
free coinage of silver so that the country
might go on and prosper for l know
that when this country is prosperous
and healthy and sound it is republican to
the backbone. l told you that these
men were mighty in vociferations Can
you tell me democratic idea day out
side of the tariff; that is two years old.
What has become of that tremendous
crop of statements with which this coun-
try was flooded in 1890? They used to
speak disrespectfully of the 51st Con
gress, the house of representatives of the
51st Congress. They said that an infa-
nous plan had been started out whereby
the honest democrats couldn't dodge in
full sight of mankind. They said there
was an infamous betrayal of the liberties
of the country, the precedent of hundred
years had been overthrown.
Where IRE they now ? What are they
talking about now? Why, they are bust
ly engaged in showing how bad a man a
democrat speaker can be. What has be-
come of all the stories they told about
the Mckinley bill. Every one of them
dead, dead as Julius Caesar. No demo-
cratic falsehood ever approaches to have
near enough resemblance to truth to last
two years. But l never realized until
that election of 1890 how immense the
power of falsehood was.
We cannot afford to allow any por-
ton of humanity to fail to understand
the great idea of progress. Now men are
constituted and it is that diff
ference in constitution that divides
parties. One set of men have got sound,
foreseeing, imaginative minds. They
can tell how a thing looks before it is
made The other set cannot tell how it
looks until after it is made and they have
touched 1t. That is why the republican
party has to go ahead and manufacture
the article, in order that by an object
lesson they may bring the democratic
party up to where they were before the
l do not believe that the republican
party needs to fear defeat in the next cleo
ton. | believe that a good strong, hon
est effort on our part will redeem the
past, and ! believe that that effort is go
ing to be made for the reason that this
country is becoming every day more
and that prosperity can only
be made sure by firm adherence to the |
principles of the republican party.
The Second District Convention.
This convention was called to order |
at D. m. by ". H. Dubois of West |
and the call read by Sec |