The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-10-22
WILL. KENNEDY e
Tho Peoples Party Candidate for Governor
Addresses q Big Audience.

Tho Peoples Party Candidate for Governor
Addresses . Zig Audience.
The peoples party in Helena gave Will
Kennedy, their candidate for governor, .
warm reception At Ahs headquarters IN The
Granite block last night. This hall was vel
flled. II. A. Carleten. who presided. OPEN
ed the meeting by referring to the alleged
desertion of the peoples party cause by
Mrs. Lease, and tho statements that she had
advised tho populists to vote for Harrison.
He read a dispatch from her to the Rocky
Mountain News, of Denver, declaring the
thing a lie from beginning TO end, and say
ing ID wac gotten mp by republicans 10 AID
the canvass OF Harrison. He said the popus
list m ust be prepared TO have nuch thihgs
sprung on them, but must be prepared no
TO believe them. He referred to Will. Ken
nedy az the man who had introduced the
Australian ballot law into the legislature
and who had fought il through.
MIR. kennedy was given a hearty round
of applause wrsn he rose to speak. ne
spoke for less than an hour, and IL was
moro Of u talk than . political speech. He
also referred to the Lease inoident, and
said that ANYTHING of the kind which WAS
opposed to their common sense should be
set down as q lie. Over in Jefferson oouaty
some verbal cyclone had said thas Gen.
Weaver was opposed to silver. 10 was Gen.
Weaver and the other Rresnbackers who.
when they held the balance of power in
congress, some fourteen years ago, secured
the partial reconciliation of silver. Il
will say for your encouragement, consln-
ued Mr.. Kennedy. "that the prospects OF
success for our ticket are very bright. def
ferson county We feel conhdento of carrying.
II we can come out of tho Bitter Root val
ley with q majority-and the farmeis there
are the prime movers In this thinR-ano
If wo can hold our " in Missoula city,
and ] believe we will. We can stand some
loss in the FlatheRd and still carry the
county. Over in Butte, there is no use to
talk about it. it's all our way Applause /.
Don't let anybody fool you with tho idea
that We are mot In it, for we are" lap
plause.
At this point Mr.. Kennedy touched for a
little on national politics. W propose to
repeal those laws which give special prlv-
ileges to the few at the expense OF the
many" he said. 1--WE have special laws
which enable the hnanciers to control the
money of the country. Our circulating
medium is now only from $l5 to $20 per
capita. II should be $50. To-day 10000
families in the land own one-half the
wealth. They neither created it nor pro-
duced il. They go. it through the opera
ton OF special laws"
He then referred to the proposition OF
the leople's party to have the government
buy and operate the railroads. 10 had
been said that q party would never be
gotten out of office when 1t controlled SO
many employees. If that were SO it would
be no worse than now, when all the rail-
roads were more or less in politics and con-
trolled much of the legislation i'll their own
interests. Ii was coming to such a condl-
tion shat the people must own the railroads,
or the railroads would own the people.
[Applause. 49,.
Local self-government in its fullest
sense'' was the first subject taken up. MIR.
Kennedy was opposed to the legislature fix
ing salaries and other matters for the ooun'
ties. He thought no law should go into
effect until passed upon 81 che people.
Then the people would be law makes in
deed. He referred to the appropriation OF
$50, 600 for a state exhibit at she Worlds
fair. OF this he said $l5. 900 had gone for
n CLUB house'' which could have been built
for SIS, ZOO, and the remainder had gone Tor
salaries and travelling expenses for dlstln-
guishsd citizens. The appropriation might
have been wise. but the people should have
a say about il.
Speaking of special legislation In this
state, Mr.. Kennedy said the estray law was
in the interest Of the big stock men. The
code commission had declared it unoonstl-
tutional and had left it out Of the code 10
be submitted to the next legislature. There
was legislation in the interest of lawyers
and doctors. 'If Jesus Christ was to come
among you" he said, land was to 90 about
healing the sick and even raising the dead,
in less than twenty-four hours he would be
in the county Jail for violating the medical
practice act"
In conclusion Mr.. Kennedy said the peo-
ple's party had no campaign fund of g.
000. 600 raised from among those who We Q
to be benefited. If it went into office II
would be because the people put it there,
and it would legislate in the interest of the
people.