People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1892-09-16

interrupted him by saying that th
leaders had not told them of thew
they had been misled. He thong
he could get great capital out of tina
Now let us see. Suppose two trus
tees had been managing a large es
tate five or six hundred miles away
from you; you took the returns they
forwarded; on the face of these re-
turns the estate was being honestly.
managed; it went on, say, for fifteen
or twenty years; you thought that it
was all right; that the books were
all right. Then you began to sus'
pect these trustees from the fact that
they were getting richer day by day,
while you were getting poorer and
poorer day by day; they were thriv-
ing on that estate while you were
starving. (Great applause.) Suppose
that these facts put you upon inquiry,
those circumstances aroused your
suspicious; that you began to in
quire into them, and the more you
inquired the more dissatifed you
we're.
(The speaker going to take a
drink of water, and finding the glass
gomez: Do not these Democrats
steal my water? (Laughter) l did
not expect much of those Democrats.
but think they might let me have
a little fresh water. (Renewed
laughter.)
Well, the more you inquired the
more dissatisfied you became, and
you found out the cause of your
want of success and their prosperity
to be the dishonest manner in which
they had been administering the
estate, having elected other trustees
who went there and got the Informal
ton upon the spot, and made a full
exposure of what has been going on
for the past fifteen or twenty years.
Did not you do that?
Many voices. Yes! YesI and
No! No! the yeas having it.
Mr.. Watson addressing his
friends). Be quiet, my friends. Let
me go right ahead. You see that
the crime for which [ have been ar
raigned, and my condemnation
sought, is because I told my white
and black friends alike just how
these trustees have been robblng
them; and I told them their future
welfare depended upon the honesty
of the trustees whom they elected in
the future.
Voices. Yes, that is true, and
you bet we will see to it.
Mr.. Watson. Now, who are SO
mad with me? Why, these same
trustees who have nothing to lose
and everything to gain by continuing
to deceive you, and destroying the
characters of the trustees who have
been representing you since you, the
people, came into power and looked
after your estate, Now, you might
just as well say that the heirs at law
of this estate were equal in crimi-
nality, with the dishonest trustees;
to say that the people who were out
ragged and deceived were equally
guilty with the trustees because they
did not find it out sooner, as to
charge the rank and file of the
Democratic party with criminality,
when they did not have the means
of knowing it. The proposition not
only defeats itself for absrrdity, but
it is insulting to your intelligence.
The idea! You who have been in
your places of business-in the fields
making your crops, in the shops at
your benches, at the forge
making the anvil ring, in the faoto-
ries and other places of honest in
dustry-and now because you did
not find it out ten, fifteen, twenty
years ago, these same dishonest trus-
tees come up and insult you by tel
ling you to your faces that you are
equally guilty with them in their
rascahty. wild applause.) What
do you think of the men who say,
'You ought not to say word now,
but let us continue fifteen or twenty
years more because you did not ind
out sooner" (Uproarious applause,
long continued cheering, and cries of
"Good-bye, Jimmie l'')
Now listen You Democrats ought
to keep quiet, because 1t is so awful
funny that even you will enjoy it If
you will consent to take it in.
Twelve years ago no man de-
nounced corporations and cliques in
Georgia with more bitterness than
my friend Mr.. Black. Twelve years
ago his denounced the ring rule which
| now denounce, and the only differ
ence between him and me is that he
has gone over to the ringsters while
I ana still making my fight for the
people with the strength that God
Almighty has given me. Great sp-
plause. At that time I was stand
ing by his side denouncing ring rule
that had brought corruption into
Georgia politics, and which oOrrup-
ton | now denounce and he upholds.
(Long continued cheering.) Listen
to what he says:
They now call me a dreamer, and I
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