People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1892-11-11
ingalls, a NOndeSCriDt.

hardly more impressive, upon thoSt
who could be so impressed, that he is
If not utterly devoid of moral appre
citation, incapable of moral serious
ness. Certainly if he is not by pure
intent, given to downright dishOn.
eSty of expression, then moral cOher
ency is not in the list of his finer con
ceptions and accomplishments.
Well. just take birds eye view OF
the mountain peaks-the character,
iSticS of his speech here last Satur.
day and note what a travesty upon
common courtesy, good breeding.
morals, iii there be any morality,
and even common sense. By actual
count tiye-sixths of his sentences COM
menCed with, II believe" 1T is my
opinion" Il do not believe" Il did
not" Il shall not" Il never did,
etc.
Perhaps some phrenOlOgiSt would
say that he was not to blame for the
prominence of a certain portion of his
Uranium, but what virtuOus minded
mother could think it possible to
spare the rod" in the training of a
tiye-year old boy that would persist in
the exercise of such egotism against
protest and not spoil the child"
He spoke of the enormous wealth
concentrated and so rapidly concen-
trating into the hands of the few at
the expense and restitution of the
producers and said it was a gross
wrong and an alarming evil. Then
he referred to his speech of January,
1891 and said Of all its astounding
statements and portrayals-picturing
condition now existing and evils
still On-cOming that, like a descend
ing avalanche, if not cured or ayerted,
shcHld chill the blood of every parent
in the land and cause them to wish
that their children might never have
been born: and then said. in an eX-
preston Of nQDchalance. all this and
CIicse are simply social questions with
which legislation has nor can have
anything to do, Notwithstanding he
had Just said such concentrations of
wealth were wrong, menace to the
masses and a Republican form of gov
eminent. Then almost in the same
breath, in an air of royalty of express
sion, but really, as | regard, in a low
down buffOOnery of cynicism, said we
would all be Jay Goulds if we knew
enough.
My involuntary, silent exclamation
was, great heavens! can it be that a
man so faCile in the draping of rhet-
OriC, whatever he may have been, is
now an unmitigated knave and fool.
Does he not know that about One.half
of this audience are reading, think
ing, conscientious people in the line
of greatly needed and progressive re-
forms? That most of them read his
speech to which he referred and said
he had nothing to take back of it,
and that they know that by direct
statement or inference it gives the
cold bloOded, sinister, designing, false
hood to nearly every present state
ment.
Does he think that they have so lit
tie Intuition in judgment of circum-
stantial evidence as not to realize
that that anomalous speech, having
no counterpart in his official work,
was delivered in the desperate emer-
gency of the case to secure a re-elec-
tiOn to the senate, and only in a cal
culating design and simply, to use his
phrase, to "catch suckers" from the
Peoples party to vote for his cleo
tion.
1 said, CAN he not almost hear their
pulsating thoughts, ''if you mean us
to understand that all these terribly
serious considerations of a common
interest are only social questions
with which legislation can have moth
ing to do and for which it is in M
way responsible, then why did YOU
deliver it in that legislative body
purely as vote catcher?n How can
you presume upon such ignorance on
our part that we do not know that
the production of wealth and its dis.
trlbution, necessary to the comfort
and even the existence of all the peo.
pie, is not only a social, but industrial
and great political questiOn-and es.
pecially in democratic form of GOV.
eminent; and the more it is consid.
cred and felt to be such, the more are
wetruly democratic and national. il
those words have any significance.
L could read in their almost audibl,
smiles do we not know that thai
speech gives you back the lie wher
you say that any man can any day ger
work at fair remuneration. for il saiC
There were constantly a million of en-
forced trampS, thousands starvin,
and myriadS on short rations: N,