The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-02-28

tional Here he seemed inclined to
stop, but cries of Ego on" came from
the tables, and Mr.. Hewitt, after a mo-
ment of hesitation and with humor-
Gus expression, began hitting out right
and left in way, and with force and
deliberation, that were paraly ziug for
the cool audacity of the speaker. Here
is the first hit:
"Mr. Carlisle is not the only one by many
OF the Southerners who have made them
selves valuable. New York is full of South
erners who are doing its work; but here
the speaker paused and looked about him
as if calculating the effect of what was com
ing" perhaps New York's gain is the loss
of the South. Certain it is that the South
has lost what it had in the past. When |
compare the Southern representatives now
in our legislative halls with the intellectual
giants of former days who thrilled senate
and house with the thunders of their South
ern eloquence and the spendor of their
power and craftsmanship, / am forced to
the belief that the brain and soul of Dixie
has either left that sunny land or is devoted
to other pursuits than craftsmanship"
He divided Southerners into three
classes-,he men of brains who have
come north; those who have stayed at
home aud devoted themselves to south.
ern industrial development; and those
who, being fit for nothing else, have
turned their tention to politics. OF
one # the latter class, the speaker said:
cone Southern man is battling to-day for
the idea of his life. He is trying to coin
the segniorage. He might az well try to
coin vacuum His supporters are South
ernurs and hitherto undiscovered and un-
classified species from the West. Can YOU
imagine any other basis of national credit
than intrinsic Vane2 The silver dollar was
not made to represent the market value of
dollar, and less than the full weight of
silver was put in it. The difference be-
tween the real and the sham value is the
seigniorage, and this it is that your South
erners propose to coin into more money. If
all the silver in the treasury were sold at
market value, it would cause "A deficit of
| 800 100000 | said it was like coming a
vacuum. 1t is worse. 1t is like trying to
coin negative quantity on the other side
ofathe vacuum Yet your representatives
would do this thing"
This outburst of candor prepared
the way for another. Having started
out to free his mind, the intrepid vet
eran made a clean breast of it. He
knew the Southerners in Washington.
He knew them to be honest, truthful
and gallant, but, he continued:
81 also know them to be ignorant 1t
is the only word that fits-blank, Grass ig-
norance. Almost in solid body, with a
few honorable exceptions, they gave their
votes to the silver bill That is the work OF
your South of to-day. That is the South
ern craftsmanship at the end of the nine.
teenth century. That is ignorance that's
what it is, ignorance, that goes forward
with the dangerous strength of it's own con
victions. There is no fool like the fool who
rushes in where angels fear to tread"
Did ever host entertain guest OF
palmer speech? A burst of applause
says the SUMS reporter, followed Mr.
Hewitts ending. 1t was for the audac.
ity and biting brilliancy of the speech
and not for the sentiment, for the faces
turned to the speaker were, many oil
them, flushed with indignation.