Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-09-05
Upheld Cleveland
ADDRESS OF F. W. lehman BE-
FORE THE JEFFERSON CITY
SOUND MONEY CLUB.
Opponents of the Administration q
en- to Task Presidents Consist
ency Landed Makes Sharp
Criticisms.

lnauSurateu iJS DLTtH "
very strong speech from f. w. Len
mann, the well known railroad attor-
new of st. Louis. The club starts win
a membership of about 100, most OF
whom are very active Democrats n
quite extensively known. AT the re-
quest of Mr.. Lehman, who Is suifer-
ing from Il sore throat, the speaking
was held in the County Court House
in place of the hall of the House OF
| Representatives. The court room
proved entirely too small, as men of
| all political creeds desired to hear him.
The speech consumed more than an
hour and a half, but there was no
| abatement in the interest manifested
by the audience. In opening his
speech, Mr.. Lehman said:
ssThree years ago Democrats every
where were strenuously engaged in
the eudeavor to elect Grover Cleye-
land to the presidency of the United
States. Now, they seem, many OF
them, TO be as strenuously engaged in
the endeavor to prove that i'll electing
him they had been guilty of a blunder
| so gross as to almost amount to crime.
| cannot agree with them. have no
| apologies to make for what, as a Dem
ocrat. | have done in the past. ! do
not believe that in the days gone by
the party has been deceived either in
its candidates or principles, neitherd do
| believe it has deceived the people.
If | did-if | thought the victories Sc
cured by the Democratic party in the
national campaigns'o 1884 and 1892,
its only presidential victories in 40
years, had been secured by misrepre-
sensations, whether knowingly or
ignorantly made-I should conclude
that the conduct of politics would
better be left to our Republican
friends, who, whatever else they may
do, never dispute their own wisdom
nor challenge their own integrity.
"If we are to go into the next cam
paign denouncing Cleveland as the
hireling of corporate capital, the de-
signing tool of the money changers,
what shall we say for ourselves, who
three times held him up Is the high
est type of American citizenship?
Who SO held him up, not only
when in the broad field of national af-
fairs me was yet untried, but when he
had been tried through long years
tried in victory and tried in defeat.
Let those who now speak of the cloven
foot answer why they did not speak
of it sooner Let those who now COM
plain of the betrayal of public trust
answer why they SO long held so diff
ferent Il tone. Why have they been
SO long on the road to Damascus?"
"If there is one nan in the Demo
cratic party who has been from the
candid and consistent and
stea dfast in his views and conduct as
to national finances, that man is
Grover Cleveland. In office and out
of office, before and after election, he
has given plain and unmistakable ex-
preston of his opinions and purposes
Mr.. Lehman then referred to the
Presidents letter to General A.. j,
Warner, in February, 1885, before his
first Inauguration, in which he insist
ed upon a suspension of the silver
coinage act. "oThen," said Mr.. Leh-
mann, ''if ever, was the time for com
plant and Reputation by men who
wished to deal honestly with them
selves and the people. What then
hindered free speech by those who be-
lieved the Democratic party conse-
Grated from its birth to free coinage!
Surely it was not the hope of sharing
in the patronage that was yet to be
distributed. 1t was simply because
there was in this announcement of the
Presidents views no disappointment
of any expectation he may have ex-
cited"
Mr.. Lehman then followed up the
various recommendations of the Pres,
ident to Congress to show how COM
pletely consistent he has been al
along.
Coming down to the last nationa.
campaign in Missouri, he said:
"Some leader of Democracy, &
United States Senator, l think, had
been represented as saying that Mis-