The Portland daily press., 1895-06-17
JOHN ALIENS STORY.
Eow He Met an Opponent on the Financial
Question.

1t was at the close of my second term
in Congress, observed Congressman
John Allen of Mississippi, while others
in the cloak room, and among them the
Washington Star writer, came nearer the
better to hear, "and was abo ut to
enter upon my campaign for my second
reelection. There had been selected
against me by the opposition-for, strange
as it may sound to you, gentlemen,
there is opposition to me in my district
there had been selected against me, 1 say
man whom 1 will call johnson, princi-
pally because have forgotten his name.
johnson some years before had served a
term in Congress as representative of the
great Tupelo district, for which now
sit, and had, when he retired from legis-
lation as business, opened bank.
"Being skillful man of finance and
the issue being finance, johnson had been
put up by those perverse people who de-
sired my defeat to run against me. NO,
johnson was not a Republican. There
are no Republicans in my district that l
know of; Mississippi is not hot bed Of
that sort johnson was only different
kind of Democrat from myself. Well,
the folks no sooner got johnson and me
successfully nominated against each other
than they began to banker for series of
joint debates on finance between johnson
and myself I was nothing loath. I did
not dare to be.
"There is nothing which SO quickly
makes man unpopular in Mississippi
as being loath. therefore consented to
meet johnson on the hustings. AS OBJ
l.
finance. johnson turned his bank over
to his clerk and came to the meeting sur
rounded by his friends. I, too, had my
friends; and there was great deal of en-
thusiasm and shotguns and zeal and jugs
and other things which add life and zest
to our campaigns in Mississippi and
cause us to look back on them with all
the pleasure of picnic. johnson led
off and made good, thorough paced
speech on finance, such as you can read
in any well made book on the subject
He made a good impression, and when
/ arose to speak I felt that unless I
could bring the subject home to them in
a common home-spun way, 1 was likely
to lose some votes
"'Fellow citizens and Democrats I
began, I will not detain you long today,
for the sun is getting low, and Mississip-
pi is not a State which loves late hours.
In meeting my gifted friend on the sub
ject of finance / have in my mind to
make him proposition. the justice and
fairness of which you will all recognize
at once You will recall. of course-in-
deed he has himself reminded you of it
that our friend once representa- you in
the House Of Representatives. Without
pausing over his record I desire only to
remind you further that at the end of his
term he returned to Tupelo and opened a
bank
g Following him I represented you !;
and at the end of my first term returned
and borrowed money from our friend S
bank At the end of my second term
carefully renewed the note, borrowed
more money and made another note. As
we stand here today in the glad sunshine
our friends bank holds my two notes,
complains. 1 merely tell all this to point
the difference between the two schools of
finance to which | and our friend belong,
and as preliminary to the offer which I
now make.
/" Brother johnson, who holds my
notes, and I, who gladly make them, are
appealing to you today for your suffrages.
will divide with him. / will give him
freely all the votes of those men, all of
them, who loan money in our district.
For myself will, in my lowly way, take
and be content with, the votes of all who
borrow money in our district No thing
can be fairer and no one can complain.
sThat was all there was to my speech, -
concluded Col. Allen, as he approached
the water cooler. 81 beat johnson 20
to l..