The Portland daily press., 1896-09-07

and vicinity-Attack of Chicago Plat
form Upon Supreme Court and Consti-
tuition a Point Discussed.
ESPECIAL TO THE PREss.J
Gray, Me-, September 5.-Hon. Thomas
B. Reed spoke at the Gray fair grounds
today to crowd of 10000 farmers from
this and neighboring towns. Gray is in
the north part of Mr. Reed s district and
is firm in its faith to the big Republican
leader.
The speechmaking today was in the
grandstand at the race track. The wind
was chilly and there was no sun but ali
The seats in the stand were taken when
Mir. Reed and Mr.. Robert 7. Whitehouse,
young Portland lawyer who was to
speak with him, arrived. The chairman
Of the meeting was Levi Jordan, a white
bearded patriarch of Raymond, who
amused the audience with story about
Democratic rally in his town last night,
and introduced Nj. Whitehouse as the
first speaker. A temporary platform had
been built on level with the lower seats
in the grandstand and the speakers were
obliged to look up to the greater part of
the audience. A man exercised a trot-
ting colt On the track part of the time
while Mr. Whitehouse was speaking and
some of the audience could not resist an
inclination to take q look at the colt ev-
cry time he came around. But for all
that AIr. Warehouses; speech, which was
careful exposition of the currency ques-
tion, was received with much appreoia-
ton. He spoke forty minutes.
In introducing DIR. Reed the chairman
of the nesting said Samuel L. Bates. one
of the Democratic speakers at Raymond,
had dissectsd Reed, and he suggested
closely that Mr. Reed abandon the con-
test, and "let the thing go" This raissd
laugh, in which sir. Reed joined.
Mr.. REED SAID
in part:
81 am sorry Mr.. Bates has not left
more of me. l can only confess that
am much worn out by these people. We
are all suffering from a discussion OF
things that amount to nothing.
$. Now | am going to indulge in n few
suggestions OF "a general character.
am not going to undertake to explain
political economy or the currency ques
Bion. Very :ew people understand polit
lcal economy and nobody understands sht
currency question. Those WHO thinf
they know the most about it, that they
know it all, are sometimes those whl
know the least They are like these
people who IN the past Thought the cal tt
was fat. They had q more complete no
ton OF it then than has ever been haC
since.
"It is part of the business of this coun
try to gas Itself governed. We don't have
any heaFeB- das8Anded people to do oul
governing for us. Hence the government
by Darties.. lhava never complained Of
the fact That party did not take my
view OF things that it was DESTROYS q
governing in It's own way and present
ing iJs own propositions. Parties ar;
made an of two CLASSES of men, the ons
progressive and the other conservative
l don't mean tAa6 all men are equally
aggressive or equally conservative. but
that the mass range alone side by side
and that the dividing line shifts almost
every election. If nothing new comes VI
the line remains where it vas before
Ii q new question is given Importance
on which men differ, and that difference
becomes strong. some men of one party
go over to the other party and give them
the victory.
''Sone men think we ought always &c
be in motion, and have no settled con.
vietions. | differ from them, yet there
are questions where 1t is the duty of 6
man to his faith and belief to shift from
his party temporarily, or permanently
if the question is Of 3 character sufficient
ly important fully appreciate the
trouble and Misunderstanding to which
n man subjects himself by doirg thi.
from those OF his party not so intelii-
gent as he. Our affiliations are natural
~ with our party friends, yet there crt
times when our own interests Iaaks
us act with those who in times past op
posed US.
'Bu6 that doesn't make us belong tx
the other party, only it leads US to 40
with the majority. l don't think there
ever was a time when the Democrats
were freer to express
THEIR INDEPENDENT vIEws
than now, and come over to US. No
that would welcome those who dom
believe in us, but 1 would have every
man who does believe in us go with US. ,
Mr.. Reed referred to tho condition O.
the country when the Democratic party
took possession of the government il
1892, and said: "The party did not laol
intelligence, but unity of purpose. A.
long as they were in the minority an(
were simply opposed TO the Republican
party nobody asked the reason for this
There were in the party those who be
lieyed in prohibition, free traders, mod
crate tariff reformers. tariff for revenn
free traders, and SO on over the who'll
list That is the secret of the failure O
the administration when it took hold O
things in 1922 When it came to positiv
action it found n great difference o
opinion rs to how to run the government
Among the northen Dem ocrats not thre
out of ten believe or desired that tariff
reform, so called, would be carried on
to tho extent or in the manner that |
was. The reason for the belief that thf
was SO it found in the three election
since 1892. The Democrats haven
stayed az homo three times withou
showing what they thought of this poll
cy. What WAS the feeling in the ranks O
the Democracy? tt was q national feel
ri EN Nas