The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1896-03-28

unanimOuslv adopted, a resolution APP
proving and indOTSing the forthcoming
Washington conference to which L have
alluded. and directing the chairman
Mr.. Bland, to appoint delegates theretC
to represent the democracy OF this state
| MI. Bland informed the convention that
he would select the delegates at an
early day and notify them. In a lew
days Mr.. Bland wrote me from Lebanon
that he had named me as one of the
delegates. and he urged me to attend
the conference. / neither sought mol
desired this appointment. II came
wholly unsolicited, as Mr.. Hland can
testify. At great personal lncohven,
fence | went to Washington with eight
or ten other delegates, who had been
appointed by Mr.. Bland. At that con-
ference t~wenty-seven states were repre-
scented. as | now recall it. My colleagues
from Missouri designated me to serve
on the committee on resolutions and
address; and | was one of the SuD-com-
mittee appointed to prepare the address,
Senator Daniel, of Virginia; Ex-senator
Walsh, of Georgia; Ex-Governor Jarvis,
of North Carolina; Mr.. I~IenIichson, of
Illinois, and Mr.. Carmack, of Memphis,
being the other members. We prepared
the address which the conference issued
to the democracy of the United States,
urging the free cCi lage democrats to or
ganiZe so as to make their power and
influence felt.
APPOINTED AS ORGANIZER.
With a view to carrying out the pur-
poses of the conference, that body
appointed a committee on organization.
That committee was composed of Sen
ators Harris, Jones and Turpie, MI.
HenrichsOn, of Illinois, Mr.. Young, of
Tennessee and myself. 1t was made
NIa lrty Af that ANN fffnn To nnrfnRf n
plan of organization, to appoint organ
Izers III each state and territory, and to
take such steps as might be deemed
necessary to carry out the objects of the
conference. Shortly after the conference
adjourned, Senator Harris. who a
been elected chairman of the committee,
called the committee to meet at Mem
phis. | attended that meeting. At
that meeting the committee assigned
nine of the western states and territories
to mo to select organizers therein and
to put them to work. Missouri was n
of the states assigned to me. When
organizers were selected they were to be
reported to the committee for confirma-
ton. L made several trips and wrote
scores of letters in my efforts to get the
right men as organizers in these states
and territories, and in getting them to
work. AS these organizers were selected
they were reported to the committee for
continuation. Mr.. Lon V. Stephens
was reported and confirmed as the local
organizer of this state. During the last
sever or eight months l have been doing
all | could, in the midst of a multitude
of other duties, to aid the state organ
izers in their work. l have co-operated
with Mr.. Stephens in this state to the
best of my ability, and we have been
ably assisted by a number of others who
- al4- 4AnI1 nwa aAn-
suited with such men as COckrell, Vest,
Bland, Benton, Gibson and dozens of
others, concerning different phases of
the work.
ACTING UNDER AUTHORITY.
From the foregoing it will be seen
that whatever work L have done to
effect an organization of the free coinage
| have done directly under
authority of a state democratic con
and a national democratic con-
ference, which had the Endorsement of
the state convention, and to which that
convention sent me as a delegate. The
Republic says / should do something to
serve the party. That is what L am
doing, and | am doing it along the very
lines marked out by the party in this
state, and under the direct authority of
its commission. For doing this arduOuS
and difficult work, which was assigned
to me against my wish, the Republic, as
the organ of the gold standard forces,
maligns and villities me-. 1t tOrtures its
powers of invention to find something
to say against me which it imagines
may do me harm, or which 1t thinks
may result in setting the free coinage
men at each others throats. Its specific
ch~arges-that | am ambitious that /
want to be a boss !; that | want to knife
Vest, Bland and other: that L hold
to cencOct dangerous
schemes !; that l cOmmuted the sentence
of a criminal to promote the ambitions
of a friend, are so absurd and con-
temptible that | am reluctant to notice
them in detail. Life is too short for that.
All / now desire to do is to call the
attention of Missouri democrats to the
fact that | am being bounded for a
/ seek to perform under their
appointment and in obedience to their
direction. With this fresh i'll their
minds | am content to leave the issue.
CONCLUSION.
In conclusion / want to say that dur
ing the two and a half years this coinage
controversy has been the paramount
in our party politics, although i
have taken a more or less active part in
the discussions, l challenge the Repub-
lie, until it began these attacks, to quote
single offensive expression from me
about any person or paper, and even
under the attacks ! have said but little.
On the contrary, L have strenuously
avoided personalities. ] have on sew
eral occasions publicly appealed to dem
to eliminate acrimonious personal
controversy from the discussions, and
to settle the issue solely upon principle.
I repeat my challenge to the Republic
to quote a single expression of mine,
prior to this recent TRADE of abuse,
offensive in character and directed
against any particular person or paper.
l have spoken of classes, but not of
1 have, like others, de-
nOunced Wall street, its practices and
purposes l have, like others, denounc-
ed stock gamblers, option gamblers and
other combinations and influences which
| deemed inimical to the public in
but l have made no personal
on any one, unless some gentle
feeling the shoe pinch, has himself
make a personal application of what l
said, and took OffenSe accordingly.
state have made personal illusions to
men. This has been done by papers
all shades of opinion. But
do not wi any newspaper, nor a far
interest in ne. sustain
personal relations with a num-
Der of editors, but | cannot control
their u~tterances OF the policies of their
1t is both unjust and unreas-
enable to attempt to saddle me with
responsibility for what others may say
Dr. do. 1 am entirely willing to answer
for what | say or do myself and if /
owned or controlled a newspaper, /
would be willing to answer for its
but | protest that [ can not
be held responsible for the course of
others who are as free to act independ-
as / am.
In view of these facts | submit to the
candid judgment of Missouri democrats
if these miserable and filthy attacks,
instigated by influences as desperate as
are despicable, do not deserve
universal execration. Already my name
has been forged to a letter L never saw
Or heard of already l have been charged
with committing "a sentence to buy a
priest to the support of Sam Cooks
political ambition already | have been
with committing and contem-
a multitude of crimes, great and
small. If this is to continue | suppose
| am yet to be charged with burglary,
murder, treason and all the crimes in
calendar. | am surprised that the
Republic and its allies are content
merely to charge my offenses in general
Since they have started or this
career, with the object of first destroy
80. 49, e. Ill --A