Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1896-09-17

cheers Saturday AFTERNOON Wneh ~
O'Clock after the band played he
entered the wigwam. About l2oo
people were present as the morning
drizzle had cleared away and allowed
the farmers to come out.
BIC. Cranston presided and first
introduced j. W. Leedy, fusion candi-
date for governor, whose name was
not received with applause. He said
Watson would speak later. Then the
crowd yelled. 1t was plainly a watson
gathering and wanted to hear the
Georgia fire brand
Leedy spent his time discussing
transportations and corporations
saving that he would leave the
national questions for tonight He
was received coldly. The crowd
wanted Watson.
When Watson arose storm Of ap-
plause greeted him. He opened oy
saving that the nature Of his welcome
indicated that a Georgia Populist was
At home in Kansas. He then took up
the discussion Of the origin Of the
Populist party. The old parties have
lost their original character he de-
clsred and it was necessary that q
new Andrew jackson arise
Seldom is better speaker heard In
Abilene than Tom Watson. Small,
slender, red.haired and freckled' he
Is vet gifted with an eloquent tongue
. smile ths. is an illumination and a
way Of putting things that counts.
His speech, however, was some
thing more than oratory. 1t drove
home some unpleasant facts to the
Pop gang oiKansas'
He opened quietly and with dis.
cussion Of the run down condition Of
the nation. He told how poor ls
Georgia, how children are unclothed.
Anything like that in Kansas ne
asked. Cries Of 'no, no" and "yes,
yes"
He described the thrift OF the
Yankee. They have good money
down there" called Bill Badger
"You follow me, my friend and iii
have you on the mourner's BENCH :
was the reply.
West and South to combine against
| East and North was his plea and he
elaborated it by telling how power
and wealth are in the East and draw
ing tear-stained picture Of how the
| West is made to suffer.
"Then you Pops came to us with a
remedy. You sent PETER and simP-
son and Lease and told us how you
would 90 with us and we'd reform re-
form things. You said we wanted
$50 per capita. We believed you and
have stood up for principle and now
YOU have deserted" Taking up the
money question at length he declared
that McKinley's election means laws
compelling payment Of all debts in
solid gold. This was 50 idiotic as TO
| hurt his cause. He said gold dol
lar cost only 2S cents-he probably
meant that in some mines the labor
costs only cent grain for gold
produced. He pleaded for free silver
and said that 1t meant Populism'
there Is no middle ground and nc
other silver party. "a war wo'lio
be no good; man who has not SENSE
enough to vote straight couldn'tshoo
straight and might hit me-" he said
ave Georgia Populists have beer
whipped a half dozen times and arr
willing to be whipped as many more
but we don't fuse nor surrender.
stopped fusion there and in Texas
You Kansas Pops told us both oil
parties were bad. Have the Demo
Gratis become angelsP" Democrac.
was given terrible roasting. Con
cerning the negro in the South h
said. "He don't vote except unde
temporary and ) special circum
stances"
Then he turned his guns on MI
Sewall.
He repeated almost verbatim th
5 unmerciiul scorching he gave Sewa
a in Georgia and which the RErLEcTo
d published last week. He declare
b him antagonistic to every principI
$ Of Populism and the very opposite
Bryan.