The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-05
"HOME RULE bids FAREWELL TO
SENATOR GEIGER.
Current Rumors of Congressional
Greatness Not Overlooked.

Current Rumors of Congressional
Greatness Not Overlooked.
Hon ". W. Geiger. Senate Chamber.
Atlanta. Ga: Sir-Once more I address
you on the subject of your legislative
course, but trust you will pardon me, as
it will be the last communication on pub
lie affairs I shall trouble you with. for,
in all human probability. never again will
you be in a position to interest the large
body of voters in this senatorial district
say this with full knowledge of the cur
rent rumor touching promises Of congress
sional greatness.
Permit me in the outset to tender you
my congratulations on the success attend
ing your efforts 10 aid your friends, the
Savannah commissioners. You are GER
tainly great man, senator; you may be
called a politician now. but when you de-
part this mundane sphere (may the day be
many years distanO. your biographies will
write you down as a statesman. Not only
will they designate you as a statesman, but
they will say that you occupied with ref
erence TO your constituents an unwise po-
sition. They viii tell the readers of the
future that not only did you refuse to
carry out the wishes of the voters who
elected you. but that you killed measures
advocated by all the direct representa-
tives of the people affected. They will
say not only that you did this, but THAI
you actually gloried in your inconsistency
At one time you said one thing; at an
other you did exactly the contrary. You
gave one year a certain excuse for your
conduct; when your attention was the
next year called to this you disregarded
your own words and pursued the ever.
tenor OF your way, unembarrassed and
fl1a rI,se
Of an awakened conscience. They will go
on to tell that you gave other reasons
which you said actuated you in the per-
Torrance of your duty. In the interest
of truth, however, they will add that il
was shown to you that the premises on
which you based your reasons We're I'M
true, in fact. Yet it will be pointed out
that with a magnificent disdain of your
own utterances and a reckless disregard
of your peoples wishes, you went ahead
and were consistent only in your incon-
sistency.
l regret, senator, that it is necessary 10
tell you these things. Doubtless they Of
fend you. They ought to. You said once
that facts were stubborn things. They
are They also hurt and wound They
are like bad conscience. They will rise
to confront us and will not down at our
bidding. But, Senator the hardest feature
of your whole performance is that you
did these things and boasted that you were
democrat. Excuse me for saying So my
dear senator, but no man with the record
behind him that lies back of you can
lay claim to the title of democrat; and
you really must pardon me if 1 doubt
that you ever were one. Turn to your po-
iitical dictionary or encyclopedia and look
up the definition of democracy. am
speaking now of the restricted or partgS
sense of the word. You will find that in
these United States democracy is the coll
lective term used to describe the princi-
pies advocated by a political body known
as democrats; that the great and cardinal
principle of these voters is home rule, the
right of the people of a section to con-
troll their own affairs and to govern them
selves in their own local matters free from
outside interference. Go back, senator,
to the teachings of the father of the
democratic party, the great Jefferson and
you Will find that this grand principle
seems to have been the keynote of all
his utterances on the subject of party
faith and party doctrine. Take down from
your library shelves some work on An
drew Jackson and learn in what respect.
even awe, this rugged old exponent of
party loyalty held the right of the people
TO govern themselves. Read the teach
ings of all the great leaders of the party
and you will fail to note single break
in the chain of party faith. Georgia's
distinguished son, Stephens, almost wor-
tor was never more eloquent than when
dilating upon it; Toombs the magnificent
aristocrat, never used more bitter invec-
tive than that which he employed against
those who would have taken from the
people this right of self-government
When Patrick Henry acclaimed against
the wrongs of his people, he was carry
ing into the hearts and consciences of
his hearers the sanetity of the principle
of local self government This principle,
my dear senator. may be said to run
through American political history from
the time the foundation of the government
was laid. l need not call your attention
| TO the fact that the south sacrificed thous-
! ands of lives and millions of dollars in de-
| Tense of this privilege.
Against the founders of the republic, op-
| posed to the fathers of the party, we find
| down here in democratic Georgia, at the
! end of the nineteenth century, a master
mind. a self-styled democrat" a senator
| in the Georgia Legislature, a lifelong stu
| dent of the science of government a
| boaster of his democracy" a representa-
| tive of a democratic constituency no less
! a person than yourself. the Hon. Winfield
! w. Geiger of near Pembroke, in the coun-
| ty of Bryan.
1t is extremely unfortunate for the
| great men of the past that you should
| have differed with them. but doubtless