The age-herald., 1899-10-08

Far be 1t from me to charge that every man who advocated a convention or every newspaper was influenced by improper mo- tives; many were doubtless. sincere and pat riotic and my personal friends, but the in- side leaders, the little coterie who occupied the holy of holies and were casting lots whilst the people were being prepared for crucifixion, and expecting to part the raj ments of democracy and divide the bloody spells, cared nothing for the suffrage question, and were ready to barter places and emoluments in midnight caucus for votes.
 The heaviest artillery of their displeasure was turned upon me because l dared to stand for the rights of the people against the politicians and the press; day after day was denounced as a traitor, a schemer, a man without brains or patriotism, weak, timid and ambitious; after their overthrow the tune changed and the people were warned that I was a boss, bold and saga cious. an ambitious leader and shrewd tactician, and that extraordinary efforts would be required to defeat my purposes. There is no doubt about its requiring great efforts to defeat my purposes, for they are that the people shall control their own af- fairs, select their own officials and free themselves from the domination of all the rings and cliques that have been fattening upon them until they are swollen with pride and insoence.
 
 ten years been so thoroughly united and when that is the case there are no serious dangers to be aprehended.
 omc' al Criticism
 No man recognizes more fully than I the right of every citizen to criticize public of- ficials. The doctrine that any man can reach such lofty official heights in repub- lie that his neighbors and constituents may not comment freely upon his public acts is intolerable.
 I exercise and shall continue to exercise that right myself. When in 1893 Cleveland assembled congress in extra session and recommended the repeal of the purchasing clause of the Sherman act, was the first man in Alabama, and possibly the first in the Union, to denounce the act and charge him with betraying his party and platform and people: it was then said that 1t was rank rebellion and treason to denounce the leader, to question the acts of the com mander-in-chief and other absurd things were multiplied to save from merited score and contempt an official who had deliber- ately violated a pledge upon which he was elected to office. Those who were fercest in dehouncing me for this presumptious sin against a creature clothed with official robes. in less than three years deserted their party, denounced and abused and villified its great national leader and spit upon It's platform.
  no converts and is worthy of the contempt of every honest and courageous man. Fi- delity is no answer to malice and the mo- blest and most patriotic effort is not ex- empt from the attacks of the slanderer
 Washington and Jefferson were pursued and villified by political tricksters of their day and even the immortal Jackson had political flee barking at his heels, and so 1t has been in all times that those who stood up courageously for the people have been assaied by those seeking unlawful gains and unmerited rewards.
 What charges are now brought against me? Does any responsible man assert that I have unlawfully diverted or wasted single dollar of the peoples money or been unfaithful to a single pledge? Not one.
 The abuse almost invariably comes from some man who has been fenced out from the public treasury, or compelled to dis gourge some public money. or who has failed to get some office for himself or some friend or relative. When you hear one of them complaining ask what office was re- fused him or his kin friend How much his taxes were raised or what amount he had to surrender up?
 Fidelity to the people is to be made a crime, and one who keeps in touch with the masses and responds to their wishes and interests is denounced as a demagogue; the aristocratc plan is to keep the people in ignorance, settle policies and candidates at some "hotel conference'' and let such favors only drip out to the masses as are not desired by the select few.
 Nic4 ragua Canal
 Our people are vtally interested in the construction of the Nicaragua canal.
 It would open up to our iron and coal and timber and agricultural products mar kets that would greatly enhance their values and give employment to thousands of men. Both national parties have time and again declared for the construction of the great work, and enough oratory has been expended upon it in the senate and house to have cut canal from ocean to ocean if directed against the constructions separating them, yet today we are exactly where we were fifteen or twenty years ago. Every one seems to be for building the ca- nal just before elections and the usual bills are introduced. debated over and over again until the sessions are about to ex- pire and some worthless compromise adopted. The people are naturally getting very tired of men floating into office on the canal then allowed it to be locked and damned
 What we want is results, not talk It seems that the orators should be able to do their part of the work in fifteen or twenty years.
 The jawbones of debate should be con- verted into picks and spades. We want @ canal full of water, not wind.
 We were informed many years ago as to the best route and what it would cost and the last performance of congress was to appoint another commission to make another report. After all the talk and printed reports not a shovel full of dirt has been excavated under any bill enacted by congress. If all the speeches on this subject printed at the expense of the peo- pie were laid sixty feet wide they would cover this isthmus from ocean to ocean.
 Imperialism
 Washington in his farewell address warn- ed us to avoid entangling alliances with foreign nations and the Monroe doctrine was established as the supplement of his wise advice. Our country few years ago was on the eve of war with Great Britain because some small difference in regard to the boundary lines of the British territory In Venezuela. Our government resented their intermeddling with affairs on the American continent. Now under this administration we are on a sea of conquest that can only end in disaster The spirit of our constitution and the l very theory of republican government is | to this policy. We commenced the war with Spain be- |