Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1899-09-21
The Pop Who Objected.

v
Not long ago there was Populist
convention in Central Kansas. 1t
dragged along its course until at last
it adopted the usual resolutions,
abusing McKinly and his administra-
tion, declaring the war failure and
ending with
"Resolved, That we are opposed to
expansion and believe that our sol.
diers should come home at once from
the Philippines"
Then it was that delegate from a
far off township, a man with gray
hair and wearing bronze button on
his coat arose, and said:
Mr.. Chairman: | am going to vote
against these resolutions. In the
first place we have never had any
thing but expansion since this has
been a United States. Suppose we
had never expanded where would we
be today! We would only have thir-
teen stars on our flag and you II you
lived in Kansas would be voting with
Spain or France or some other power,
il YOU voted at all. Now the fact is
we have been expanding for the last
100 years and we have added to our
domain until we have 40 states.
Some Of these states were obtained
through a war with foreign power
and we have had war after war with
the Indians who were the wards Of
the powers we obtained them from,
but you see, Mr.. Chairman, we ex-
panded just the same. Then we
bought Alaska and we had expansion
again and no kick coming. No polit-
ical party put it in their resolutions
against expansion in those days and
now what is the use OF passing these
resolutions when we have already
gone and expanded You might as
we'll pass resolutions that the Al
mighty shouldn't make a world that
is already made! Did we not get
Texas, New Mexico and California
the same way we did the Philippinesp
We must 60 forward or else 60
backward. Suppose after Dewey had
destroyed the Spanish fleet Mckinley
had ordered him home, then we would
have had an issue. We could have
passed resolutions denouncing Nc
Kinley for not seizing the Philippine
islands and come out straight for ex-
pansion and had an issue.
Mr.. Chairman, we have been hunt
ing for an issue for a whole year and
it seems like the Republicans have
got the world by the tail with a
down hill pull.
Ny fellow delegates, you can't fool
the American people; they know a
good thing when they see it. They
know we are having better times than
we had under Cleveland. They
know that we have plenty Of the best
money in the world to do business
with. They know that we are get
ting better prices Tor grain and cat
tie. They know that men are getting
better wages; they know that almost
every factory in the United States
has raised the wages Of the men with
out being asked to doso. They know
that the factories that were idle four
years ago are belching out smoke
now day and night. They know also
that those factories, most OF them,
are six months behind with their or.
ders. Mr.. Chairman, you can fool
some Of the people some Of the time
but you can't fool all Of the people
all OF the time.
think the people Of Kansas have
quit taking Mrs. Leases advice and
have quit raising hades and gone to
raising more corn. In fact, Mr..
Chairman. it seems to me that every
thing in Gods world is shouting ex-
pansion; the commerce Of the United
States is doubling up on expansion
even the Kansas potatoes are crowd
ing each other out Of the hill and two
and three ears Of corn are on almost