The Goodland republic., 1900-10-19

Quite q large audience gathered at
the opera house Saturday night to hear
the joint debate on the political issues
between Tully Scott and Congressman
". A Reeder, democratic and repubIi-
can candidates for congress.
DR.. WI. FarroW acted as chairman
for both speakers. Mr.. Scott made the
opening address and spoke 80 minutes.
Mr.. Reeder follower, speaking one
hour and fifteen minutes. and Scott
closed in . minutes.
Mr.. seOtrs Speech
Mr. -ScOtt's opening was well stated
and he said in part:
The issues of the present campaign
are whether the declaration of inde-
pendence and the constitution of the
United States shall be retained as the
fundamental law of the land or aband-
oned and the administration of Viii
liam Mckinley indorsed. Mr.. Mckinley
has reversed himself and his party on
nearly everything declared by republi-
can statesmen in years gone by. This
fact needs no profit is welI-kncwn
to all.
On the republican claim Of pros
perity be said the panic Of 1873 was
under a republican administration.
The panic Of 1898 followed close upon
the heels of Mr.. Harrison's admins
tration. He quoted statistics to prove
that WOrkingmen we're better off under
Cleveland's administration than under
HarrisOn's. He scored the sfulI-dinner-
pail" argument as base aud unpatriotic
an appeal to brute necessities. They
do not appeal to patriotism, states
manship, justice, humanity, but to the
pocket and the stomach.
On the trust question he said that
the giant combines fixed the price of
all farm products and controlled the
market. The manufacturing trusts
fixed the price Of all articles that the
consumer must buy and raised the
price at will He charged the republi-
can party with insincerity in its prom
ises to suppress the trusts. He quoted
democratic platforms on the subject,
and challenged Mr. Reeder to show
from his party platforms that they
had any intention to curb the giant
combines. They had not enforced the
antitrust laws and under McKinley's
administration the number Of trusts
had increased enormously.
On Imperialism he charged the pres
ent administration, quoting McKinley's
words, with criminal aggression" The
Sulu treaty came in for its share of
Fidicule and scOrn. The Porto Rican
tariff law was arraigned and the "pIain
duty to give the Porto Rican people
the benefit of our markets" had been
reversed by Mckinley and his party at
the behest of the sugar and tobacco
trusts. Mr.. Reeder spoke for and voted
for this infamous bill, on the plea that
it was in the interests of the people Of
the island and to punish the sugar
trust.
Mr.. Scott's closing on this subject
was foreible, and the audience re-
sponded with rounds of applause.
Mr. Reeder's Speech
Mr.. Reeder waved Introductory re-
marks and plunged into the pension
question. He presented figures on
pension legislation, the bills passed by
the republicans and voted against by
democrats. He gave the number of
(pFivste) pension bills vetoed by Mr.
Cleveland to show the unfriendliness
Of the democrats to the old soldier. He
told Of his own efforts to secure pen
sions for his constituents, and his sue
cess in this line He had also secured
the passage Of the law ceding the Fort
Hays military reservation to the state
of Kansas. He had secured the appro-
priation Of $4,000 to sink deep wells
IN western Kansas to test irrigation by
srtesian wells and to discover mineral
deposits. He and Congressman Long
had secured the opening Of the hemp
ports Of the Philippine islands and
thus had saved i've cents a pound to
the farmers Of Kansas on binding
tWine. He compared his success with
populist failure for ten years to ac-
complish any Of these results. (He did
not say, OF course, that pOpulists being
on the minority side in congress could
not get recognition from the speaker,
and that their efforts were baked BY
the republican majority He defended
his course on the Porto Rican tariff
bin and explained his reason for voting
for the bin The bin was passed, he
said, for the benefit Of the people Of
the island; that directly or indirectly
the amount collected was returned to
the people and provided the much
needed revenue for governmental and
other expenses He claimed the 10
per cent of the DinEley bill should
r---. 49, * - o.e-,r