Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-06-21
Chairman Lodges Speech.


one Of the greatest hOnOrs that can
fall to any American in public life Is
tObe called u preside over a Republic
can rational convention. How great
that honor j. you know. but you can
not realize. n,r can l express the graf
itude which l feel to You for having
conferred it upon me. / can only say
| to yau. in the simplest phrase. that
thank you from the bottom of my
heart 'Beegar that | am. l am even
poor in thanks. and Yet thank You.
We meet again TO nominate the neX-
Pres dent If the United States. Four
years have passed since we nominated
the soldier ana statesman VINO is now
President ana who is soon u enter
up1n his second term. Since the civil
War un Presidential term has been
crowded with great events as that
which is now drawing to close.
They have been four memorable years.
To Republicans they show a record Of
promises kept Of work done. Of I'M
foreseen questions met and answered.
To the Democrats they have been gen
erluS in the exhibition of unfultiiled
predictions. in the ruin of their hopes
of calamity and in futile opposition TO
the forces of the times, and the aSpIrd-
tions Of the American people. / wish
| could add that they had been equally
instructive to our opponents, but white
il is true that the Democrats, like the
BOurbons. learn nothing. ii Is only too
| evident that the familiar mpdriSon
cannot be completed. for they forget 4
| great deal which it would b. we'll for
them to remember.
| In 1897. We took the government and
the country from the hands Of Presi-
! dent Cleveland. His party had aban-
! doned him ana We're joined 70 their
| idols. of which he was NJ longer one.
! During the last years of his term W.
! had presented to us the melant molly
! succtacle of q President trying to gov
/ crn without Il party. The result was
| that his policies were in ruin. legiSla-
| ton was at standstill. and public af-
fairs were in a perilous and incoher-
ent condition. Party responsibility had
vanished and with it all possibility of
! intelligent action. demanded by the
country at home and abroad. 1t was
an interesting but by no means sin
gular display Of Democratic unfitness
fnr the practical work Of government.
To the political student it was instruc-
tive. to the country it was extremely
painful. to business disastrous.
We replaced this political chaos with
| n President in thorough accord with
his party and the machinery OF gov
eminent began to move smoothly ana
effectively Thus we kept at once our
promise of better and more efficient
administration. In four months. after
the inauguration If President Me Kin
ley we had passed a tariff bill. For II
years the artificial agitation, in behalf
of what was humorously called tarin
reform and of what was really free
trade, had kept business in ferment
and had brought treasury deficit
paralvzed industries, depression. panic
and finally continuous bad times to q
degree never before imagined. Woulc
YOU know the result Of our tariff legis-
llltion look about you Would YOU
measure its success. recOlleCt that it i
mo longer an issue. that our opponents
free traders as they are, do not dar'
Is make it an issue. that there is no
q state in the union, today which
could be carried for free trade againS
protection. Never was a policy more
fully justified by its works. never wa!
A promise made by any party more alb
solutely fulfilled.
We have the perspective
now of only short two years; and We
how clear and bright the great fact
stand out. like mountain peaks agans
the sky. while the gathering darkness
! of a just oblivion is creeping fast Owe