Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-08-06

which four letters signify 'pompods
posing and .strenuous'-leftt the CAPT
tai of New York and went to st. Paul
and delivered speech 20 an associa-
ton of republican clubs The speech
has not. from beginning to end, a
single argument or a single accurate
historical reference, q speech that is
made up of invective. misrepresenta-
tions and vituperation.
who. then, is this man, and what
is his history? Personalities are Of
fensive, and will not indulge in them.
But. surely, when we are thus bru-
tally assaulted we may ask who IL is
that is berating US.
Il will notice only few of the in
ciients of his public career which
throw light on the question of bis
sincerity and discretion. / find it re-
corded that years ago he was a mem.
Der of the New York legislature, and
on one occasion he reused the hopes
of the country by making a speech
against q class which he called the
criminal rich. But he at once dashed
these hopes by voting with and for
these criminal rich whom he had de-
nounced.
"1n the years 1897-1S98 he held a
federal Office in Washington, and in
order to escape paying his taxes in
New York he signed an affidavit and
swore before the everlasting God that
he was not citizen of New York. II
this was true, then. under the consti-
tuition of New York he would not
have been eligible for the governor
ship of that state. By subsequently
accepting a nomination and election
to that office he showed that he did
not believe his own affidavit. This
being so. may it not be that he does
not believe the charge that he has
made against us?"
Characterizing Mr.. Roosevelt as q
man who sought campaign notoriety,
who then discovered that 1.-The true
mission of the camera is to develop
tin-plate heroes" who always prom
ised and never performed. Mr.. Alt
geld continued:
II wish 10 avoid even the appear
ance of severity, and, as have not
the language to properly characterize
this mans career. l shall not attempt
it. He is the right man to defend
criminal aggression and the abandon
meut of, plain duty. by the president t.
he is the right man to defend war
of conquest, the burning of towns,
the slaughter of people and the as
sassination of liberty. But the dem
ocratic party will pay no attention to
his vulgar assaults"
Then he pictured the administers
tion's policy as one of imperialism
and militarism, and said:
You recall that the administration
papers told US in big headlines that
England loved us so much she wanted
US to keep all the island. 1t has since
developed that Germany wanted to
buy the islands of Spain England
did not want Germany for a neigh Dor
in the South seas. She conld not
control German statesmen as she
could American policy; therefore, If she
could not have ths islands herself the
next best thing was to have them
held by an administration whom she
could control; hence the desire that
we should keep them"
OF the FIlipinos he said:
Look at the spectacle of a trust
candidate for vice president of the
United States, who has never seen the
Philippines. standing up at distance
of 10000 miles from these island,
and, in order to get votes in support
of a criminal cause, is willing TO libel
those innocent people who have done
neither him nor US any harm, but
whose towns we have been burning
for nearly two years, whose fathers
and brothers we have been shooting
down, whose fields we have beer
laying waste, on the order of Presi-
dent Mckinley, issued on Dec. 81,
1898. beginning a war of conquest
Concluding. he quoted from Lin
coin:
They who deny freedom to others
deserve it not for themselves. and un-
der a just God cannot long retain it,
And said:
Now. my friends. we propose to
stop this criminal aggression into
which the syndicate and the British
ambassador have launched us. We
are going to stop bloodshed and de-
vastation in the Philippines by saying
to the Filipinos that when they estab-
lish a good government we will with
draw on such terms as may be just.
I'VE are going to do what the
president called our plain duty to-
ward the Porto Ricans. We are going
to redeclare that King George was
wrong, and that his principles shall
not disgrace our statute books"