The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1900-09-27
Honorable Robert NJ. LaFOIlette Opens the Re-
publican Campaign Before Great
Crowd at the Opera House
GREAT MEETING AND GOOD SPEECH
Discusses the Issues of the Campaign Mas
y Manner and Prosperity the Prosperity OF
the CHy-Pays Respects to Senator TiNman and Flags the
Opponents of Sound Government With MerCIess
Manufactures National Honor and
National Integrity

I fleet sunk in the harbor. He portrayed
again the impotence of the people
waiting for the government to respond
to this request.
Finally the fleet of the Spanish
under Cevera was destroyed on the
rocks of Santiago. Spain gave up
the struggle and we entered into nego-
tiations of peace. These were drawn
up and sent to the Congress OF the
United States for ratification. It re-
quired a two-thirds vote to ratify. 1t
could not be done without the aid OF
the Democrats. At that time Demo-
crat of large influence among the
Democrats came up from the south
and gave ali his influence for the rati-
fication of the treaty. That man was
William Jennings Bryan. With his
aid the treaty was ratified and the war
was over. Then the speaker went on
to show that the war had been begun,
carried on, and finally concluded, by
the ratification of the peace by joint
efforts of the Republicans and the
Democrats. The speaker then pointed
out the position of the leader of the
Democrats on the subject of the rat1h-
cation of the treaty of peace, and
found his true reason for the position
he took in the speech delivered at
Wilmington, in which Mr.. Bryan
stated that if the ratification was not
then consummated, it might run over
into another administration, and there
would be no question to which the pub
lie mind could be invited in the
present campaign. In other words, the
treaty of peace was ratified by the
Democrats, under the direction OF Mr..
Bryan for the sole purpose of making
an issue for them in this campaign.
The speaker then took up the Philip
pines, the character of it's people and
the character of the alleged leader,
Aguina1do. He first outlined the
career of the rebel chieftian and plain
1y pointed out his treachery, as
brought out III his communications be-
tween himself and the authorities of
Spain before the war was over. He
told of the efforts of the Presidentto &C
quire the most intelligent information
on the question of what should be done
with the Philippines, by sending
commission consisting of the men
most capable of making the report, to
the Philippines to study the conditions
among those people. The Commission
went to the Philippines, made a thor
ough investigation and returned with
the report that showed that out of the
eighty-four tribes occupying that
host of islands sixty-nine were wild
tribes and utterly incapable of self gov
eminent: that the instruction was
confined to a people comprising less
than a sixth of the population of these
| islands, and that the remainder were
willing and anxious to come under the
control and protection Of the United
| States.
The history of territorial acquisition
| in this country was touched upon and
extracts were read from speeches made.
| in Congress at the time of the acquisi-
ton of Louisiana, showing the ridicu-
| 1ousness of the arguments then
brought against the acquisition.
He discussed to quite an extent the
''consent of the governed" idea in the
Democratic platform, and made much
| fun for the audience at the expense of
| Senator Ti11man, of South Carolina.
He referred to the fact that the Senator
had been selected to read the National
Democratic platform to the convention
in which the profound respect of the
Democratic party for the constitution
was expressed, then quoted Til1man in
the Senate as declaring that 1--WE of
South Carolina had found the Four
teenth and Fifteenth Amendments
were null and void Continuing in
the same line he showed that the apeo-
pie of South Carolina and other south
ern states had been disfranchised; he
declared that it is the Imperialism,
right here in our country, and not over
in the Philippines, that endangers the
Republic.
Mr.. La Toilette spent some time IN
Analysing Mr.. Bryan personally. He
was not in any. sense abusive of the
Democratic leader, but he expressed
the belief that with all his e1oquence
Mr.. Bryan was not statesman, and
was an unsafe man to put at the head
of tn or any other government. He
spoke of a statesman as man who is
able, by his unusual powers of logic
and foresight, to forecast the future.