Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-10
Speech Of Z. ROsewstsr to the Eighth Ward
Republican Club,
MERCER ANO His HACKERS ARRAIGNLD
Methods Of the Men who Supper the
Present Congressman from the
Second Nebraska District
Exposed.
CONTINUED from Seventh Pase.)

and district the republicans of that district
would not be justified in returning him
again for another term. unless Il was abso-
lutely impossible to nnd any man qualified
for the position7 l do not believe you will
md any dinaculty In finding a man qualified
to represent you in the next congress.
what Credit t. Conceded.
l am willing to concede now that Mr..
Mercer has done a good deal Of good work
for this district. / have commended him
on every occasion when he did good work.
In fact, l have very often credited him with
work where he had other people behind him
helping him to do Il; where he would have
made an absolute failure without that help.
OF course he has always had the sublime
assurance to claim everything, and It has
been credited to him because in campaign
after campaign we wanted to re-elect him,
and l wanted to make him Just as strong as
he could be made by giving him credit for
everything that was done, even though l
knew that others had done a great deal and
were entitled to some Of the credit.
While Mercer has accomplished a great
deal, he has by no means always been loyal
to Omaha. For years Omaha had e~ndeavoreI
to secure a quartermaster's depot, which
would have been OF very much more benefit
to us than ten Indian supply depots. Now
then, we had a bill prepared that the War
department was willing to endorse, but in
stead Of putting that bill through 1t was
emasculated and changed into a bill for an
appropriation and, Of course, It was side
tracked and killed of. Then I requested
Senator Thurston to introduce a bill drawn
in accordance with the wishes Of the War
department. The senator introduced the
bill and 1t laid in the senate several months
without making any Roadway. l went to
Washington and called at the War depart
ment and asked the quartermaster general,
to whom the bill had been referred, whether
or not he would be willing to endorse 1t.
He said he would not recommend 1t because
he had changed his views on the subject.
/ said, Very we'll, then, l would like to
have you return II without your recommen-
dation; wo want the bill back in the SEN
ate" It was returned next day. / called
upon the chairman OF the subcommittee,
Senator Carter, to whom the bill had been
referred, and he said II l could get the en-
dorsement Of Secretary Gage he would try
to have the bill put through. Within
twenty-four hours 1 had the endorsement
Of Secretary Gage on that bill and when I
left Washington the senator had the bill in
hand. within three days after my return
1 TeCelNeu u IoloBEdm tudt ~ uh wac
recommended. The following day l re-
ceived q telegram from Senator Carter that
the bill had passed the senate. (Applause.)
ThrottIes Quartermaster's Depot Bill.
After the bill had passed the senate
Speaker Henderson referred It to Dave
Mercer. He thought he was doing US a
great favor by putting the bill in the hands
Of our own congressman instead Of referring
"A Il - -,GIlNorr Aviation
where It really should ave gone. some
time having elapsed and no report having
been made, l met Captain Hull, the chair
man Of the committee on military affairs.
/ spoke Of the bill and he said: II would
like to help you out, but l have not got
the bill" I then found It was in the pocket
Of Mercer, and Mercer, out of cussed spite
work, kept that bill back and killed 1t.
Now he has reintroduced It and is trying to
rass It through the house, End he may
pass It through the house. but l doubt very
much whether It will ever pass the senate,
because the committee Is now different
from what 1t was then and the chances are
that It will be smothered and killed.
Would an honest representative be guilty
Of such trickery? II Mercer was afraid
Thurston would get some credit, It was dis
graceful. II he thought l would get the
credit, It was not honorable. That bill
ought to have been passed and would have
been passed IL he had not held 1t In his
pocket. All he had to do was report 1t.
I make this statement because now he ls
coming back and wants to get a sixth term
In congress. There is no good reason why
he should be reelected. even II he had
not been derelict in his duty. But. lest we
forget, let me call your attention to an
other evidence Of MERGERS treachery, be-
cause / see Mr.. Blackburn is here and I
want to face him In making the charge:
Playing in with Democrats.
When the election was over you all know
that there was to be a very close fight over
the credentials Of the members from this
county. The result In Douglas county was
to determine whether we would have a
republican legislature or a democratic legls-
lature. We had a bare majority In the
house OF representatives and II two more
OF our candidates had lost their seats Mr..
Bryan and Mr.. Hitchcock, or Mr.. Allen,
would have occupied the seats that are now
occupied by Willard and Dietrich. When
the clerk was about to appoint the can
vassers he made q certain selection. Mr..
Hitchcock, in my presence, objected and
asked Mr.. Haverly to appoint Thomas w.
Blackburn In the place of one Of the can
vassers the clerk had selected. l want TO
know why Hitchcock wanted Blackburn APP
pointed? Why did he prefer Blackburn to
any other republican? Hitchcock was q
candidate for United States senator. Was
there an understanding between him and
Mr.. Blackburn? Don't that show that there
was a mystic tie that bound Mercer and
Hitchcock together? Does not that explain
the subsequent performance Of the World
Herald2
Did we have to go to the democratic can
didates for United States senator to dis
cover canvassers for election boards to be
appointed by republican clerks In the
county, II don't seem right to me. 1t
looked to me very suspicious. It did not
look straight. And since then everything
has tended to confirm my belief and / now
have absolute proof that Mr.. Mercer either
wanted to be senator himself or did not
want any republican senators elected. Mr..
Armstrong, a member OF the legislature
from Nemaha county, remembers distinctly
MERGERS threat that II he was not elected
nobody would be elected. and that he would
be the dispenser OF the patronage for Ne
braska II there were no republican senators.
That has been his idea and that was the
Inspiration for his candidacy. II he could
not make II. and the chances were a thou