The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-01-23
Draws Members from Commit tie e
Rooms to Hear Him Mercilessly
FIay the Democracy.
PRETTY TRIBUTE TO M'KINLEY
AND AN EXCORIATION OF THE PAR
TY THAT ALWAYS Is WRONG.
He Recalls All the DOlefuI Prophecies
of the Leaders and shows They
Were False.
Special to the indianapolis Journal.


WASHINGTON, Jan. 22.-The feature of
to-days session of Congress was the elo-
quent speech of Representative James
Watson, of Rushville, Ind. 1t was by far
the most popular utterance heard so far
in the Fifty-seventh Congress and has
placed the name of Watson on the lips of
almost every person in Washington inter-
ested in national affairs When he COM
menced, not over a score Of Republicans
and Democrats were in their seats. Be
fore he had proceeded five minutes over
half the members of the House were carr
est listeners and the galleries were packed.
When he completed the members and spec
tators not only applauded, but cheered.
Many of them rose to their feet and
cheered for the young Indianian, while
dozens rushed to his desk to congratulate
him. From that time on he was congratu-
lated in the lobby and corridors and in the
hotel lobby tonight.
The peroration followed statement in
denunciation of the Democratic claim that
the United States had taken the place of
Spain as a despoiler of the Philippines.
Having been chosen to close the general
| debate on the urgency deficiency bill, Mr..
Watson passed in review some of the criti-
cisms the minority side, and reminded
the House that so per cent. of the revenues
from the archipelago had been diverted to
this country. In ringing tones and sweep
ing two-arm gestures, Mr.. Watson COM
pared this condition with what the Ameri-
cans have done toward education and i'm
provements.
"Why, Mr.. Chairman. we have heard
these speeches before" said he 81 well
remember that when William Mckinley,
the gentlest memory of our day. was Pres
ident of the United States, these same cpl
thets were used, these same arguments were
employed. / remember that these gentlemen
exhausted the dictionary in order TO ampli-
! fy their vocabulary of epithets. You re-
member what they said. How distinctly
we remember how they hurled their male
dictions at his head; and how the doleful
prophet from Missouri CMr. De Armond)
| prophesied unutterable woe unless all these
things should happen that he wanted to
| happen. Why, the stately and mourntul
| stanzas of Isaiah, the deep and melan-
| choIy reflections of jeremiah, the sharp
| and explanatory maledictions of Mala-
! chi are but as the murmurous breath as
compared with the woe-laden and sorrow
burdened prophesies of the gentleman from
| Missouri. Laughter and applause.] But
behold! they have not come to pass"
WHAT DEMOCRATS SAID.
Suiting his tones to the sense Of his
! speech and raising a long forefinger por-
! tentously Mr.. Watson added: And we
/ well remember what our Democratic
/ friends on the other side had to say about
these propositions. We remember that
! these clean hands of the great statesman
| now gone were charged as being dripping
with fresh blood of his fellowmen. We
/ remember that heart which we now know
to have been pure was charged with being
| a resting place for tyranny and hate We
well remember that that breast, which we
! now know in it's aims embraced humanity
! and humanity's cause, was charged with
being a spawning place for oppression and
/ oppresson's breed. We remember that
/ they did not hesitate to say that that fer
/ tile brain, which throbbed with love for all
! mankind, was full of schemes for land rob-
| bling, for lust of empire for greed of gain.
| We knew that all these arrows were hurled
| at his head. These arrows were all broken
| at his feet and left his name untarnished.
| The powder was all burned and found no
flaw in his armor, no stain upon his shield.
! And now that the narrow chasm which
! separates us from eternity is bridged; now
that his soul has fitted through its dark
/ and somber shadows, and William McKin-
/ ley stands immortal, it does seem remark
/ able to me that our Democratic friends
/ should loose the tongue of vituperation, of
! SANDER, of aspersion, Of vilifcation, in
| speaking of the Republican party and of
the boys fighting over yonder in the Phil
| ippines under the shadow of the American
| flag.
But, Mr. Chairman. there need be no
| trouble about this" he continued. THE
| Republican party is at the helm, and that
means safety for the republic and safety
| for the F'ilipinos. OH what strange thing
/ this old Democratic party is, anyhow, is
it not? IA sentence that suggested to some
| of the older members an almost classic po-
/ litical speech of the late Captain Boutelle,
/ of Maine. which began: What a grand
old humbug the Democratic party is. any
/ way.'l What do they believe in now? Does
anybody know what principle they go
! ing TO adopt?" He inquired in triumphant
manner, Can anybody tell? is there one
/ solitary page of human history written in
/ the last forty years that they have had
anything to do with, except party of
/ opposition?
I'm 1860 our friends of the South got UP
a strife down there, and every one of them
| is glad 70 say that he did not succeed. In
I
/ ings in slavery. Are you not glad, my Dem
/ ocratic friends" he asked, turning toward
! the Democratic side with outstretched
] arms. that you did not succeed in that
! conflict? And when we found that the debt
/ had piled mountain high and people were
amazed and terrified at it's immense pro-
portions, the Democratic party wanted 10
repudiate it. But the Republican party
/ said. No. every dollar of that debt is as
! sacred as the soldiers blood, and every
dollar of il must be redeemed and under
| the magnificent leadership of Ulysses S
! Grant we won great victory.
TARIFF AND OTHER QUESTIONS.
! Are you not glad, my Democratic
! friends. that you did not succeed in that
/ conhict?'' Mr.. Watson reiterated with
! splendid sarcasm. And in 1883, when the
| tariff question came on, our Democratic
! friends were for free trade, they wanted
\ the tariff barriers torn down so that they
might have absolute, unrestricted fee trade
with all the world. We fought them in
/ that campaign. Are you not glad that you
/ did not succeed my Democratic friends?
I'm 1892 we had the same issue under
/ the same leaders. and the Democratic
party won at the polls. Are you not ever
\ lastingly sorry that you did win that fight p
/ This spoken with great emphasis and
- ~ This