Omaha daily bee., 1902-06-01

one Of the best records in the consulate
department Of this government. David
II. Mercer" My distinguished opponent
fought him when he was a young man,
when he was unknown. fought him with
the power Of his great paper, and yet
Mercer was elected triumphantly. The
trouble with my distinguished opponent is
he has gotten in the habit OF attacking so
many republicans who will not yield to his
control that a censure from his paper has
come to be a vote of confidence. daughter
and applause.)
James w. Dawes, Thomas j. Majors. -
My distinguished opponent was a member
of the national committee and resigned
that position to enter the contest to defeat
a republican candidate for governor of a
republican state.
Voices: That is what.
That is what. wv. I. Leese, A. s.
Churchill, Loren Clark, Charles H. Gere,
H. c. Russell, G. L. Laws, Thomas H.
Benton" And we could go down the list
of district judges in Douglas county ana
you would scarcely miss one of them that
at some time or other he has not fought,
either at the polls, at the primaries, or
through the columns of his paper.
1t will not do for him to say that he has
always been a consistent republican. Why,
consistent republicans, my friends, who
want to see the success of the republican
party, are not always attacking republican
candidates and Office holders. Why, it is
only last September that my distinguished
opponent was interviewed in the World
Herald and made an attack upon the fed
eral office holders of this state, and he
charged that the federal office holders in
this state, men who had received commits
sions from the president of the United
States, had to receive money to support the
ticket. That interview was published in
the paper; that interview was never denied.
Did the gentleman enter any charge against
these federal office holders on account OF
that? Did the gentleman have any of these
federal office holders brought before the
grand jury on account of that? Let him an
swer when he comes to reply. Let him tell
who these federal Office holders are and were,
who he says wanted and received money
in order to obtain their support for Will
liam Mckinley.
Now. he says that Mr.. Webster really
never had this delegation at the time he
broke in. CLaughter) Well, 1t was gen.
orally understood that 1t was Webster's
delegation. Gentlemen who were upon that
delegation, Mr.. Olmstead and Mr.. Meyers,
have told me that that delegation was
pledged to John L. Webster, and 1t was a
fact while they we're still voting for Web
ster that my distinguished opponent had
circulated among them a paper asking
them to agree that when fifteen republicans
had signed 1t they would vote for him, and
he stated that when he got fifteen repub-
licans to sign that PAPER he had fusion
votes enough to elect him United States
senator. (Laughter).
Now, why talk of treachery on the part
of Mercer. 1t seems to me, fellow citi-
zens, that before 1 would humiliate myself
in that way-the gentleman talks about
boodlers, he talks about lcbbyists-but be-
fore l would humiliate myself as did my
distinguished opponent at that session Of
the legislature, before 1 would seek to Sc
duce men from their allegiance to the one
to whom they had pledged their support
and who had beaten, me in a fair fight, be-
fore l would do that, l would travel the
pathway of life clothed in rags, wearing
wooden shoes and go down to my grave
untitled and unsung, yet maintaining be-
fore God and the world my manhood, my
honor and my self-respect. loud and con-
tinued applause).
MR.. ROSEwATER.
1 would appeal to my friend to address
his last sentences to David H. Mercer. He
alone is the man that ought to put on the
wooden shoes and the ragged clothing and
march out somewhere into the political
wilderness to bemoan his fate. There never
was any instruction given Mr.. Websters
delegation by the people Of Douglas county.
There never was any such thing submitted
and Mr.. Myers and Mr.. Olmstead assured
me during the campaign that they were not
pledged and so did every other man on
the delegation and l never attempted to
pursuade them to desert their colors. l
want to remind my friend again Of the fact
that he has not nswered any question that
I put to him concerning David H. Mercer.
He is still discussing the candidacy OF
Edward Rosewater for United States sena-
tor. (Applause.)
It is we'll, however, that while I am here
and on this floor to denounce the men who
nut up that roll. circulated for a bogus
republican league when there was no sucn
league, scoundrels who did not dare to
sign their own names and surreptitiously
circulated this scandalous dodger through
the mails before election and around the
legislature after election. 1t is not true
that l ever opposed Mr.. Welch after he
was nominated, and while these reprobates
have circulated the report that he was
driven into his grave by me, as a matter
of fact he died Of apoplexy and | surely
was in no way responsible for that. He
was on friendly relations with me during
his entire term in congress.
They talk about Church Howe. Church
Howe was punished and justly SO because
he came before the presidential electors
of this state after this state had been car
ried for Hayes and Wheeler and attempted
to have one Of the electors barred on
technical grounds. so that Samue j. Tilden
should be elected president. This district
was good for 1000 republican majority.
Church Howe was defeated in this district
by more thar 1000 majority. Does 1t stand
to reason that my individual animosity
could have influenced all these 1000 re-
publicans to turn upside down? Surely
not.
am not going to reopen the Majors
campaign. He has been retired by his
own people within his own precinct within
the last ten days. retired from politics.
repudiated. 1t is just that class OF re-
publicans that have dragged the republican
party Of Nebraska down and made II a
p~opulist stronghold. Now then, they have
cited names of men who died OF debauch-
cries and men who died after months and
months Of mental arrangement and / pre-
sumo / am responsible and then they cite
my opposition to Mercer.