The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-07-08
Mr.. WILLIAMS sPEEcH.

IT IS NOT OFTEN that any conven-
i ton speech viii bear more than one
reading. Most convention speeches, in
deed, are hardly worth reading at all.
They are, in the main, rhetorical fire
works that flash and sputter across
the sky and then go kissing into dark
ness. The speech made by John Sharp
Williams IN the St. Louis convention
is one of the few that deserve to live.
Eloquent, in the best sense of that
often misused word. Mr.. Williams
speech vas entertaining, logical, con-
vincing.
With the nice touch of the surgeon
who performs a delicate operation, Mr..
Williams exposed. one at a time, the
false pretentions Of the Republican
party, the emptiness of its Chicago
platform, the hollowness of Republican
promises. There wasn't a word too
much. there wasn't word too little,
from the beginning Of the speech to its
end. And it would be hardly possible
for the most captious critic TO make a
single sentence init stronger or more
timely.
Take this reference to the statement
in the Republican platform that We
(the Republican, fought a quick.
vigorous war with SPAIN" said Mr..
Williams.
Bad history again. Americans
fought it. It would be invidious to
state the politics Of heroes, but it seems
to me that 1 have heard it said that
Dewey was a Democrat. that Schley
was a Democrat, that Miles was
a Democrat: that II seems TO me
too, that I have heard that a Repub-
hcan administration snubbed the first,
tried TO disgrace the second and insult
ed the last 1t seems, too, that 1 have
heard from men on the lighting line
that Joe Wheeler was as much in evil
dence as the president himself It
seems 10 me that I have heard that
Hobson was a Democrat. 1t seems to
me, too, that have heard that young
Bagley of North Carolina, the first
Offering OF the war upon the altar OF
a common country, was a Democrat"
There is no finer example of how to
say great deal in few words than
A-AAo AAAN dalDAAAEA EAclAAl PIC VI LAAE ScltAAE
thing is the pledge Of 2Ir. Williams
made for the Democratic party. a
pledge that every thinking man knows
viii be fulfilled. He said:
"One thing the country can rely
upon: The Democracy viii nominate
for president man trained in the ways
Of the constitution, who win not Usurp
legislative or judicial functions; who
viii not recklessIy violate international
usages. even with the weakest nation,
no matter how tempting the profits to
be reaped by it; who viii not keep peo-
pie guessing about what he il going to
90 or say next. 1t viii nominate him
ON a platform Ignoring dead issues and
dealing with every present live issue
in tones certain and unmistaka bic; fav-
oring economy of administration, en-
forcement Of honesty in the public
service. a wise and business like revis-
ion ana reduction OF the tariff by the
friends OF the masses and Of the COM
monwealth, and not by tariff benefic-
iaries and their representatives alone,
a reduction Of which shall aim at
equality of burdens and equality Of
opportunities. and whose ultimate OBJ
ject shall be to raise a revenue by taxa
tion TO support the federal government
in virility, in simplicity-an object to
be reached in a business like. discus
sive and common sense way, with due
regard to existing conditions and by
steps constituting IN themselves an
object lesson for their own justificatio
and for the justification of further
reform"
As we said at the outset, few speeches
VIII bear reading more than once Mr..
Williams speech may be read many
times. and each reading viii furnish
new entertainment, new food for
thought.