Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1904-10-26
DEMOCRATIC VIEW OF DEMOCRATIC ADMINISTRATION
Address of Hon. B. G. White Before
The J~efferSOnian Club of Lew
istown, April Is, 1904.


q .
o Mr. POSTMASTER, Fellow Democrats and Citizens: l noticed in
= the list of the speakers and the subjects assigned to them, that
Q some principle of government or party policy was to be enunciated
o but with myself it is "B C. White, a Democratic woolgrower"
o Now, this could be a toast for som other gentleman, but for me
o it is a plain, bare statement. am sure am a a loss to know
Q whether 1 am proposed here a s a freak of modern politics or
Q whether l am to take some Of this time to speak upon some sub
g jnt. Now, what subject could a Democratic woogrower speak up
o ouG have heard of bell wethers; that is necessary in u focks
@ and herds, and it is also necessary in the organization of the party;
. We have got to have a bellwether, and gentlemen, we have got one
o right here in Fergus county, and hope the hocks and herds of
o Democracy will follow him right along to success.
. But, gentlemen, in the whiIhgfg of time and in politics queer
o things take place. / can remember several years ago when the
o present Democratic representative in the legislature and Doctor
Q John Henry willard and mySt-both of those gentlemen were
o the nominees IN the Democratic ticket for representative-Mr.
= John P. Barnes. myself and a few other gentlemen, went forth in
. to the county as the Democratic "sperbnders." At that time Grow
o err Cleveland was the candidate and free raw material and tariff
Q reform" was the issue. Gentlemen, under this slogan we went out
o IN a campaign of education. We preached in school houses. in IA,
@ looms. in private houses-everyw where and anywhere a audience
9 could be found to listen to this glorious doctrine NJ Why Why gentlemen;
o from a soft corn to Brights disease. Our first stand was at Uu-
o ca. A distinguished gentlemen there with us had the floor. He
Q waxed eloquent; he told the people that for half a century. aye. for
Q sixty years, the trainers of tariff issues and the fathers of the e.
q public had sought an issue that would lead the people out upon the
o broad a of prosperity and to the elysian fields of wealth and
q happiness. He told them that free raw material was a panacea for
q all our ills, and three speakers IN that occasion were then WOOL
q growers. Why, gentlemen. he said, that free raw matedal-they
. were words to conture with; that If that became living law, the
9 saints in the elyshn fields of paradise would have a bum time COM
Q pared to the enjoyments the people would have under free raw
q material" Qaughter) At the next stand, which was Stanford, a
o distinguished gentleman of fine presence and Teutonc origin had
Q the floor. There, gentlemen, in that great woolgrowing district, free
y raW material a come tO stay. IL WS tne issue DeIore III peopie
o On the subject of free raw material he also waxed eloquent. He told
o them that the bad lands along the Missouri would blossom like the
q blue grass region of Kentucky; hat the future glores of Dog creek
o woud rival the hanging gardens of Babylon. Gaughter) He went
. further why, gentlemen" he says, under the magic of free raw
o material, the jawbone railroad will be a fourtrack system from
Q ocean tic ocean, there will be a daily train ono in two months and
@ convenient eating houses all along the line" Qaughter)
o In some way Fergus county was to be jotted down
@ into the banana belt" and the tropical jungles along Big
o Spring creek and the orange fields up at the judith Gap
O would rival the vnecad rocks and ciron groves of Sicily, that We
Q used to read about in our books at school, The next stand gentle
o men. was away down o. Running Wolf There we had some Re-
. publican candidates present; we pitched into them and roasted
y them plenty, and in the windup somebody stole the whiskey and
o we laid it to the Republicans. Qaughter) Free raw material,
o gentlemen, was in rul sway. The next gentleman that spoke was
o down at Deerheld; he was a venerable gentleman with strong re-
q lgous proclvties; we had a good audience there; and he told us
o all, and we all believed it, that free Jaw material was a panacea
o for everything; that to the pilgrim it was a source of glory; that to
- all classes of our citizens it was The magic that would cure al. the
o ills. They believed it, Well, time, went on. We got our free raw
O materins-and we got it plenty; we got the dead raw edge of it,;
o there was no medium rare. or rare, it was plain boodraw, all WOOL
q and wide enough for everybody-warranted not to rip ravel or
% run down at The heel We followed the magic of the sbgan IS the
. three wise men of old followed the morning star, and you bet it
o brought us back to sheep sheds and our Aocks and o r herds.
!. I went uto Great Falls under the magic of that delusiou with six.
y t thousand pounds Of wool; sold it for seven cents and a half
O a pound, and I came out five thousand four hundred dollars short
. in those elysian fields OF glory. But that wasn't all. Under this
Q grand condition Of affairs 1 went up to the hotel and thought Of
y Ua ,,an ,sa, toor tna o,staro ~ Az tootha.ha n sd In,, - :
q puked her and purged her, and then turned and went the other way.
o Uaushter) This, gentlemen, was under tariff reform. 1t lasted a
o good while. This was our free raw material, and we all believed in
q it. We didn't object to the proposition of the free raw material,
. but We wanted all the other fellows, the sugar men, the iron me
o to have some of this same free raw material, but they didn't get
" II. L BL my ~ a mdlejldL IS OutT reHo SUI ueH l6 raw =
o material-n fact. all Of Is got our free raw material. The wool
q growing towns OF Great Falls and Billings and Benton and other
. places reminded one Of towns that had closed up to attend the
o funeral of a prominent citizen. In the lines of Ecclesiasles: The
o mourners went about the Streets l was there, Higer was there Z:
o and Doctor willard was there; We were all there. We got our G
o free "a material in alopathic doses; we got the solar pexus. And G
o when it was through with l felt ike the darkey that went possum {
o hunting: Two darkeys went possum hunting one night, and after G
% hunting all night long they succeeded in getting a measly little pos G
o sum. Well, they were hungry, so they decided to dress 1t and G
o roast it, They built a good fire, put up the possum to roast and c
o laid back and they both went to sleep After a season one of them G
q woke up and the possum was done to a turn. Well, the one that e
o woke up argued that 1t wouldn't be a meal for both of them but it G
Q would be a good meal for one; 8 o he fell to and devoured it, Then e
o he thought he would fool the other fellow. He took some Of the re- 8
o mains and creased the other darkeys fingers carefully and creased G
o his mouth. and laid back. After awhile jim. the other darkey, woke e
o up and he looked for the possum Well, it was gone. He woke up G
o Bill and he says. bill, whars dat possum?' Well. the other dark g
o ey, in great surprise, looked about but he finally says to Jim, you E
o ate dat dr 'possum" "No, sar; no sar" Jim says, 81 didn't" Bill G
@ says, Eyes you did, too. Look at your fingers, and look at your e
o mouth; they all grease" Well, the other darkey looked at his fg. Z
o ers and ran out his tongue. and here was the evidence. well, G
o sab" he says. IF | ate dat dar 'possum. it did me the leastest good {
o Of anything ever did in all my life" So that's the way with free e
o rw material, gentlemen. 1t did me the "leastest good Of any G
o thing that happened in all my lie. daughter and appause) e