The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1905-07-21
ADVICE TO WET AND
DRY CAMP i|6ntRs
CHARLEY FllDEs' EXPERIENCE
''SnolIygoster" Of Florida Politics Mad
An Exciting Time At Ward City,
In 0TAdford County.


| citing or interesting experience on
! the hustings of Florida to relate, is
Charles L. Fildes. Few men in Flori-
ds are more resourceful as campaign
| speakers, and but few have had as
much of it or as great variety as
the "snollygoster" of Florida politics.
"My latest experience fit to COM
ment upon," remarked Mr.. Fildes to
a party of friends the other day at
the Aragon Hotel, twas at Ward
City, in Bradford county"
''They were having a wet and dry
campaign down there, and sent for a
good man to wake 'em up for the
vets. l accepted the job and went
down to old Bradford with more GIN
ger and argument than Messrs. Stock
ton, Bars, Wright and the gang
I opened up in the last campaign, when
the first gun was fired at Long Branch,
in Bradford county. l landed at
Ward City and got there a little late.
| There was Brother Carpenter of
Tampa, a temperance lecturer, who
has burntSup the brush in many hot
campaign for the temperance in the
state, and who is a Jim Dandy too.
There were two other preachers, and
they were holding forth in the church.
81 sauntered in an walked up pretty
well to the front. Brother Carpenter
was everlastingly rasping whiskey
saloons, etc., and was doing it in his
characteristic style Ihad been seat
ed for few moments when Brother
Carpenter made a personal alluslon
TO me- l thought it was about time
10 declare myself. l said:
g Brother Carpenter, l might as well
tell you now that l am TO make
speech for the saloon men,
IF ever l created a sensation by d
few words it was then. Upon their
feet came the preachers, the good
elders, the deacons ard soothsayers
to protect against such an unholy
proceeding as a whisky speech in
their church. They would not listen
to it. l was voted ont.
d" All right / said, IN speak from
the depot platform after the meet
ing You see l crowded in an an
nouncement, at any rate. during the
melee. I was fortunate to get in
that much.
Brother Carpenter then roasted me
in good fashion. was paid by the
saloon men, he said. and he impress
ed this upon bis audience with great
effect. You know that when You are
making speech for fee during a
campaign, keep the fee in the back
ground. Don't let the Florida Crack
er know anything about it. Tell him
that you are out as matter of friend
ship or patriotism. That will do, for
if he learns the truth about your re-
ceiving cash you are to be seriously
crippled.
''And / learned another lesson
right there After the church meet
ing 1 had called the crowd together
and was going it with 'get-there-
Elf gait. 1 made this observation:
my fellow countrymen, 1 have
been debarred the use Of the church,
but let's all get together out here in
the open air in Gods bright sunlight,
which is the only thing the trusts and
temperance people have left US. l
want to say, by way of an opener,
that it is just as fair for me to be
paid by the saloon men as it is for
these temperance lecturers to be paid
by the express companies and the
blind tigers
There was temperance lecturer
seated right in front of me- He was
the most vicious man I ever saw. He
only said four words, but there was
lots of meaning in that one brief SEN
tence:
"'That is af-a-l-s-e-h-o-o-d!'