The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-02-23


Il the midst OF your city giving album
dance OF water. You would then have
an abundance of water and there would
be no need to pipe it in. Would that
v1ndlcate' the Republicans? In order
10 Vlnd1cate their contention they would
have to plug up the spring and get
along without it,. That is the way it
was with the money question The
/ Democratic party said we needed more
i money to transact the business of the
party The Republicans said we didn't.
| or II we did we ought to ask other ma
tions to help us in getting it. The Re
pubhcans won Then yellow springs of
wealth burst forth and flooded the ma
ton. Today we have fifty per cent
more money than we had in 1896 when
the Republicans said we had enough,
and every evidence of prosperity can be
traced back to this increase of money.
Does this 'Vindicate' the Republicans?
To support their position we would have
to destroy one-third of our money and
go back to the amount we had in 1885,
In closing Mr.. Bryan referred to inn
perialism and said the position of the
democratic party on that issue has also
been indicated, for the secretary OF war
has recently announced that the FIJI
pinos will be given their freedom event.
ually.
Mr.. BIair's Speech.
! r. W. Blair spoke on the subject
Summing Up" and he made mt
with the audience Mr.. Blalr is not
only the Democratic A1Oil1A1ACC AOA
mayor of Topeka, but he is also one
of the ATTORNEYS for the Union Pacific
railroad in Kansas. and his speech
was looked forward to with interest
He said:
IF you think it is easy to get up
before this great big crowd of intel
ligent and critical men without dis
playing a. tremor of the voice and feel
ing shaIxy at the knees you are mis-
taken. Under these circumstances 1
always call to mind one time in my
boyhood days when living in little
Central Branch town. went to Atchi-
son with a crowd of boys to see a cir
Gus. That was in the good days after
prohibition had removed the saloon
temptation from view. but one of the
boys ate something. a pretzel or piece
of cheese, perhaps, that did not agree
with him. and soon after starting on
the homeward journey he went out on
the platform to get fresh. air, and be-
coming tired he sat down on the steps
to rest. and. OH he was SO sick. A
brakeman came along and seeing his
condition laughingly inquired If he
was having a good time Little Willie |
raised his aching head and looking
lobster, if you think this is funny come |
down and try it awhile
when 1 was honored with the in
vitation to speak here tonight and
asked what my subject would be my /
troubles began. I knew preachers al
ways have a text and all speakers a /
subject which they are supposed to
stick to more or less closely, and
knew that 1 must have a subject but
1 wished this was to be like a Quaker
where we could all sit around
until the spirits moved us, then get up 1
and speak on the inspired subject,
when it dawned on me that would not
do spirits are constitutionally pro-
hibited from attending Democratic
banquets in Kansas.
ct was afraid to pick any subject in
advance for fear of making the same
mistake the Democrats did at the
Wichita convention. They took
piece of paper and wrote upon it the
words, Democratic Platform, and I'M
der them they wrote many other
words that evidently did not cor
respond with the name for while the
Dale platform was savagely denounced
during the campaign by the Republi-
cans they have since climbed upon it
and now claim the principles it ex-
pressed as their own
ITO avoid complications of that kind
finally settled on my subject which
having no particular meaning should
fit almost any thing that may follow.
Even yet I cannot understand why I
was selected as one of your speakers
though it may be from my well known
love of peace. I am expected to pour
oil on the trout Ied waters and turn
limited to twelve minutes and Chair
man Sapp has warned me that he in
tends to drop plate when nv time
IS up, the doves will not come in very
arge fiocI1s and the oil question will
be barely mentioned later on.
Il had a speech all prepared that [
iondly thought was all right but the /
title occurrence of Monday evening
which removed me from the ranks
and placed me among the patriots has {
made the use of the blue pencil neces-
sary, so when I falter you VIII know {
{ am skipping something I intended to
say, and please imagine you are miss ,
ng som ething good /
"As far back as I can remember the I
words Democrat and 'moSsback have
been synonyms in the vocabulary of t
pointing with pride to Jefferson and
Jackson and viewing with alarm {
everything not specifically endorsed by |
hose eminent Democrats {
so accustomed to the name of t
did we become that we grew {
o like it, proudly thinking it indi '
.ated conservatism. and so conServa- t
i've did we grow that boys born in the '
Dem faith deserted. for the 7
anne reason that many farmer boys {
cave the homestead for the busting t
titles. L
Recruits were not attracted to our f
'arty and in fact were not wanted. IF a
" chance one applied for admission, [
he test was, did your grandfather e
ote Tor jackson and your great z
-randfatl1er for Jefferson. t
Il no was the answer the candl-
ate was rejected and strsightway he e
you'd go to the Republicans, who
reeted him with open arms and ad- u
nitted him to full fellowship in their +
arty.
But in 1896 a change took place. The Ii
Id conservative Democratic parry receiv- t
d an infusion of new blood through the o
ccesslon OF hundreds of thousands of re- D
ruitS attracted by a platform thar will he | :,
model for all parties. in all Republican -
overnments, for all time to come. That :
latform was up to date and dealt with o
wing issues and then our Republieau s
riends changed their tune and called nc / b