The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1906-03-27
friends, which must oease il took the

stump for him.
81 told him plainly that, notwith-
standing the dirty methods employed
to defeat me, was ready to take the
stump for him any day, and would,
with the only proviso that the attack
upon me cease; but every man in Ore
gon knows what was done. For the
reason that was on the ticket for
United States senator, the little gang
fought me more persistently than it
did Chamberlain, openly asserting its
determination to see that received
ridiculously small vote, and did sue
ceed in cutting my vote down about
5000 below the regular republican
vote, though it was nearly 1000 more
than given to either Furnish or
Chamberlain.
Although / became candidate for
United States senator under the law of
the state, and the secretary of state
placed my name on every official bal
lot in the state on election day, the
ticket. as printed in the Oregonian
during the progress of the campaign,
presumably by the state committee,
had my name regularly excluded.
~ want to say that whec you find
man who pretends to think that
although was supposed by these
managers to be crucified and en-
balmed, | should nevertheless have
performed miracle by rising from
the dead and rescuing them from the
consequences of their own work, let
him first satisfactorily account for the
vote in Umatilla county before looking
elsewhere for some one upon whom to
fasten the blame. The average re-
publican majority in that county was
about 400, while Chamberlain ma
jority there was 266. The latter's
majority in the state was but 246.
Umatilla county alone elected
Cham berlain.
"After being sent to the rear, was it
my duty to hasten to Unatilla county
and bring order out OF chaos? Be-
sides, it was given out every day of
the campaign that Umatilla county
would give at least 700 majority for
the republican candidate for COVER
nor, and the public had no intima-
tion that such state of affairs ex-
listed there.
There is not man in Oregon who
regretted more than did that / was
not on the stump in 1902; but the
little group of political assassins who
were in control made it impossible,
without seeming to sanction job lot
of cowardly and malicious lies, and
this l positively refused to do, and
would so refuse again.
"When the time comes, if it ever
does, that candidate for public posi-
tion must grovel in any kind of filth
for the sake of success, and submit to
any kind of misrepresentation and
villification of character, without re-
senting it for the sake Of political pre-
ference, and that he may be called a
cheerful loser, it will be sorry day
for this country. Cleaner politics
and better government demand that
this sort of campaign methods be
abandoned-and it is being done.
Il desire to say that, notwithstand-
ing the cowardly lies that were in
vented and circulated to secure my
defeat in 1902, I personally offered
my services to Mr.. Furnish, the only
proviso being that the attacks upon
me by his friends cease, and IN max
ing this offer made more of a CON
cessiou that any men who now pro-
fess to be indignant at me, would
themselves have done under the same
circumstances. My request was only
reasonable, was not complied with,
and if my absence from the campaign
was in any way responsible for de-
mocratie governor. then let the blame
rest with those who preferred the
savage pleasures of war dance over
the remains of a fallen party co-work-
er than for that fair treatment that
would have insured complete success.
"There are scores of other speakers
in Oregon who had not been publicly
declared unworthy of further confid-
ence, and who did not open their
mouths during the campaign of 1909.
Why are they not pounced upon for
sindifference?'
I'm this campaign am appealing
to the republican party at large for
that support which would have been
given me overwhelmingly four years
ago under the present system of direct
nominations, and my mingling with
the people during the past month
assures me that the love for fair play
that eharacterizes the American peo-
ple will give me a handsome plurality