The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-10
GUEST OF HONOR
STEAKS TO THE HAM
 ILTON CLUB.
The Members Are Greatly Disappointed Because His Wife Fails To Accom- pany Him Te the Windy
 City.

Chicago, April 9.-congressman
 Nicholas Longworth. son-in-iaw of President Roosevelt. was the guest of honor at a dinner given tonight in the, Auditorium Hotel banquet hall by the Hamilton Club in celebration of the fist anniversay of Appommatox Day | The banquetters were greatly disap- | pointed because Mrs Longworth was | not present at the dinner, as arrange | ments had been made by the club for | a concealed balcony in which she should sit and listen to her husband l speak She sent her regrets. saying | that she would visit friends while her | husband was addressing the banquet | ters.
 At the speakers table were seated l President Wood of the Hamilton Club. | who acted as toastmaster; Congress- 1 man Lcngworth. Claud Kitchen, Demo- | cratic Congressman from North Caro-
 lima. and Rev. John Wesley Hill of New York.
 When Congressman Loneworth arose | to address the gathering he was given
 reception by the four hundred mem bers of the club. of which any man might be proud. He spoke extempor-
 aneousiy and his address in part was as follows.
 T want to say with reference to poll
 
 eraI today, 1t seems to be the fashion nowadays to assail all our public men. to belittle their character and to inn pugn their motives. If you believe all you read and hear, you might we'll reach the conclusion that there is not
 man today in public life whose mo- tives are free from suspicion. You might well believe that politics means graft and that graft means politics. Take the case of the railroad rate bill now be-
 fore the Senate-and I am not talking about the merits of the bill. T simply want to bring out this fact: There are some senators that believe that the Hepburn bill should be amend ed. There are some eminent lawyers l in that body who believe that the Hep- burn bill without an amendment pro- viding for court review is unconsti- l tutfonal. Now I believe the Hepburn bill is constitutual. I voted for 1t, | because I believe that rates on rail- l roads should be regulated as stringtly
 as the Hepburn bill provides; is that any reason why should impugn the ! motives of senators who do not agree | with me.
 When I read that great lawyers like | Knox, Spooner and Foraker are traitors | to their country. Am to acuuesce in | those sentiments? On the contrary, | absolutely repudiate them. It seems \ to me that the fashion of assailing pub | lie men is amounting today to almost | hysteria. If the government of our cities. of our states Is shameful; If our judges are corrupt; if the United States Senators are traitors, what hope Is there for his country: How is it to continue to grow and | prosper? I am one of those who be- lieve, however. that instead of every
 thing getting worse, things are getting better.
 I am one of those who believe that the standards of our public men are getting higher instead of lower; that the standard of public morals is be- coming higher instead of lower and
 that today the standard of public mor- als in this country is higher than in any other country under the sun." Congressman Claude Kitchen of North Carolina spoke on The South" He said in part: My friends, to you I bring this as-
 surance: Every heart that beats with
 in the bounds of that fair land-the
 land of my birth, my home and my
 love-rejoices with us tonight and in | spite of former differences, thank God
 that in the higher and broader analy-
 sis of patriotic hope and duty, his | wisdom gives us to see. for the North
 and South but one side. the American
 side, but one union, the American union l If she be permitted. the South with
 one voice would present to our flag this
 sentiment: The air breathed by slaves
 Is not pure enough to float the Ameri- | can flag"
 Congressman Kitchen then turned to
 the negro question and declared that | 1t was the only spark that could ever again cause resumption of sectional
 animosity. He told of the work being done to educate the colored race and | in conclusion said:
 Our step in the slow march of the
 successful adjustment of the negro l question would be less impeded if the | politician, North and South, could be | controlled by the conviction that sec | tional harmony throughout our common | country Is worth more to the peace and progress of the union than the solid | negro vote of America for one party | or another."