The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1906-08-03
TOM wATsoN,s OFF DAY.

In his ten-column volley fired at the
editor of the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph,
Mr.. Watson starts out by saying:
prior to the civil war the people |
of the south were a well-educated |
constituency, for they were constant
ly listening to the best debaters. to
such men as Clay and Webster and
Calhoun, to Stephens and Toombs and |
Ben Hill, to Walter Colquitt, Herschel
". Johnson and Joseph E. Brown. to
John Randolph, George McDufie and
Sergeant Prentiss.
Stupid indeed was the citizen who
was not well informed upon state
and national affairs. The voter who
followed Henry Clay did so upon prin-
ciple, realizing what his ballot meant
The voter who preferred Andrew
Jackson did so upon principle, well
aware of the differences which d.
yided the two great leaders. No south
ern man voted ignorantly. Every bal
lot was intelligent. The vote for
Toombs and Stephens meant one
thing; the vote for Ben Hill meant
another To follow Calhoun and Nc
Dufie, the voter did not travel the
same road with his neighbor, who be-
lieved in John Forsyth and William
H Crawford.
"The minds of the common people
were enlarged and elevated by intel
lectual appeal; the hearts and the
conscience of the people were stirred
and thrilled by invocation to right, to
justice and to love of country; and
the natural consequence was that al
most every intelligent citizen of the
southern states was in full possession
of every material fact bearing upon
every important public question. 1t
is very different now.
"The average voter hears but one
side. The average ballot has ceased
to represent mental conviction based
upon a full knowledge of the issues
involved. Consequently the voters of
the south, with the exception of those
who were educated by the Farmers
Alliance, are almost totally in the
dark as to the designs and principles
of those politicians who arrogate to
themselves the position of leaders"
The voters of the south are almost
totally in the dark as to the true own
ership, control and purposes of the
great daily newspapers which have
usurped the right to supply the peo-
pie with facts and to form those opin-
ions which must be indicated at the
ballot box" Tom Watson in Atlanta
Journal
Never was a, statement more erro-
neous. There never was a time when
the people were so well informed as
they are now.
When Mr.. Bryan made his wonder
full campaign in 1896 his speeches
were printed in full in all the daily
newspapers of the country. Mr.. Nc
Kinley's and Mr.. Roosevelt's speeches
were also printed in full. Even Mr..
Watson's speeches were printed in'|
full by the newspapers of the coun-
try.
Mr.. Bryan's, Mr.. McKinley's and
Mr.. Watson's letters of acceptance
were all printed in full in the daily
newspapers.
When Mr. Taft made his speech at
Goldsboro, NJ c., the other day, the
purpose of which was to build up a
republican party in the south and de-
stroy the solidarity of the south, his
speech was printed in full by all the
daily democratic newspapers in the
south as well as in all other sections
of the country.
This was not the case in the olden
times. Mr.. Webster. Mr. Clay, Mr.
Calhoun and General Jackson spoke |
to comparatively small audiences in
only few places, and their speeches
were never printed in full by the
daily newspapers, and no one knows
this better than Mr.. Watson.
This is the enlightened era, it is
the golden era" it is the era of toll
erance and moderation. 1t is the era
in which all the facts are placed be-
fore the people and they are placed
in position to draw their own in
feernccs and conclusions as never be-