Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-25
MUD AFTER GOMPERS
REPUBLICAN NOMINEE MAKES
AN ADDRESS AT EVANSVILLE.
ecial Correspondence OF The Star.

! The republican mass meeting held here
last evening filled Masonic Hall to the
doors. Mr.. Sydney E. Mudd. candidate for
! reelection to Congress, discussed the is
| sues of the campaign. Joseph A. Blundon
| member of the county central committee
| called the meeting to order and at once
presented Mr.. Mudd, who was enthusiast
| tically received
| Mr.. Mudd declared that he had a warm
spot in his heart for Hyattsville, because
it was in Masonic Hall here that he received
instructions from his party to go forth
| and again do battle in the fifth congression-
al district of Maryland for the principles of
the republican party. The convention that
| nominated Mr.. Mudd was held in Hyatts-
| vile.
During the course of his address Mr.
Mudd paid his compliments to his demo-
| cratic opponent, Mr.. George NJ. Smith,
| whom he charac terized as a Gompers cam
| dldate. Referring to Mr.. Smith. he said in
| part: Il have thus far refrained from crit
| lcism OF my good friend, the democratic
| nominee and shall continue to do So ex-
cept SO far l shall take notice of and
| make brief comment upon some recent mis-
| statements he has made in reference to
my own candidacy and political record. In
| a recent address which he made in the
| nelghboring village OF Bladensburg, over
| there beyond the creek, he said had been
attacking him because he was a "laboring
| iHdi ana because ne was q member OF
labor organization and in recent letter
| from him to democratic headquarters in
baltimore he made the statement that
| had been belittling the idea of laboring
man being sent to Congress.
Denies the Statements.
Mr.. Smith must have known" declared
Mr.. Mudd. that there was not q scintilla
| of truth in any such statements. 1 have
| never spoken unkindly or in a rejecting
| manner of his candidacy because Of his
alleged position as a laboring man. 1 have
! never. in this campaign or in my life
whether in Congress or out of Congress-
| by word or act, done or said any,
thing that reflected upon amounted
| to adverse criticism of organized labor.
Mr.. Smith. In recent interview. sought
to convey the impression that / had char
acterized the representatives of organized
| labor as anarchists and socialists Mr..
Smith, OF course, knows that l have done
| and no intention of doing so. and never
made any such allusion to the honest repre-
sentatives of labor in my life
i can quote some pretty good testimony
! In my own behalf, because. among the best
things to the credit of Mr.. Smith, and 1
suppose l ought to consider it quite a COM
| plimentary thing to my own public worth,
| is the fact that unless the testimony of
| Mr.. Smith himself be unreliable he has
himself given my candidacy the indorse-
ment of his own good judgment by voting
| for me on the last three occasions that l
have been candidate for Congress He
passed over Camalier two times and Hill
one time in order thus to manifest his in
| dependence and his approval of a man
| whom he had not then discovered to be in
| any sense an enemy of the laboring man.
| as his political sponsor Gompers now tells
| him to say that l am"
This statement aroused enthusiasm. Mr.
Mudd, continuing along this line, declared
Mr.. Smith ought to be chary of saying
| that l sought political honors or had been
willing to receive political honors at the
hands of the opposition party in conven-
| ton, because my brother Smith. unless he
has propensity to joke in reference to
| serious matters and the serious affairs of
| politics. on more than one occasion to me
personally on the cars which have been
for him a kind of political rolling recep-
ton room for the last several years, init
mated to me a disposition that had to my
eyes all the earmarks of an itching desire
that l should give my consideration to
proposition to make him the republican
nominee for state senator from Prince
George county for the year 1905 just past.
This involves willingness to make a cam
paign of opposition to the DISTINGUISHING
constitutional amendment which was voted
upon at the election of that year.
Mr.. Mudd also declared that in 1903 at
the solicitation of Captain Smith, he Sc
| cured postmastership for Walter Har-
deSty, a brother-in-law of the democratic
candidate. the office at Seabrooke, Prince
George county, being given to him.
Arraigns MI. Gompers
| The speaker severely arraigned Samuel
Gompers, president of the Federation of
Labor. He declared that "a man like
Gompers with his perncous activity in
| appealing to the prejudces of laboring men
rather than to their Judgment and array
| ing labor against capital and against the
/ government, plays the role and does the
work of a socialist. if not of anarchist,
whether or not he desires to figure in that
| role. He declared that GomperS was a
| legislative scab and a stub upon Or
| gained labor declaring that he was run
| ming about the country claiming credit for
the passage of laws which he had attempt
| ed to defeat
| Referring to his action relative to the
| ship subsidy bill, eight-hour law and sea-
| mems rights bill, he declared that he had
| voted to waive the provision of the eight
| hours applied to the Panama zone, this
action being Influenced by the recommends
| ton of Theodore Roosevelt Mr.. Mudd de-
| clared that Mr.. Gompers, any other
man, had a right and it was his duty to
| promote the interests of the laboring man,
| but he has no right to attempt > control
| the laboring mans vote.
Mr. Mudd congratulated the people of
| Hyattsville upon the distinct manifestations
| of material progress, and told his hearers
| he was prepared to ask Congress for a
| federal contribution for the erection of a
| post office building here. This statement
| elected much applause.
Mr.. Mudd denied positively that he was
| opposed to the passage of the act r the
construction of a new electric railway to
| this section of Maryland over the Bladens-
| burg turnpike. He admitted that he did
| state he would not favor the bill so long
| the name of ]. Enos Ray. jr., was allowed
! to remain as one of the directors. This
| matter had been patched up to the satisfac-
| ton of both him and Mr.. Ray, however,
and he is prepared to support the measure,
| although his not being a member of the
! committee on the District of Columbia was
| a serious obstacle.
He paid his respects to Mr.. Joseph Fan
| ming of Riverdale, who is stumping the dis
| trict with the democratic nominee. He re-
| ferred to Mr.. Tanning a ''vapor'' poll
| tician and made other references to the
| Riverdae democrat that amused the crowd
| very much.