Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1907-10-05
CHARLES FORT.


AS President of this Association
am going to introduce the speaker, be-
cause this Association has asked Mr..
Stanley to make this speech; and
want to say to him that every member
of this organization in Kentucky and
Tennessee, is ready to hold up your
hands and fight for you, if need be.
(Wild applause and cheers.)
I am glad to say of the speaker,
that | have known him so long-ladies
and gentlemen | have known him IN
the private walks of life. l have been
with him so much. He is a lovable
character-true as steel, and leader
among men; and l am glad to have
him here with us to make this speech
this afternoon. We are not going to
have a lot of long winded speeches,
We are going to give him all the after
noon to make this speech. l am here
to say (speaker turns to Mr.. Stanley
that we have such confidence in your
Judgment and courage, that you can
say what you please, and we will stand
by you (Applause.)
Ladies and gentlemen, l have the
exquisite pleasure of introducing to
YOU. the Honorable A. o. Stanley.
of the PLATFORM
Amid long and continued applause
and cheers, and cries of Hurrah for
stanley" "Hurrah for A. o." Take
off your coat"
A. o. STANLEY.
Mr.. Stanley said: You will have TO
excuse me today for wearing this long
tailed coat just a little while; you see
I am not the ordinary A. o. Stanley,
who speaks to you at the crossroads.
I am today the guest of this Associa-
tion. honored as never before in my
life, to speak for it, and, that /
might family show as we'll as say,
how deeply 1 am touched and now
proud | am, / have on my best DID
and tucker for the occasion. (Laugh-
ter and cheers.)
You know. l think that l am in pref
ty good society today, visiting the AS
ISOLATION, though some people don't
seem to think so. Laughter
| notice from the New Era" that
the speech that / make this afternoon
will shortly be distributed to you.
congratulate the New Era" upon its
enterprise. My dear, good friend, Tom
Underwood, phoned and requested that
I write out this speech, and l said.
"Tom. never wrote a speech of twen-
ty minutes length in my life, and he
replied, write something that | can
give to the papers" and did; but l
am afraid it will not De the speech
that I make this afternoon, so when l
am through you will have seen this
anomalous thing-two speeches, made
from the same platform, b. me same
man, at the same time. daughter and
applause)
Ladies and Gentlemen: -Four years
ago. up and down the country every
where, 1 proclaimed to you and 10 the
world that the American Iopacco
Company, the Continental Topacco
Company, the Imeprial Tobacco COM
pany, and the Reggie contractors ol
Europe, hand entered into a cruel ana
criminal combination to oppress ana
to rob you; that the result OF that
conspiracy unless opposed or checAeu,
either by the people or by the Feueral
Government, would end at last IN
commercial servitude.
For that statement was de-
nounced by all the Hessians OF
the trust as a noisy 1ncendlary;
it was charged that made
these statements against the American
Tobacco Company in order that !
might curry favor with the voters, ana
that they were but the empty vaporlng
of a dangerous demagogue. In order
that the trust itself might have an op-
portunity to answer the vaporings OF
this demagogue; in order that, not
withstanding the humble position OF
its poor accuser l might force 1t TO
break its contemptuous silence, | NOV
ed on the floor of the Federal Congress
that the great Judiciary Committee be
discharged from further consideration
of this matter, and the House sitting
as a solemn court, investigate the
truth or falsity Of the statements Oh
this "noisy demagogue." However
humble a man may be, or poor, or un-
worthy, when he goes before grand
iurv OF into a court, you must answer
him. made those charges there with
an the specific minuteness oi ~ -. ll.