The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-17
BIRMINGHAM SPEECH TELLING WHY HE IS NO LONGER DEMOCRAT

founded the republican party.
 The final step was taken when both the old parties became faithless 10 their principles and when they became rivals of each other only in the squa- lid competition of degrading service to secure the eorrupting favor of the trusts; when the independent voter could fad no hope for the triumph of the people and the permanenee of the republic except in a new party
 I am in the independence party be- cause I find in it the best expression- the only expression-of the principles of Jefferson, of the faith of the fathers.
 l am in the independence party. be- cause l find in it a better and truer democracy than l find in the demo- cratic party.
 I am in the independence party be- cause l find in it a more enlightened, a more unselfsh, a more patriotic leadership than l find in either of the old parties.
 The independence party has not nom- mated a lightning change artist on the one hand, nor has it on the other hand an overgrown messenger boy.
 The loyal messenger boy of course who runs his errands of his chief lax- ally, but nevertheless a messenger boy whom Roosevelt is putting into the White House merely to keep the chair warm until he returns from abroad.
 We have not nominated profound politicians to split hairs over trifles and to talk their terms away when they should be acting for the peoples good, but we have chosen as our lead CTS representative business men, ae- to ta n n tion of large affairs.
 We have not chosen trust magnates who from force of habit would prob ably proceed to incorporate the coun- try and appropriate it to their own advantage, but we have chosen able and independent business men who have been accustomed to conduct their private business honestly and for the peoples benefit. and who would not have to alter their methods or their mode of life if called upon to conduct the public business honestly and for the peoples benefit.
 While we of the independence party have been endeavoring to promote our policies and prove our sincerity by acts and by the selection of men of action the candidates of the old parties have been issuing briefs and utterng S had put the dictionary to shame and overwhelmed the encyclopedia with confusion.
 The candidate of each old party has proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that his opponent is unfit for office, and that the opposing old party is un- worthy of confidence. This being the case. there seems to be nothing for the voters to do but to turn to the new movement and elect the candi- dates of the independence party.
 MT. Taft says that Mir Bryan's bank ing guarantee plan is merely an en- couragement to reckless banking. and every sound business man knows that this is true.
 MT. Taft says that MT. Bryan's trusts license and inspection plan is succession of absurdities liberally interlarded with impossibilities. and every intelligent citizen knows that this is true.
 MT. Taft says that Mir. Bryan's ad- voeacy and abandonment of free sil- yer, his advocacy and abandonment of public ownership, his advocacy and abandonment of the initiative and ref erendum, and his adoption of some new get-elected-quick scheme for this campaign only, and indisputable evi- dences of insineerity, and every un- prejudieed man knows that this is true.
 MT. Taft says that MT. Bryans la Dor plank is confused and unintelli- gible and that any confused clause of this character is construed by the courts to the disadvantage of the workingman. Every thoughtful citi- zen knows that this is true and that To ,1-r- that is the manner in which he ren- dered his labor decisions when he was on the bench
 MT. Bryan, on his part, has shown that the republican party during it's era of power has done to ameliorate conditions, and ended it's discreditable term with a disastrous panic
 This is true, and it is equally true that the democratic party asked for and received the votes of worlzingmen to put it in office largely through the votes of workingmen and still has done nothing to benefit workingmen or to comply with the just demands of worl1ingmen.
 This is true, and it is equally true that the last democratic regime asked for and received the votes of working men to put it in office, and they de- NSNed anu betrayed the WOrklngmen and sent federal troops into a sover- eign state, against the protest of it's governor, to terrorize and subdue workingmen battling for their unde- niable rights.
 If the republican party has been in- different to the demands of labor where has the democratic party done better? What has the democratic party done in the state of Alabama?
 The democratic party finds the mote in it's neighbours eye. Let it remove the beam from it's own eye. Both the old partiesihave proved false.
 Both the old parties have proved failures.
 And it is because of the failure and the fraud and the incompetence and the treachery of both of the old parties that the. independence party has been founded and will inevitably succeed