Omaha daily bee., 1908-07-10
CLAYTON ADDRESSES CONVENTION
Permanent Chairman Delivers speech
or Second Day.

NAeAAA NAA VI III htlllb=
cratic convention, in his address today.
spoke as follows:
Mr.. Chairman and Fellow Democrats.
Let me thank you for the honor Won have
conferred uron me.
This is a democratic year. Democratic
IDEAS are now popular. Doctrines ALWAYS
taught by our party and scoffed at by oiIr
opponents are now urged as a gospel OF
tEeir own. Measures and policies of dem.
ocratic origin are now pretendcdly advo.
Gated by the leaders Of the republican
party. II Is no longer anarchistic to de-
care private monopoly to be indefensible
or that the great transportation companies
should be regulated and controlled BY pub
nc law Former questioning of the decl-
sion or a bare majority of the supreme
court II the income tax case cannot nav
be heard, because Of the greater noise Of
NE vshement and embroidered denuncia-
ton OF judges and judicial acts that have
shocked the country. \ demand for the
revision Of the tariff Is no longer d threat
to destroy our industrial system. Trlsts
are not 10 be tolerated oven by the rn-
publican party. We need not now enlarge
On the list of republican admissions and
plIDOmblisgos TOT election purposes only. The
Iepuplcan party has made marked prog
ress in promises to the people. aud much
greater progress in aiding selfish interests
nnd special privileges. This PARTY, guided
oy eXpediency and campaign necessity,
would camp this year on democratic
ground. II 1t ls aPpare~t recent progress
great sweep of the Imagination to see writ
zen lnt9 a republican platform four wears
HeHCe thOse immortal words Of Thomas
JEFFERSON, Equal rights TO all, Special
privileges to none"
Assault on Roosevelt.
II has been made evident In. the nendinr
campaign mat the republicans will seek to
eon)ure with the name of Roosevelt AMI
WIN rely upon the presidents policies as n
treasured asset. The president has adver-
tised himself and his policies with a fre-
dueney and ability that SURPRISES the best
SiIorts or the press agent. A
distinguished republican. a former 90 btnet
oItlcer, once publicly proclaimed the presi-
usht 70 pc the greatest exponent of the art
ol advertising the world has known. The
country has been told and not allowed 70
forget that In his opinion his energies have
Deen devoted to the accomplishment Of
many high purposes, and that N his WORK
IL yet incomplete II is so only because HE
Undertakings were too vast to be carried
10 success during his term Of office. INV
or these would transfer office and power
10 MS tavortte cabinet minister, and his
spear rs to have a fellow. The pretense is
that the fight must go on under the leader
designated by him until the last foe shall
nave surrendered or lies inglorious in fhe
uust. Inc nomination of his would-be sue
or orticial patronage and coarse machine
methods, and has delighted the chief
apostle OF ~strenuosity, and. at the same
time has not perturbed the conscience of
the .one-time civil service reformer. now
the boss and adept in the bestowal OF nub-
nc plunder and forgetful Of all his resound-
- libNtos NO ldlT-HllnOG0
american could read the daily account Of
the recent political dolngs at Chicago with
out feeling modification and regret; morti-
llcatlon that the president should have so
abused his power I'm debating to a great
party his choice Of q successor, and regret
that that party should have submitted to
a cowardly-to a humiliation that was as
manifest as II was degrading.
What are the policies that constitute the
capita OF the republican party in this cam
The -candidacy OF Mr.. Taft?
To recall democratic platforms, speeches
and measures is to convince any man that
many Of the presidents public utterances
were derived from an unavowed familiarity
with the teaching of our party. His utter
ances that are democratic have given him
MS only claim to he a reformer and have
contributed more than all else TO the popu-
larity he has enjoyed, The heir and the
party are committed to 'unfaltering adj
herence to the policies of the president
What are these policies and what are the
achievements of president and party? =.
Campaign Contributions,
II must ba admitted that the republic
can not long survive If fraud and corrup-
ton become material factors in our cleo
lions. No man has said more than the
president about the corruption Of elections.
iou recall his message to congress in De
been only too clearly shown that certain
men at the head of these large corporations
ton between honesty and dishonesty; they
draw the line only this side of what may
be called ~law-honesty, the kind of honesty
necessary IN order TO- avoid falling into the
We rave here the condemnation of the
practice, Has he proved his faith by hts
ago he selected for his campaign manager
a novice in politics, whose principal quail
f~ications for the position was the power
he held over the corporations of the land?
Is it true or not that the official place as
secretary or commerce and labor gave full
knowledge of these business secrets and
relations of COTnOrltiOnq 70 this m Dnnaigp
manager, and clothed him with power, with
the assent Of the president, to punish or
reward them by publishing or Withholding
their secrets that he had collected as such
secretary.
Is II true or not that, with his power held
in terror over the corporations, he solicited
or had his agents solicit campaign contri-
buttons from them? Is Il true or not that
such a request under such circumstances
was a demand upon the corporations-a de.
niand that they acceded to. knowing that
the man who made It had the power to
be doubted that in this way vast sums
were raised? II so, how much of these
contributions were used for legitimate ex-
penses and how much for corruption pur-
poses We do not know. Notwithstanding
savage aEte-election denials, we know that
a subsequent investigation Of certain in
large amounts were contributed by these
companies to the republican campaign fund
not the money OF the men who gave II,
but money covertly taken without consent
Of stockholders or pOlicyholders and en-
tered on the DOCKS IN a way calculated
TO conceal tina embeZzlement. All this was
done In the interest of the republican can
didate for president. The money was used,
the candidate was elected, and he continues
to deliver lectures on decency and for hon
esty in elections, sending messages to con-
gress, on publicity Of campaign cOntribu-
tions, but at times when these were certain
TO be unaVailing.
The Chicago convention has met, has
transacted its business, and has adjourned.
The question OF a publicity bill was moOted
there, was defeated. and 1t would never
have seen the light OF day except through
OF the committee on platform and resolu-
lions, who dragged 1t out only to witness
its deep entombment by the body OF a
convention. Thus dice one of my policies
TO which the convention in effusive, IL
dictated language declared in its platform
their "unfaltering adherence"
Injunction and Contempt of Court.
Let me go on. There has been and is
now a public demand Tor legislation and
the power to punish for alleged indirect
or constructive contempts Of courts. Ever
since 1896 the democratic party have pro-
tested against hasty and ill-consideTed
use Of injunctions, and has been insisting
on the right Of fair trial in all cases OF
party has been avoiding his question. SO
the president, in taking II up. and Mr..
Taft In his letter 20 the labor unions, ad-
vOcated a measure that the democratic
party, acting In behalf OF the correct ad-
ministratiOn OF public justice, has been
demanding for twelve years. If the presi-
dent was In earnest when he sent his mes
sage 10 congress he was 10 that extent
democratic. We are authorized 10 con-
nNnAa that an ERaWaHnU -. q. "a.