Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-09-05
CITY Hall Crowded With People
Echo Senator borah Of Idaho,
driCk Bangs and Walter c.

long enough to feel that | have the
right to advise its citizens in matters
which are of State concern, | shall
not touch upon State issues this even
ing, but will invite your attention to
the record of the Democratic party
from that moment when, so years ago.
it first found the Republican party
standing in it's pathway, firm as the
rock of Gibraltar, and saying to 1T.
Thou shalt not disrupt this Union"
] find, very much to my surprise,
that my original estimate of the num-
was rather lower than the actual fig
ureS seem to warrant. | had supposed
that the State contained only two
Democrats. and it was largely to get
into State, where there were SO few
of these that 1 chose the State OF
Maine as the place in which to pass
my declining years. | had supposed
that those two Democrats We're gen
tangall, an editor, and the other
the distinguished jeremiah Gard
ner, or perhaps it is Obadiah. l am
not particularly strong on the proph-
cts, no stronger in fact than the DEM
party IS Ill pIoplictS, anu "liSi1
7 think of the phrophecies of the Dem
ocratic party and its leaders my mind
reverts more to the lamentations of
jeremiah than to the utterances of
any of the other prophets whose
names are Familiarity known to you all.
Much to my surprise 1 find that there
are several others, men who desplSe
Organism and all that Organism rep
resents, who are still voting with the
Democratic party because they say the
Democratic party still deserves their
alleeiance and their loyalty and their
respect And I find myself concerned
with a new proposition, not What is
a DemOcrat?" for that is a question
that We all of us long since gave up
trying to answer but why is Dem
ocrat?"
The difficulties in answering that
question will reveal themselves when
we consider the record Of the party from
the time it first met the Republican
party as its opponent. and at the FISK
of being accused of raking up all sorts
of dead isSues-that is a familiar re-
tort Of the Democrat when you try to
bring I'D his record. His past is always
a dead issue. He is not even willing to
speak about his present, he is speculat-
ing entirely upon his future and when
YOU speak of his past he either tells
YOU that YOU are discussing dead is
sues or are abusing him. We have no
desire to abuse anybody tonight. we
do not wish to abuse the party; we do
not wish to abuse Mr.. Bryan Against
his personal character we have moth
ing whatever to say. if there is any
thing to be said against it, but the
record of the partv and Mr.. Bryan's
record as a statesman. if he may be
so called, should be considered at
time when he and his party come 70
Won and ask your confidence and that
YOU place the administration of your
national business in their hands,
In 1858 James buchanan was Presl-
dent of the United states. was there
ANYTHING in the vacillating policy or
shillyshallying methods of this man
into whose, hands had been committed
the honor and welfare of this republic
to inspire confidence? Is it not rather
a pitiful spectacle that this unfortu-
nate figure presents on the pages OF
history. a man who, clothed with Such
responsibility. in the face of SUCH
great questions as were then pressing
,,pon the attention of our people. couic
maintain that the states had no right
to secede but that the nation had nc
power to prevent them from doing SO
Do our Democratic friends OF
today, who boast of the brilliant an
noble record of their party. remcmbe
the criminal blindness of the the
President of the United States wh'
permitted two of his secretaries to Il
the arsenals of the South with rifle
and the ammunition with which I
use them which were subsequent
turned against the government the
had sworn to serve and protect
Is there anything in this record >upo
which the Democrats, so-called. today,
mas, ,o,c,pa bly fool prolIdo