The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1908-02-17

Thursday last Representative Clark
is a veteran in the house and i'm
politics lie is man
Of liberal education and scholarly .
ways At the age Of twenty-five ne .
was president OF college I'm West .
not OF course the biggest .
college IN the United states but one .
that could probably boast of having .
the youngest president ever known |
to collegiate history lie has been |
in politics since 1876 and In congress /
FOR six terms, serving now his scv.
cnth. Should the democrats carry the |
next house he would unquestlonably F.
be speaker and should they be In the F.
minority he will be the party leader
Mr. Clark's speech was distinctly .
political; distinctly partisan. Unlike .
many OF the democratic speeches de .
liyeteI recently 70 was not 80 much |
q defence Of democracy or any mans
candidacy on the democratic ticket, .
as 1t was straight forward attack
upon the president, his manners and
his policies. OF course Mr. Clark cx-
pressed the highest regard for the
president personally. In this era of
courtesy and good feeling. when
man in house or senate arises for
the purpose of swatting Mr.. Roose-
welt. Mr. Taft, Mr. Bryan or anyone
else, he begins by declaring his great
earnestness and sincerity of his tar
get, and then let's fly with every YER
bal weapon at his command. Even
Senator Foraker adhered To this rule.
And by the way, the same curious
thing happened when Foraker was
addressing the senate in denunciation
of Roosevelt and was interrupted by
the sudden appearance OF a messen-
ger with presidential message, hap
pened to Champ Clark in the house
also. But as he remarked somewhat
satirically afterwards, the multiple
ity of messages has become so great
! that no speaker In either house can
be safe from such Interruptions. In
deed he expressed apprehension lest
the president should incur writer's
cramp
Mr.. Clark's speech was clear,
| straightforward and eloquent present
ment of democratic policies. 1t fits
in well with the one delivered hardly
ten days ago by the democratic lead
er, John Sharp Williams, though pos
sibly not as coldly logical. Speaking
of the presidents relation with Mr.
Hartman he said, One thing we do
! know, and that is that Mr.. Hartman
was a delegate to the last republican
national convention which nominated
Col Roosevelt by a unanimous vote
and that he was a liberal contributor
to the republican campaign funds. ~
| once" said he, Hartman was, MY
dear Mr.. Hartman But now he is
another sort of Hartman, beginning
with a big ID. Nevertheless" said
the speaker, "Mr. Hartman, was and
is republican OF high degree"
AS to the panic and the prevailing
depression, Mr.. Clark said some words
that should have been said before:
1T is a republican panic and gives
the lie direct TO the republican plat
form declaration of 1904 that re-
publican tariff Is always followed by
business prosperity, and a democratic
tariff by business adyersity. That
fake is exploded; gone where the
woodbine twineth; dead as the men
who lived before the food. No sane
man will believe it any more for,
ever"
He insisted that the republicans
won in 1896 by juggling the financial
question, and are now trying to juggle
the tariff issue. Both Of which state
ments are absolutely true, and in
closing Mr.. Clark said
"In the impending conflict, I sum
mon every democrat in all this broad
land to service under the democratic
banner and for democratic principles
principles which the immortal JEFF
ferson enunciated, which the heroic
Jackson upheld, and which are as
dear TO the hearts of the people this
day as they We're a century ago,
Fighting under that banner and for
those principles, we won fourteen
presidential elections out OF thirty
and can win again and again until
we drive the republicans from every
place OF power, thereby restoring the
government 10 the safe, wise, whole
some and patriotic policies Of the
fathers, a consunmation deyoutly TO
be wished