The morning journal-courier., 1908-10-27
MIR. LlLLEY's DEFENSE.

In an amazing speech made at Hart ford last Saturday evening and set for repetition in this city last evening MT Lilley. the machine candidate for gov ernor of Connectcut gave even more complete revelation than he has given elsewhere of the reckless spirit which moves him in his consideration of matters political If anyone needed additional proof of his mental and tenn peramental unfitness for public office we do not hesitate to assert that this speech provides it. It confirms all that has been said at Washington of his in accuracles of statement under oath and gives the most startling evidence of his congenital willingness to accept street corner gossip as fact.
 In speaking of his campaign for the nomination he takes full credit for the achievement which gave him in excess of 400 votes in the convention and vir-
 
 tually denies that the party machine, with Mir. Fyler at it's head, was in any position to either obstruct his progress upward or to aid him in his canvass. As an exhibition of egotism this stands unmatched in the political history of the state He knows as others know that his success at the primary polls is to be entirely accredited to the promises of support which he received from the various members of the or ganization more than a year and a half before the assembling of the nom mating convention, promises which were kept as all promises are kept by prac- tical politicians of influence He could not more have boasted as he did boast, weeks in advance of the con vention that he would have 400 votes in the convention without the un- broken support of these men than he could have flown through the air. For him now to deny them the powerful support they gave him shows him to be a man of startling ingratitude as well as impressive unreiability,
 In speaking of the republicans, who have from the first resisted the progress of MT I.illey's absurd am bition, he deliberately misrepresents both their motives and their sense of fair play A like or dislike of Theo- dore Roosevelt has not entered for d moment into their calculations ana only cheap politician would undertake to present hem to an audience in such insinuating language Instead of be- ing opposed to the nomination of Mir Taft they were unanimously in his fa- vor, one of them being classnate and personal friend of that distin- guished gentleman. They did not un- dertake to dictate the republican nom ination. They sought to point out the danger involved in the nomination Of Mir. Lilley, an apprehension which has been more than fulfilled since. They have neither given circulation to moi encouraged the circulation of 'cruel untruthfu personal abuse, the like Of which has never been known in our state" They have stuck to thoir text with great mpressiyeness, asking questions which MT Lilley and his ad- vocates ignore and drawing deductions which his silence warrants and justi- fes. They have not in their employ "a large number of men, paid by these capitalists" who are travelling about the state giving currency to false ant malicious statements they would not dare to utter if they were not protected by that latitude permitted by sorry tradition in political campaigns
 We have here the same old LiIley