The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1908-03-20
LAFoLETTE'S SPEECH.

Washington, March 19-Resuming
in the senate today his unfinished
speech on the Aldrich currency bill,
Lafollette directed himself to the
charge made in his remarks on Tues
day that the recent financial strin-
gency was started by the great bank
ers and financierS, declaring that
since he spoke Tuesday he had Sc
cured additional information proving
that his charge was correct. He read
letter signed by II. X. Vermilla,
auditor Of the Washington Life lnsur-
ance company, calling upon an agent
TO send premiums, collected weekly,
to New York, and he said such letters
were sent to the agents of that COM
pany all over the country.
"Other New York insurance com
pgnies" said LaFollette, controlled
by identical and allied interests at the
same time, gave similar instructions
to their tsate managers throughout
the country"
Gore. of Oklahoma, interrupted to
ask whether in view of the charge
made by the senator from Wisconsin,
the president was justified in con
graduating the the men who brought
or the panic. "Does the senator
think" he said that President
Roosevelt and Secretary Cortelyou
were not star actors in that perform
ance or at least that they congratu-
lated their chief actors when it was
over?"
Lafollette deprecated the idea of
bringing partisan politics into the dis
cussion and said ne did not propose
to be drawn into a criticism of the
president who had done the best he
could to relieve the situation and had
not thought it wise at ha critical mo-
ment to attempt the contlagration the
PRESIDENT sought to put out.
Whatever agencies were back of
that panic" said Lafollette, what
ever purposes were behind 1t, the
president and his secretary of the
treasury were confronted with con
dition.
panic was on!" declared LaFol-
Iette, in tones that rang through the
chamber. Panic was on. | do not
know how the president regarded 1t.
He was sitting there in the White
House. He was man who had faced
all manner of dangers without finch
ing. but he was confronted with
situation and panic was on. He saw
that legitimate business was put in
peril and responsibility came to him
az head of the government and to his
secretary as head Of the treasury de
nartment Where else could money
been sent to stop the panic, no matter
what Influences might have been be
hind the bill.
Bailey said he sympathized with
the Oklahoma senator; that money
should have been sent to banks
throughout the country whose money
was in New York and was kept from
them. and he did not think such per
fcrmance should have been ended by
a letter of congratulation from the
president.
Gore said he justified the president
'in standing and delivering to these
pirates and depositing with them the
ueople's money when their dagger was
Al his throat" But | cannot, he said
excuse him for congratmating the
pirates as public spirited benefactors,
excuse the president for helping the
incendiaries who k;ndied the fire. but
can hardly go so far as to approve
his proclamation of them as dtliverers
of the country
Mr.. Gore stated that he heartily
agreed with the senator from Wiscon
sin that Mr. Rockefeller aud Mr..
Morgan brought on this panic which
had ripened to the point of falling, but
he did not think they should be hailed
as benefactors."
LaFoIlette. resuming. sDoke on the
proposition to include railroads bonds
as securities for government loans.
After speaking more than two hours
and half, LaFollette yielded the