Oxford Democrat., 1910-07-12
Giitteringly General Oratory.

Mr.. McGllllcuddy'S speecn before tue
recent Democratic county convention at
South Paris is hailed by those of his
political faith as great" speech, and
many of them seem to think that by it
he has at a single stroke demonstrated
his personal superiority to the present
representative from this district.
1t would be difficult for Mr.. McGilli-
cuddy's most ardent supporter to point
out any respect in which, in his talk
about national issues, he showed any
degree of fitness for dealing with those
issues. Until he turned to the discus
sion of state matters, be did not make
one definite statement of fact, except as
to the matter of Mr.. Swasey's recon-
mendatiOn of certain candidate for
postmaster, on which he spent an
amount of breath totally out of proper
tion TO it's possible importance. He did
make smoothly worded statements OF
opinion in glitteringly general terms,
but nothing but what might be said by
any man on the street, and is doubtless
said many times every day in this coun-
try, by men who are not qualified BY
ability or education TO act as moderator
of a town meeting. True, from rhe-
torical standpoint Mr.. AcGillicuddy's
sentences are vastly superior TO those OF
the average man, but even that fact
doesn't establish his qualifications for a
congressman.
Mr.. McGillicuddy first said that the
present high cost of living is due TO the
trusts; that the trusts act through the
tariff, controlling the schedules and shap-
ing legislation; that the Payne-Aldrich
tariff bill is in the interests of the trusts,
passed by trust congress, and is direct
ly and absolutely responsible for the
high cost of living. All these things are
very easy to say. They are the Demo
cratic stock in trade in the campaign of
this year of grace, and many even igno-
rant men say them, though nos with the
silvery uttersnce of Mr.. McGillicuddy
but they are not statements Of fact or
even argument.
Then Mr.. McGillicuddy proposed to
turn TO the immediate interests of the
Second District in the tariff, and some of
US who are Republicans began to sit up
and take notice, expecting to hear some
figures or at least some argument regard
ing the way in which the tariff affects
the industries of this district; how it in
fiuences the prices of what the farmer
sells, or what he buys, or the price OF
wood pulp or cotton goods or some other
of the products of this district; or at
least how il raises the price of some OF
the necessaries of life which the citizens
of the district are consuming. OF
course, we assumed, Mr.. McGillicuddy
has made study of these matters, and
10 nvaf fa ~ 20 thaf
body will have TO answer.
But instead of anything of that sort
Mr.. McGillicuddy devoted the next
twenty minutes or so to talking about
Mr.. Swasey, and then turned to state
issues. He said in glitteringly general
terms as before, that Mr., Swasey aligned
himself with the Cannon Republicans,
and voted for the trusts every time.
Now that is also easy to say, and any
man might say il who couldn't tell you
how Mr.. Swasey has voted on any one
question since he has been in congress.
Mr.. McGillicuddy, by the way, didn't
mention how Mr.. Swasey has voted on
any one question, though he did allege
that he "bas sat as dumb as an Egyptian
mummy, except that he voted"
As to this comment, Mr.. Swasey has
already briefly remarked, before at least
two conventions in this state, what most
men of a fair degree of information
know, that a congressman is not known
by his much speaking on the floor Of the
house. Mr. McGiilicuddy himself is not
so unintelligent that he does not know
this, aud even il he should have the op-
portunity-wbich he will not this term
of addressing the house whenever he
saw fit, he would probably have sense
enough to sit "dumb as an Egyptian
mummy" and simply vote on large part
OF the questions which came before that
body.
And then Mr.. McGillicuddy told his
postmaster story, to which reference
has already been made, and switched to
state issues, without having shown that
he had any knowledge of tariffs or other
national issues, or had made any investi
CATION or study of them, beyond the Or
dinary man on the street. Except for
the rhetorical form of his address and
the undeuiably pleasing manner of his
delivery, any ordinary man OF normal
intelligence, who reads Democratic
paper regularly or even occasionally,
might have said anything that be said