Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-09
ROOSEVELT FLAYS
ILLINOIS POLITICS
Asks Guests of Hamilton Club to
Consider Evidence in
Graft Cases
CANNON is ALSO A GUEST
Twelve Hundred Men Prominent
in Chicago Business and Po-
IitiCaI Life Present

CHICAGO. Sept. s.-Colonel Theo-
dore Roosevelt was the guest Of honor
here tonight at an elaborate banquet
given by the members of the Hamilton
club of Chicago at o'clock at the
Congress hotel.
He was greeted by an assemblage of
HOO diners, among whom were several
United States senators, governors of
states and other notables. Hundreds
of people who had been unable to OBJ
tain seats at the banquet thronged
the corridors Of the hotel and the bal
cony of the gold room, in which Colonel
Roosevelt spoke, waiting for a chance
to hear or see the former president.
Governor Charles S. Deneen deliv-
cred an eulogistic address in welcom-
ing Colonel Roosevelt to Illinois and
Chicago. John H. Patten, president of
the Hamilton club, introduced the
clubs chief guest to the expectant
diners.
Among the fifty men seated at the
speakers table were Joseph G. Can
non, speaker of the house of repre-
sentatives; Charles w. Fairbanks, for
mer vice president; Albert ]. Bever-
idge: Robert ]. Gamble, member of
the senate. and Governors Deneen of
Illinois, Stubbs of Kansas and Vessey
Of South Dakota, and James r. Gar
field, former secretary of the interior.
sON-IN-LAw PRESENT
Congressman Nicholas Longworth,
Colonel Roosevelt's Son-in-law, and
Senators Burrows and Smith of Michi
gan were also near the speakers stand.
Members of the Hamilton club
planned to make the banquet not alone
1,O do fv, 1fad 100
but if possible the biggest event of
Colonel Roosevelts western trip. The
demand for seats was so great that the
original plan to limit diners to 500 who
could be seated in the gold rooom was
abandoned. 1t was then arranged to
accommodate more than twice that
number by using a second banquet hall
at the hotel.
AS Colonel Roosevelt's special train
was half an hour late at Freeport, Ill,
a slight delay occurred in opening the
formalities at the banquet, but there
was no sign of impatience in the large
throng of guests.
Following the banquet Colonel Roose-
welt was escorted to a large reception
in the Elizabethan room of the hotel,
which had been transformed into
repetition of an African jungle. A
committee of Hamilton club men and
a large force of decorators had eX-
pended much thought and labor upon
this feature. Colonel Roosevelt was
pleased with the decorative innovation.
Hundreds who had been unable to
secure seats at the banquet board
were admitted to the long line of guests
at the reception, which did not termi-
nate until shortly before the Roosevelt
party was ready to take the train for
Cincinnati
ROosEvEIT'S SPEECH
Standing before 1900 men. nearly all
of them citizens of Illinois, and the
majority prominent in politics and
business life, Roosevelt brought his
hearers to wild enthusiasm by his
scathing denunciation of political con-
ditions in Illinois.
The great banquet hall at the Con-
gress hotel never witnessed such
scene, nor echoed to such a tumult as
followed the close of Col. RooseYelt's
address
After his introduction Col. Roosevelt
declared that he was about to talk on
delicate matters which nevertheless
should be treated only with directness.
Following this he took up the condl-
tions in Illinois politics, described by
witnesses in the present trial OF Lee
O'Neil Browne for bribery in cOnnec-
tion with the election of William Lori
"Reed the confessions of those four
members of the Illinois legislature who
have appeared in the case" declared
Col Roosevelt. "Read the evidence
obtained by the states attorneys Of
two counties and know that Illinois
politics cannot be cured by ignoring
what is going on"
NO REFERENCE TO CANNON
During the speech, Speaker Cannon
received much attention from the aud
fence. 1t had been rumored that in
case any reference was made to him
by Col Roosevelt to which the speak
er took exception an answer had been
prepared Col. Roosevelt made no
reference to Mr.. Cannon.
When introduced by Patrick Batten
of the Hamilton club Col. Roosevelt
was greeted with tumultuous applause
lasting for several minutes. His ad-
dress, in part, follows;
"Whenever 1 have spoken either to
this club or whenever ! have spoken
at Chicago l have always addressed
myself to the instant need of things,
for it would not be worth your while
to have me, and it would not be worth
nv while to come, il l could not speak
exactly as I thought of the question of
the hour.
Now there are just two sources of
danger to the American people-IaW-
less violence and corruption; lawless
violence that we must often have to
face from among the people who have
least of the worlds goods, and cor
ruption which we most often have to
face among the people that have most
Of the worlds goods,
IN the program tonight you have
done me the honor to print certain
quotations from speeches l have made,
mostly before the Hamilton club, and
the final quotation is: We must see
that there is civic honesty, civic clean
lness, civic good sense in our whole
administration of city state and ma
ton
Read the confessions of the four
men. Read what was developed by
the two states attorneys, one belong
ing to one party and one belonging to
the other, about the four men against
whom they secured indictments, and
about other men also. Read that, and
1 defy any honest man of intelligence
not to come to the conclusion that the
legislator whose doings have been ex-
posed was guilty of the foulest and
basest corruption and therefore Of the
most infamous treason to American
Institutions.
"Now ] am a good party man, but
I am an American first. When we
come to questions affecting the vital