Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1910-09-30
THEY MADE POOR SPEECHES

From all around comes the COM
plant from Republican political
meetings, They made poor speeches.
These complaints are made rather In
regret, as a rule, chan otherwise.
Everybody likes to listen to a good,
instructive, moving speech, and, out
side of few fans" the country
people who go to public speakings 20
for the purpose OF being at least en-
teTtained if not instructed. Most Of
them have their minds already made
up as TO how they will vote, and
go TO the meetings rather as past
time, TO hear the music, and see the
speaker, rather than to be instructed,
and speaker who fails to "hold'
his crowd has lost the day. lie can
always "hOld them" if he has any
thing TO say either amusing or other
wise interesting, The almost univer-
sal verdict this fall is, that Ibis
speech fell fiat. He spoke only n
few minutes and flounderod around,
introduced the speaker and sat
down." "He busted. " He had on
" a handful, and made IA few re-
marks which he didn't seem to be-
lieve himself ETC., etc. The ad-
dresses OF the great Mr. Mckinley,
even, who knows so much, are said
TO be apologize from start to finish,
and fall short OF the mark.
Well, the reason Is plain. The
boys havn't. got a speech. y speak
er without a subject, a man without
country, a politician without n
party-about fits the boys. What
has Republican orator to talk
about? If lie mentions tariff, he is
reminded Of the revolt against it,
everywhere in his own party, and
Cannonism, the despicable tariff
trusts and all, choke his words.
If he attempts to recite the glory
of the great G. Q. +. he is at once
reminded that the O. O. i. has
busted, world without end. If he
talks prosperity, some loud mouthed
sinner in the audience reminds him
that, since 1907 the country has had
the biggest panic it ever had, and il
is still on. II this would-be Taze-
well spellbinder speaks to working
men they hold up an empty dinner
pail, and words falter, and he stops
10 take drink of water. If he
speaks of the high Prices OF farm
products the farmer says he is not
getting his share of the spoiIs. The
meat trust, the rubber trust, the
leather trust, the sugar trust, the TO-
bacco trust, the farm machinery
trust and all the trusts, are robbing
him. II he says the tariff has been
revised as the Republicans promised
1t should be, he is reminded again.
that 1t was revised upward - TINT
MI. Taft has appointed a commits
sion to try its hand on it, to try To
do what Congress could not or Womb
not do. And, so, his speech freezes
on his lips, and OF course he cant
speak. It's no discredit to him, per-
haps. No Republican can, under ex-
listing conditions, face an audience
OF intelligent men, and make n
good speech on Republican politics. |
10 do SO he must be an insurgent-
progressive-one who sees the FOLLY
and fraud behind him, and ineyita-
bic defeat of the old party in front Of
MIN. There is one subject left. and
This, the newspapers still font in
the faces of the people, and this is
not one OF a national character at
all IL is purely a local one, viz
the Virginia Constitution. We COM
mend this subject to the young ora
tors of Tazewell. Tell the peopIe
that the Virginia Constitution which
freed the state forever of the neg ro
In politics, and made even the Re-
publican party respectable in the
s'aie' is fraud and an imposition
and that Henry Stuart helped to
make II There will be just as much
sense and weight In this argument,
anu more than In oae which at
'empis to justify present conditions.