The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-07-25
SESSIONS AN ORATOR.
Charles Sessions Maiden Effort Con-
vinces Friends of the Fact.

1t has been generally understood that
Charles Sessions, the well known news
paper man who is the only Republican
candidate for secretary of state, was
not an orator. Frequently while hand
ling political meetings for his paper
Sessions has been called upon to speak
and always has declined. At the har-
mony meeting of Second district Re
publicans at Fort Scott Saturday they
called upon him for a talk at the night
meeting following the Mitchell-Scott
debate in the afternoon. The chairman
of the afternoon meeting referred to
Sessions as the most distinguished ora
tor in the state and went on and piled
up a lot of stuff in the way of friendly
embarrassment. The chairman of the
night meeting tried to square it for
Sessions by declaring that they were
joking him and that he was not an
orator, but rather this was the first
public meeting he had ever addressed
off-hand. This last statement was
true, but when Sessions got up to
speak he bore out all the predictions
of the afternoon chairman. Like Henry
Allen filling a date for Stanley, ten
years ago, Sessions blossomed out
an orator and held the crowd in his
hand for a half hour. according to John
Dawson who was present. To give an
idea of this young orators mastery of
himself and the situation, John Daw-
son declares that dog fight was start
ed in front of the platform right in the
middle of the Sessions speech, and that
Sessions, instead Of becoming flabber-
gasted. leaned over and, pointing to the
dogs, said: This is supposed to be
harmony meeting, but here is Stubs
dog and a Wagstaf dog fighting" The
sally brought down the house.
Sessions made a talk along the same
clever and convincing lines that he
writes, saying in part:
81 am glad to witness the spectacle
of so many different kinds of Republi
cans under one tent-regulars, insur-
gents, standpatters. square dealers,
tools of Wall street, friends of the
ms who don't out and 81 other varie
ties, too numerous to mention. Such
sight was worth going miles to see.'''
Sessions said he would not attempt
to pluck any flowers from the con-
servatory of his soul and distribute
them among the people in the audi
ence; he would let the orators do that:
neither would he try to reach up and
pick any stars out of the armament
because they belonged up there. He
guage. the only language he knew and
the plainest language in the world.
He dealt in no tariff figures, nor
state tax figures. He told a personal
incident wherein he suffered a cut of
SIS in wages once on account of Demo-
cratic free trade and said that he was
somewhat of a patriot but not enough
of one to put up IS a week for the
privilege of taking bread out of the
mouths of American workmen and
children and giving it to workmen and
their children or Europe or Asia.
This aggregation of candidates re-
minds me- said he, "Of the old Pop
days, when every candidate for office
had to get up on the platform, march
around so the people could see him
and then tell what he stood for. The
Pop who had the longest whiskers, the
loudest lungs and looked the most
downcast, downhearted and down..
trodden usually carried away the per-
simmon.
I'm this primary campaign 1 am
maverick. For twenty years now 1
have not be caught and branded by
either political faction. 1 am a Re-
publican. When the Republicans
speak on primary day their candidates
will be my candidates; when they
speak again at the party council their
state platform will be my PLATFORM
After telling what the duties of sec
rotary of state were and expressing the
belize that he was familiar with those
duties enough so that he could do the
work he said:
shall receive / am asking No one
else is-for the job 1 want Ny nomi-
nation for secretary of state is prac-
tically assured. 1t is too late. under
the law, Tor any other candidate to file
the attorney general has ruled that
when candidate once files he cannot
withdraw; and the law says that where
there is a candidate for a particular Of
flee the voter cannot scratch his name
and write in another one. That puts it
up in this position: It is against the
law for any other Republican candi-
date to run against me. it is against
the law for me to withdraw and it as
against the law for you Republicans
to vote against me at the primary
Now you Bourbon county Republicans
are all lawabiding citizens and 1 am
sure that you will not violate law.
even to vote against me- And 1 am
quite sure to win. One vote will
nominate me. and I know of one I am
sure to get If I am alive on primary
day and they don't challenge me and
throw my vote out 1 believe 1 know
where I will get some others.
after the primary is over 1 will be
asking again-that time for election
And if the people of Kansas honor me
with their votes and I am elected 1
promise here and now to fill the office
to the best of my ability. No act IF
mine shall ever bring shame to the fair
name of Kansas"