Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-02-14
MASON IN PLEA
FOR DIRECT VOTE
Former United States Senator
Advocates Shearing Legis-
latures of Power.
SAYS PEOPLE ARE IGNORED
Under Present System They Have No
Voice in Determining Character
of Men Who Rule.


mer United States senator from ILL
nois. spoke on American Citizen
ship" before the After-Dinner club
/ Of Moline last evening. at is a
| pleasure for me to introduce TO you
| man who was a member of the
/ United States senate when that fact
could be mentioned with "propriety,
remarked F. D. Blake, vice president
Of the club, in introducing the
speaker of the evening. Mr.. Mason
spoke in part as follows:
"Lincoln's birthday is good time
for American citizens to take an &C
count OF stock. In other words, to
inventory fairly and impartially our
assets and liabilities that We may
draw inspiration, If possible, to help
us look American issues sQuarely IN
the face and without too much pride
in the past make new resolutions for
the future. We have the best gov
eminent in the world, but 1t never
can be perfect so long as mankind is
human.
I'm facing new questions, we are
| apt to be carried away with the idea
I that our fathers have never made any
mistakes; that the destiny of this ma
ton is in the hands of the Almighty
and that we have but little to do ex-
cept to enjoy the glorious present
| and dream of a more glorious future.
The truth is that we have made mis-
takes in the past; are making mis-
| takes now and we hope to make less
and less in the future.
LAW OF CONFIRMATION.
1--WE piled up wealth by the I'M
requited toll of the slave. We had
this same beautiful flag. We sang
the same splendid song. This is the
land of the free and home of the
brave, and at the same time we sold
men, women and children to the
highest and best bidder for cash at
public auction. 1 do not call atten-
ton to that now for the purpose of
striking a discordant note on Lin
coins birthday, but rather that We
may consider the cost of that mis-
AXE and learn the lesson from the
past that there is no vicarious atone
ment for a nations crime. Lincoln
said every nation must have its
come-upings.' In other words, ev-
cry nation has to settle in the court
of the law of compensation.
illinois is standing in that court
now, and unless the people bestfr
themselves, judgment will be pro-
nounced against us. During the last
legislature / believe there was no law
so good that it could not be defeated
by the use of money and there was
almost no law so bad but what it
could be passed by money, which at
least would secure the help and sup
port of these so-called jackpotters of
the state of Illinois.
INDIFFERENT TO DISHONESTY.
''It is dreadful thing to think of
the buying and selling of laws in the
state of Abraham Lincoln, but the
worst part of it is that very large
percentage Of the ordinary citizens
have come to regard 1t as a joke. +.
When their attention is called TO the
buying and selling of offices, the buy
ing and selling of votes in the legis- |
lature, they simply shrug their shout |
ders and say, oh, we'll, they all do it.
Let US say to you that that is not |
true answer. They do not all do it. /
81 remember to have voted for Lo- |
gan for five months when | was
member of the Legislature. and we
stood 102 men on each side-1O2 I
for Logan and 1O2 for Morrison. 1t
was believed that there were two or
three men on each side with itching
palms, but Logan and Morrison took /
the same high ground. Either man, |
elected by the vote of any legislator /
who violated his instructions, would I
have declined to qualify. Either
would have refused to serve as Unit /
ed States senator from Illinois.
have been a follower in the school |
of Logan, Oglesby and Cullom, and /
whoever heard of any Of these gentle |
men buying a member of the legis- /
lature, or selling his vote for a |
price.
"Who are these men who tell You