The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1911-09-27
ben JOHNSORS
: SCATH|NG WORDS
In Touching Up Matters
Political.
SHOWS O'REAR'S DUPLICITY
And Says McCrearyiS a Hard
Man to Beat, For He
Knows.
PART OF A BRILLIANT SPEECH

hear the Hon. Ben Johnson make
his first speech in the present po-
litical campaign. In strong and
ringing words he declared his un-
qualified support of the Democratic
ticket, and promised to speak in its
behalf at whatever point in the
State the Democratic committee
should call upon him TO do so.
Mr.. johnson said in part:
Fellow citizens, we have on in
Kentucky in earnest political
contest. That political fight, in my
opinion, was bigger the day it COM
1nenced than ii is now, and II will
grow less and less until the 7th of
November The claim OF divinity
made by the Republican candidate
with such great flare and blowing
of trumpets. has exploded. He IS
the man that was going to stop all
the drinking and cussing and the
swearing, whether 1t was against
the law or not. At least he WIS go
ing to be elected Governor OF Ken
lucky, and then, like Elijah, he was
toing to be translated to heaven. l
guess from now on, instead of call
ing him Judge O'Rear We had bet
ter call him Saint Edward. He is
so good that everything around him
seems good; If 1t does not to-day,
1t will tomorrow.
NOW the most Important issue
in this campaign, and that Issue
made by Judge O'Rear, or Saint
Edward C. O'Rear, is that national
politics shall not be discussed. Now
will anybody tell me where upon
God Almighty's earth, from the
foundation of things to this good
hour, in any State, in Rny land, or
in any cline, that any man ever
ran for the Governorsh1p of any re-
spectacle community upon the one
issue that you shall not discuss ma
tional politics? Now he started
out to capture the whole face OF
the earth on prohibition Qaugh-
teri. He does not call it that, but
he calls it the passing of the county
unit law, meaning, OF course, that
he is in favor OF carrying It to the
point where he would burn down
the -distilleries IL It we're necessary.
He thought that was going to elect
him; that was one OF the things at
the beginning of this campaign that
sounded so good to him. But when
he went along into the canvass
few weeks he found there were peo-
pie who entertained contrary opfn-
ions about that thing.
Then it developed that this man
changed front and then whisky was
not so bad, and now you have him,
I day after day, in speech after
speech, getting away from the prop
osition that whisky is the worst
thing on earth. The Democratic
Legislature, of which am glad to
say That / was. member, passed
fully and willingly, which said that
alcoholic liquors should never be
shipped from any part OF the State
into dry territory. That is Demo-
cratic doctrine. oLcal self-govern-
ment is the foundation OF Demo-
cratic doctrine. Local seff-govern-
ity control itself and when they say
that they do not want it, I said by
my vote then and there and I re-
peat 1t now, that 1t should not be
forced upon them, but that law,
regret to say, is nullity. Your
Republican Congress has said you
can pass as many State laws as you
choose to prohibit the shipping of
LIQUOR into dry territory. but we,
the great Republican Congress of
America, shall see that 1t is ship
ped. There stands your Republican
party and here stands this man as
it's candidate-O'Rear, in the State
of Kentucky to-day, who approves
the action of that Congress. Is he
carrying out that principle for
which he says that he stands for
above all other questions7 say
no. ~
Now. fellow-citizens, these Re-
publicans are running through the
State telling you how easy II is to
beat old Jim McCreary. Now, I
tried that. (Laughter). You can
prove by me anywhere that 1t is not
the easiest thing in the world.
tLaughter). It seems to be the r.
ony OF fate that the first speech to
be made by me in this campaign
should be made on the headwaters
Of Salt River (Laughter). After
the next election il over am going