The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1912-05-03
MR.. SPARKMAN AT WILLISToN

To the Editor Ocala Banner:
Mr.. Sparkman addressed the voters
of this vicinity on Wednesday and
created most favorable impression.
He said thta Mr.. Phillips had made
him, most of which were untrue. That
the one or two things which he said
that were true, when analysed and ex-
planned, would vanish into thin air.
Mr.. Sparkman said thta his public
record was a legitimate subject of
criticism, an dthat he was willing to
be judged by it. That he had been
told by friends that Mr.. Phillips had
said in his speech at Williston that
any statement that Sparkman or his
friends might make that Sparkman
was detained in Washington on public
business was mere pretense and
sham, and was only an excuse for not
facing Phillips and the people to an
swer the charges made against him.
Mr.. Sparkman asked if there were
any present who believed it. He said
that he ought then to be in Washing
ton, but that he had come to Willis
ton because Mr.. Phillips had said
that any claim that he was also de-
tanned by illness in his family ought
not to be believed, as that said claim
was only an excuse for not coming to
Florida. Mr.. Sparkman said that he
did not. command language sufficient
ly strong to properly characterize
such statements and such tactics.
ct may be said here by way of pa
renthesis that Mrs. Sparkman has
been an inmate of Johns Hopkins
hospital for several months, and
reached her home in Tampa yester-
day in a very critical condltion.-Ed.
Banner.)
Mr. Sparkman denied thta he rep
resented the A. C. L. railway. That
he had represented it several years
ago, but ceased his connection with
it because his public duties were so
exacting that he had to give up his
law practice almost entirely
He said that he had never repre-
scented the Southern Express Com
pany; that he did not represent the
First National Bank of Tampa; that
he did not ride on free railway pass
es, and did not enjoy the emoluments
of an express frank. That Mr. Phil
lips charges along these lines implied
dishonesty on his part, and that he
had always tried to be an honest
man.
Mr.. Sparkman said that he had
never voted for Cannon or Cannon
ism, bu otn the contrary had always
voted against Cannon. That he did
vote for the Fitzgerald amendment to
the house rules, because the same
was blow at Cannonism. Fitzger-
laid, Mr.. Sparkman explained, is a
democrat, and is now chairman of
the important committee on appro-
priations. That under the Fitzgerald
amendment he got up and had passed
the geological bill, which he had new
er been able to do before, because
Speaker Cannon persistently refused
to recognize him so as to permit him
to bring up the bill.
Mr.. Sparkman said that he had vot-
ed against the Dingley tariff bill and
against the Payne-Aldrich bill, and
not in favor of them, as fiippantly
charged by his unfair opponent.
Mr.. Sparkman said with some de-
gree of pride that he had never be-
trayed the trust given him by the
people, but on the contrary had stood
for them and voted for them, and
would continue to do so as long as
their interests were committed to his
keeping.
He added that he did not believe in
pulling young man down or in blast
ing another's reputation in order to
ride into office, and appealed to the
people for their continued support
1t is believed here thta the attempt
to assassinate Mr.. Sparkman's char
acter will act as a boomerang.
VOTER