The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-10-15

have been able TO do certain things
that I greatly wished to do and 1 am
interested in doing other things.
can tell you with absolute truthfulness
that 1 am very much unlntereSted in
whether I am shot or not.
1T was just as when 1 was colonel
of my regiment, I always felt that a
private was to the excused for feel
ing at times some pangs of anxiety
about his personal safety, but I can
mel who can pay any heed to his per-
sonal safety when he is occupied as
he ought to be occupied with the abb
sorbing desire to do his duty.
Heart and Soul in Cause.
81 am in this cause with my whole
heart and soul; I believe in the Pro-
gresSiVe mOvem ent-a movement for
the betterment of mankind, the
movement for making life a little
easier for all our people, movement
to try to take the burdens off the man
and especially the woman in this
country who is most oppressed. I am
absorbed in the success of that move
ment. 1 feel uncommonly proud in
belonging to that movement.
Friends I ask you now this even
ing to accept what am saying as alb
solute truth when I tell you 1 am not
thinking of my own success, 1 am not
thinking of my own life or of anything
connected with me personally. am
saying this by way of introduction be-
cause I want to say something very
serious to our people and especially
to the newspapers.
Il don't know who the man was who
shot me tonight. He was seized by one of
my Stenogra piers, Mr.. Martin, and l sup
pose is in the hands of the police now
He shot to kill me. 1 am just going to
show you. Colonel Roosevelt then un,
buttoned his coat and vest and showed
his white shirt badly stained with blood)
Now friends, I am going to be as quiet
as possible even if L am not able to glv e
the challenge of the Bull Moose quite as
loudly. Now. I do not know who he was
or what party he represented. He was
coward. He stood in the darkness in the
crowd a~lund the automobile and when
they cheered me and I got up to bow, he
stepped forward and shot me in the
breast.
Lays 1t to Abuse.
ct is a very natural thing that weak
and vicious minds should be inflamed
to acts of violence by the kind of foul
heaped upon me for the last three months
by the papers in the interests not only of
Mr. Debs, but of Mr. Wilson and MI
Taft Friends, I will disOwn and repud1ate
anv man of my party who attacks with
such vile, foul SANDER and abuse any OPP
ponents of any other party Now wish
to say seriously to the speakers and to
the newspapers representing both the Re
publican and Democratic and the Socialist
parties that they cannot, month in and
month out, year in and year out, make
the kind of slanderous, bitter and male |
violent assaults that they have made and |
not expect that brutal and violent char
acters. especially when the brutality is
accomplished by a not too strong mind |
they cannot expect that such nature will |
be unaffected by it
L am not speaking for myself at all. |
give you my word, 1 do not care a rap |
a bout being shot, not a rap l have had |
a good many experiences in my time, a-.d |
this is only one of them. What 1 do care |
for is my country. wish were able to i'm
press on our people the duty to fee |
strongly. but to speak truthfully of then |
opponents. say now I have never sai5 |
on the stump one word against any op- |
pOnent that I would not defend in the /
labora tory. 1 have said nothing that L !
could not substantiate. and nothing L /
ought not to have said, nothing that. |
looking back, 1 would not say again. l |
am all right