Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1912-04-04

SS, ~ tho iutu Deulnu IuOSe SeNS4
men had for one moment thought tina
tney had the best chance or an ever
Shahce or carrying the primaries, Il
they We're open. you would not have
mad any opposition. The opposition
came because our opponents would
not trust the people. because they
dared not trust the people.
Praise for Nichols.
And now, as we were listening to
the voice of thunder referring tC
Chairman Nichols) daughter and ap
plause) 1t made me think Of word
wish to say about Mr.. Nichols. In
this fight | have not asked human
being to support me, because l knew
that any man who did support me
had to go against the odds. had to
go against the professional politicians
and those sinister special interests
that stand behind the special poll
tclans; those sinister special inter
ests whose alliance with the boss In
that partnership of crooked politics
and crooked business has been the
cause of nine-tenths of the corrup-
ton of our American political life.
would not for anything in the world
law dohCu MINUS W SNPPO''
me, because l knew that he would be
threatened, just as he has been
threatened, because he stands by his
convictions, because he has fought for
a primary, and for the right OF the
people to express their wishes, he has
been threatened with political death !:
and | wish now to bear testimony TO
his courage and his disinterestedness
and to say how much | appreciate
having the support of man OF that
kind. (Cries of Good" and prolonged
applause.)
President Taft Answered.
Now, friends, our oppohents, and
/ am sorry to say headed by the
president himself, have recently tried
the dangerous task of improving on
the words of Abraham Lincoln. Alb
raham Lincoln said that this was, and
was to be kept, government OF the
people, for the people, and by the
people. In one of his recent speeches
the president proposed as an improve
ment that this was to be a govern
ment of the people, by what he calls
a representative part of the people
those seven senators who would not
beginning-the representative part Of
the people. (Applause.)
The trouble with that definition is
that we have seen the kind Of gov
eminent it describes again ana again
in American life; and it has inVariab-
ly turned out to be, not by a repre-
sentative part, but by a misrepre
sentative part of the people. CAP
nj hoe t,,,. Cd D,,f hn
eminent of the people for the special
interest, by the boss (Applause) aided
by the crooked newspaper which the
boss and the special interest control
(Applause) Now, just at present we
see in Washington another illustra-
ton Of government of the people, by
a representative part OF the people.
If there is one thing more essential
than another to our government, to
our people, it is that we shall have
only men of probity in high official
position and recently, | think it was
yesterday, the senate committee that
had to deal with the subject has de-
cided that Senator Lorimer is a man
of probity.
There is a minority, but the ma
jorlty Of that committee acting, to use
the presidents words as a represent
alive part of the country, is governing
the rest of us by saving whether or
not Mr.. Lorimer shall continue
in the senate. Among the men
who voted for him are Senators
Dillingham; of Vermont, Jones Of Wash
ington, Gamble of South Dakota.
would stake anything they wished,
that Vermont, South Dakota and Wash
ington, II the people were given a
chance to vote, would vote against
having Mr.. Lorimer in the senate of
the United States Great applause),
But the representative part of the
people Great laughter) have voted
to keep him in the senate Of the
United States. and | wish to see the
people given the right TO elect their
senators by popular vote
Railway Rate Bill.
81 want to speak of just one thing
tonight a little aside from the main
subject on which I intend to talk to
you The best bit Of work done by
the last republican congress was the
passage of the rate bill. AS that bill
was submitted by the administration,
and as IL was reported out of the
committee to which it was sent by
Senator Aldrich on behalf of the ad-
ministration, it was thoroughly mis-
chievious bill, which, II enacted into
law would have upset the work of
the twenty years preceding. Thanks
to the fight made by the progressive
senator's, II was 30 altered In the in.
terest Of the small man, Of the or
binary man who uses the railroads
while doing entire justice to the rail
roads, yet to secure the rights Of the
general public, the only feature of it
that was kept unchanged as the bill
was handed down, was the commerce
court, that has proved most mischiev.
Gus. We owe that piece of legisla-
ton, OF good legislation. to the exer.
ton or exertions, of the progressive
senators, and then the progressive
members of the lower house, and that
is something that u wish you to keep
In mind (Applause).
Control Big Business.
And now friends, just one moment.
! want to give you the theory because
of which / ask for an extension of
the power of control over big bus
mess, an extension similar to what
wa have over tho inter-ctata frame