The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-04-24
FLETCHER

| Ocala his reelection is fOregOne
conclusion.
He made many friends here and
aroused a great deal of enthusiasm.
If any of his old supporters had
grown lukewarm, he rekindled their
old feeling for him, and warmed them
into new life, and made many con-
verts among those who have become
of age since he has been in office.
The senator's speech was very
able one. 1t was very lucid, very
complete and was far removed from
even remote suspicion of the peanut
variety of politics or the politician.
| Whatever else he may be, those who
heard his speech were convinced that
he was not a demagogue.
There was nothing in his speech
that he attempted in any way to con-
ceal-nothing that he was disposed to
gloss over. 1t was clean, clear-cut
from start to finish.
detailed account of the Lorimer case,
without hesitation or concealment, as
he did also of the Bailey incident.
If the facts in the Lorimer case are
as Senator Fletcher states them, and
he says that they have never been
and cannot be denied, he could not
have voted other than he did without
violating his conscience, and mem
Der of congress who will deliberately
debase his convictions in order to ap-
pease popular clamor and pave the
way for lis reelection, is unfit to hold
a public office.
If there was ever a man in the
United States to whom was meted
out dirty deal through political cow
ardice that man was Mr.. Lorimer.
No part of Senator Fletcher's two
hours speech met with more gener-
GUS and spontaneous applause than
his defense of his vote for Lorimer,
and his magnificent eulogy of him.
Lorimer, he said, started in life
from the very humble beginning of
a bootblack and newsboy, the main
support of widowed mother with a!
growing family, and, step by step, fol-
lowing strictly in the steps of right
eousness, he made his way to fortune
and fame.
In the entire testimony of 5000 pag-
es, Mr.. Fletcher declared that there
was not sentence that did not say
that Lorimer's business life, his home
life and his moral life was clean and
above reproach.
Mr.. Lorimer said to the senate that
il any of his accusers could place a !
finger on single item of the record
that pronounced him unclean in any
manner he would walk out of the sen.
ate chamber leaving his credentials
behind him.
The only thing Senator Fletcher
said that Lorimer's accusers objected
to was what they called "Lorimer-
ISM" That under a provision of the
constitution of the state of Illinois
the minority is granted representa-
ton in the state legislature. For in
stance, if a county is entitled to three
members of the legislature one OF the
three had to come from the minority
party. Mr.. Lorimer was smart
enough to get democrats elected to
the legislature under the minority
clause who were friends of his, and
when a deadlock ensued between
two prominent republicans the dem
ocrats threw their votes to Lorimer,
which finally resulted in his election.
In doing which the democrats did
not lose member because they
could not possibly elect democrat),
and gained a friend.
That was all there was to the Lor-
inner case. The defeated republicans
for the senate who created the dead
lock, became sore and determined to
ruin Lorimer at all hazards, and turn
ed their pocketbooks inside out to
do it.
In the John w. Martin case Senator
Fletcher was equally explicit, and
showed that in that affair he acted
the friend of Mr.. Martin all the way
through. His explanation seemed en-
tirely satisfactory to his hearers.
He showed from the letter of Pres
ident Wilson that instead of being a
"reactionary," that the president re-
garded his as wholly in line with all
the progressive policies proposed by
the administration.
On the rural credit system" which
congress now has under considera-
ton, Mr.. Fletcher dwelt longest and
pointed out in very glowing and sig