Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1915-06-25

utes to reply TO all these charges. Ny
committee said, -Four out Of five OF
US live in the country. Governor
Brewer told you to come here and you
have come now. Let's see II you will
speak" He was in the crowd. said
there, he can have unlimited time to
make a speech and l will have unlim-
tied time to make a speech. | told
them that you cannot pull him up
here with a log chain" He is here
tonight, and he won't speak II | have
time to reply to him. have five times
In succession given him the closing
speech. At Ecru yesterday l told
hln that the committee at GreenN God
had wired me that l may invite you
to meet me In Greenwood In g Joint
debate, but l want to tell you that /
think time about Is fair play, a free
ballot, and q fair count, and | amt
going to give you the closing speech.
And | wanted him to have the first
speech here this time. He came here
and undertook to take q long time to
pour out charges against Governor
Brewer and should have the last say,
and the committee said, I'VE won't
have anything Of the kind" He is
here.
am sorry to take up your time
with this foolishness. | want o to
know that | tried to give him a fair
deal. but he doesn't want a fair deal.
He wants to obstruct me and throw
mud upon me without giving me an
opportunity to reply to him.
Now, | am through with that trash.
daughter by the %audience.) Let's be.
gin to talk about something that may
be of interest to you and to me and
the good people Of this State.
When l was a candidate for Cover.
nor l came before you with a pub.
lished platform; l told you In child
like simplicity in that platform what
l should stand for II elected Governor.
| spoke here in this court house and
explained what l meant by each OF the
respective planks Of that platform.
Now, since have been elected | have
regarded every plank OF that platform
as a contract between you and me.
Let's study that platform. I told you
in that platform that foremost in my
administration | should stand for the
highest order OF enforcement Of the
law. I think my most violent enemy
will concede that I have tried to
carry that out. | told you | despised
every form Of graft, and that | would
send every crook from under the
dome Of the capitol of Mississippi.
Some people think I have tried to
carry that out in good faith. Thirdly.
| told you | al In favor Of suitable
child labor laws in Mississippi. |
took this question before all of the
people OF Mississippi, and the next
legislature passed a law on the sub
ject wholly inadequate. When | was
elected, in my inaugural address, I
informed the legislature Of the fact;
and now they have the most mag
nifcent statute on the subject that
adorns the statute books Of any State
Of this fair country. We have an in
spector to go to every factory where
women and children are employed,
and look after their welfare.
told you l would exercise the
power Of my high office to raise the
age of consent from the barbaric age
Of ten years. Today we have that
splendid statute that looks to a higher
civilization adjoining our statute books.
told you | would drive out the
bucket shops, They had been strong
enough ia the two preceding admin
istrations to enter the legislature and
prevent the passage Of any laws
against them. One day the past grand
chancellor Of bucket shops came to
me and said, I'VE want to know where
you stand" As for as much as to
say, you must be with us or get out.
l said that l will, and | will try to
put this matter before the plain peo-
pie Of Mississippi, and | will show
this hideous business before the PEG.
pie Of Mississippi In It's bare naked.
ness. and make 1t as plain to them as
the handwriting on the wall at the
feast Of Belshazzar. was defeated.
But the people Of Mississippi respond
ed to It; and our representatives. with
House Bill No. 1, put that nefarious
business out Of Mississippi hope
forever. They had helped for moth
ing but to ruin the business men and
give premature patients for the insane
asylum.
| told you we had a wholly made
quate banking law in this State. |
pointed out that we needed some
change; that a bank would break, men
who were old and unable to get a
competency again in life would lose
their everything. | brought this to
the attention of the legislature in my
inaugural address, and again In a
message. and 1t failed to respond. In
1914 | pointed it out again and from
every angle. And they responded and
they passed such a banking law that
today your money is safe in the bank,