The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1916-11-02

Neither. my friends am l going tt
indulge in generalities. What 1 shall
6 give you tonight, in the way of a dis
cussion, is largely the record as II
: exists in the archives at Washington
i | shall MAKE some statements to you
r which would possibly upon their face
seem exaggerated, and, therefore, ]
have taken the precaution to bring
2 with me in this campaign either the
record or the reference to the record
of any statement of facts which l shall
make. | would not want to make the
criticism which. 1 may make upon
r some of these matters upon a mere
assertion of my own, and I say to you,
therefore, that / shall not discuss these
matters other than upon the actual
happening and the record as recorded
in the archives Of your capital.
BROKEN PROMISES.
The President, some time ago in his
acceptance speech, stated that the is
sue in this campaign was that of the
faithful performance of the pledges
upon the part of the party in power.
Perhaps / might read his exact words:
Boosting is always an empty bust
ness, which appeals to nobody but the
boaster, but | have no doubt of what
the Democratic party has accomplish
ed. 1t has merely fulfilled the prom
ises which it made to the people four
| eAA o6Os II lNCPdOllCdA Pdl
says u honored President, twas put
out of power because of failure-fafl-
ure, practical failure and moral fall
ure."
Now, my friends. that presents the
issue which am going to call to your
attention for a few minutes. 1t is a
fair presentation of it, and the Presi-
dent was entirely correct in submitting
the proposition as he did, andNI am
sure that my Democratic friends will
expect the Republican who presents
the other side to present the record
concerning which our President was
speaking.
So | want to quote as my tex for
this evening an extract from the most
famous work of modern fiction, the
Democratic platform adopted at Balti-
more four years ago. (Laughter.)
I am not going to refer, as you
might suppose, to the one-term plank
in the platform. On the question Of
keeping that pledge we haven't cared
always felt that In all probability
the Republicans would see that it was
kept. (Applause.)
Neither am / going to refer to what
is known as the free tolls plank. You
remember that we built a lanai for
five hundred millions of dollars, and
we had supposed in building it that
we were providing a competitive trans
|pOrtatfOn system as against land trans
pOrtation. 1t was therefore the opin-
ion, both of the Republicans n Dem
ocrats, four years ago that 1t should
be a free canal. And our hOnored
President in the campaign foul years
ago said that it was a free canal n
should be a free canal, because the
farmers of the country should a a
system Of transportation for the carry
ing of their freight to and from their
places of residence in competition with
the land transportation of the country.
However. that plank was afterwards,
! might say disregarded, and the free
tolls law was repealed. But these are
not the matters about which 7 am
going to talk, or upon which I am
going to dwell, because there are one
or two planks about which I want tol
speak which are in this campaign
more important.
CURSE OF THE CAUCUS.
First l will read this one, as follows:
1.-THE Democratic party offers itself to
the country as an agency through
which the complete overthrow and ex-
tirpation of corruption. fraud inc ma
chine rule in American politics can be
effected" Our President, in speaking
upon this plank four years ago, said:
Legislation as we nowadays conduct
it is not conducted in the open; 1t is
mo- thrashed out in open debate upon
the fioors of our assemblies. 1t is on
the contrary formed, digested and con-
cluded in committee rooms.' Observe
the following sentence: "It is in CONF
mfttee rooms that the legislation not
desired by the interests die. 1t Is in
the committee rooms that legislation
desired by the interests is framed and
brought forth" and then he proceeds
in his own way, with his remarkable
capacity for stating a proposition, to
explain the great fault of secret legis-
latiOn; that 1T Is a system by which
corruption is maintained and sustain
ed In the capital. and he proceeds to
say that no matter could be Of greater
concern to the people of this country
than that all laws Of whatever nature
be framed in the open. after thorough
debate. and in the full gaze of one
hundred millions of people.
l want to say in reference to
that plank that there has not been
a single measure OF any import
ance whatever which has actual
~ been framed and shaped by the
Congress of the United States
since the fOurt day of March.
1918.
Our fathers, when they framed this
framed a Congress that
operated in the open. and all avs were
supposed to be framed in the open
after amendments had been offered Z
and adopted, after full discussion, and
I repeat without fear Of successful {
that not a single import |
ant measure has been enacted, or has I
framed and shaped by the Con- I
gress itself as a Congress since the &
'ourth day Of March. 1913. Well then /
you say where has it been framed ? &
It has been framed in secret caucus, v
closed doors, from which the il
press is excluded, from which the t
is shut out, and the record Of d
no mar knows or can know. II
f you are interested as a constituency |,
n knowing h offered an amendment o
the Underwood bill, and how 1t was o
'oted upon; how 1t was shaped or a
ramed; If you were Interested In a
how the Federal Reserve Act a
vas shaped or formed, you would have {
O means in the world of acquiring il
knowledge, because it was framed a,
in secret. That is to say, a
could not be changed without the d
pprOval of the caucus. II
For fear that you may suppose that r
am exaggerating, I will read you a %,
.atement from a distinguished Demo- ta
ratio Senator, q man of exceptional OF
bility, and one of the leaders of the OF
enate while one of the most import W
- 49, 49, 0~--- 1891 -