Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1916-10-11
DEM CANDIDATES
TOURED |ON|A
COUNTY TUESDAY
EDWIN +. SWEET AND VIM. A.
SEEGMILLER SPOKE TO
BELDING CROWD

The candidates on the Democratic
ticket for Ionia county, together with
Edwin f. Sweet, candidate for COVER
nor, and William A. Seegmiller, can
didate for representative in congress,
made a tour of the county Tuesday,
stopping here from ten to one O'Clock.
While in the city the candidates call
ed on all the business men possible
and got acquainted in political way.
The party took dinner at Hotel
Belding and Immediately following
the dinner Mr.. Sweet was introduced
by /. l.. Hubbell to the crowd await
ing outside the hotel. Mr.. Sweet
was not in good physical condition
to talk in the open air and hence did
not prolong his address. He spoke
of his work in the department of
commerce at Washington and of his
intimate acquaintance with President
Wilson. He said in part, "the more
/ see of the great president the bet
ter / like him. Most of the news
papers of the country, unfortunately
for the people, are Republican and
for that reason the people have never
been given any great amount of the
good things the administration is do
ing for the country. But l say | like
Woodrow Wilson and if l admired
him for no other reason than for the
fact that he has kept us out Of war I
would still consider him one of the
greatest men of the hour. 1t does
not make any difference if he did
write several notes. 1t would be well
if he could teach the rulers of the Eu-
ropean countries that the pen is
mightier than the sword | am of
the opinion that all Europe would
have been better off if the rulers had
written a few notes among themsel-
YES and thus have spared the war.
81 have three sons and If war is
declared | have no doubt but that
they would be among the first to go
into the ranks. But / am not anxious
for war, neither do | favor sending
our troops over the seas to shoot
down other mothers sons. The rul-
ers of Europe are even now looking
for a great man who can settle the
present war for all time to come.
They are pointing to the man now
who will become the great world
emancipation. | need not tell you
that that man is no other than our
own beloved president, Woodrow Will
SON." Mr.. Sweet did not mention the
prohibition issue in his address.
Sweet was followed by Mr.. Seeg-
miller. Mr.. Seegmiller said: Il wish
TO give you few facts concerning
the present political situation. First,
last and all the time / am an admirer
of President Wilson. His opponent
did not make single public state
ment until after he had been nominat-
ed as the Republican candidate for
president. | admire him for that
since he graced the justices bench
than which there is no greater tri-
bunal in the world. When he ac-
cepted the nomination he was COM
PEELED to grab at the first straw, like
drowning man, to begin his cam
paign. First he assailed the Euro
pean war and went down; next he
took up the Mexican problem and
again went down. Lastly, he took
up the Adamson eight-hour bill and
went down again and he is still down.
"Now / am out to get your votes
and to go to congress as your rep
resentative. / am opposing Joseph
Fordney, the man who opposes every
Democratic measure presented. He
is the man who said Il like sugar but
no man can put enough sugar on a
Democratic issue to make me like it. ;
We have a majority of five to one
against the Republicans in the eighth
district to overcome. Now the only
thing i am going to ask of my Demo-
cratic friends is that they each ask
five Republicans to vote for me. If
they do that will be elected. IT is
said that fools rush in where angels
fear to tread Maybe that is why
accepted the nomination for repres-
entative. But the fool who don't
know he can't do thing usually
tackles the job and he does it. There
for I say / am going to be elected"
Because of there being an uncer-
tainity as to whether the candidates
would address the voters the attend
ance was not as large as they desired.
After the speeches the party went to
Saranac and other points in the coun-
ty closing with big meeting in Ionia
i'm the evening. -j