The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1916-11-03
How the President Provoked a Condition Of
War with Mexico Details OF His
Broken Promises
Extravaganza Piled on Extravaganza Evils Of
Secret Caucus

Neither my friends, am l going to
4 indulge in generalities. What ] shall
give you tonight, in the way OF a dis
1 cusslon, Is largely the record az 1t i
4 exists In the archives at Washington. |
4 / shall make some statements to you
\ which would possibly upon their face
seem exaggerated and, therefore, /
have taken the precaution to bring
/ with me In this campaign either the |
record or the reference to the record
of any statement OF facts which shall
make. | would not want TO make the
criticism which / may make upon
/ some of these matters upon a mere
assertion of my own, and | 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
"Boasting is always an empty BUSH
ness. which appeals to nobody hut the
boaster, but | have no doubt OF what
the Democratic party has accomplish
ed. Il has merely fulfilled the prom
aises which II made to the people four
years ago. The Republican party"
says our honored President, twas put
out of power because of failure---fail-
ure, practical failure and moral fail |
ure."
Now my friends. that presents the 1
issue which am going to call to your
4 attention for few minutes. II is a !
fair presentation of II, and the Presi-
dent was entirely correct in submitting
the proposition as he did, and / am
] sure that my Democratic friends viii
expect the Republican who presents
the other side to present the record
concerning which our President wasl
speaking.
SO | want to quote as my text for
this evening an extract from the most
famous work OF modern fiction, the
Democratic platform adopted at Balti-
I more four years ago. (Laughter)
u 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
!, much about the one-term plank, for
always felt that in all probability
the Republicans would see that It was
kept (Applause.)
Neither am | going to refer to what
Ii known as the free tolls plank. You
remember that we built canal for
Ave hundred millions of dollars, and
we had supposed In building II that
we were providing a competitive trans
portation system as against land trans
portation. It was therefore the opin-
Ion, both of the Republicans and DEM
ocrats four years ago that II should
be free canal. And our honored
President In the campaign four years
ago said that II was a free canal and
should be free canal because the
farmers of the country should have 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.
4 However that plank was afterwards,
: might say disregarded, and the free
: tolls law was repealed. But these are
4 not the matters about which | am
! going to talk, or upon which / am
g going to dwell, because there are one
. or two planks about which | want to
speak which are in this campaign
I more important,
CURSE OF THE CAUCUS.
First will read this one. as follows
!, The Democratic party offers itself to
: the country as an agency through
which the complete overthrow and ex-
tirpation of corruption. fraud and ma
: chine rule In American politics can be
effected" Our President, in speaking
upon this plank four years ago, said .
! Legislation as we now-a-days conduct
II Is not conducted In the open; Il Ia
not thrashed out in open debate upon
the floors of our assemblies. It Is on
! the contrary formed, digested and con-
ciuded In committee rooms" Observe
the following sentence: "It Is I'm COM
mittee rooms that the legislation not
s desired by the interests die Ii 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
Z capacity for stating proposition, to
= explain the great fault of secret legis-
: lation: that IL Is a system by which
/ fc Y1aQf inf nd ~.
!. 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
u debate. and In the full gaze OF one
: hundred millions of people.
= want TO say In reference TO
n that plank that there has not been
single measure of any import
ance whatever which has actual
r. ~ been framed and shaped by the
4 Congress of the United States
= since the fourth day of March.
1918.
q Our fathers. when they framed thi.
government, framed a Congress tina
- operated in the open, and all laws wer,
q supposed to be framed in the opeI
itl after amendments had been Offered
rel and adopted, after full discussion ant
IA repeat without fear of successful
ISL contradiction that not single import
,k ant measure has been enacted, or ha
re been framed and shaped by the Con
n. gress itself as a Congress since tn
as fourth day of March. 1913. Well the
r. you say where has II been framed
re lt has been framed In secret caucus
to behind closed doors. from which tn
er press is excluded, from which tn
i. public Is shut. out and the record o
We which no man knows or can know
Iicl If YOU are interested as constituent
ed IN knowing who offered an amendmen
nd 70 the Underwood bill and how ii wa
IS voted upon; how 1t was shaped o
framed; IL You were interested q
he knowing how the Federal Reserve Ac
ne was shaped or formed you would hav
ut no means in the world of acquirin