The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1916-08-24
AMEND COMPENSATION LAW
Strong Appeal Made for Support OF
Working Men in Kenosha Speech
Holds Marketing Commission Has
Endorsement of Retail Merchants.

Mark Anthony, who in the days of
old Rome picked up considerable of a
local reputation when he coined the
t famous honorable mem clause at the
funeral Of Caesar, had nothing on Fran
els E. McGovern who is now running
as Progressive candidate for governor
of Wisconsin. The irony of Mark An
thony was put into the shade by the
irony of McGoYern in his talk to three
hundred Kenosha voters on Thursday
evening. McGovern declared Governor
Philip to be man of attainment and
integrity, a courteous polished gentle
man, worthy as friend and neighbor
and that he sought to stir the people to
mutiny by lifting the pail from the bier
on which lay what he called the dead
body of the state.' In concluding, he
charged this "kindly courteous gentle
man. with pretty nearly everything
known to the political calendar of
crime. He charged him with having
broken every political promise ne ever
made and then appended a statement
that he-Mr McGovern-had never
failed to redeem every political promise
he had made to the people. Mr.. Nc
Govern was pessimistic He intimated
that the great Badger State was trav-
cling rapidly to the bow-wows; that the
rights of the people were being scrapped
in order that corporate interests were
inNcontrok He protested that he sought
Office not for himself but that the idea
of government which he represented
might be maintained. He, did not, how
ever, say anything about the fact that
MI. Hatton of New London was an
other man who was running on the
same platform that he had outlined.
Mr.. McGovern did not use the "edi-
torial Wei but showed his choice of
the personal pronoun. With no one to
call him to account, he allowed his
oratorial fancy to run wild, but while
it was running wild it was running in
interesting vein and his speech was one
of the best political speeches ever heard
in Kenosha. Of course he talked as a
man with grievance and il was evi-
dent from the way the speech was re-
ceived that lot of the people did not
care much for his diagnosis Of the
states condition and his antidote for
it. ills.
Mr.. McGovern gave up most of his
speech in Kenosha to repetition of
his lambasting of the governor and the
administration. He cleverly manipula-
ted figures to show that the present adj
ministration had been forgetful of
lot of things which the Progressives
had written on the statute books. His
argument was interesting and possibly
to some people convincing.
The most interesting portion of his
speech was discussion of the work
mems compensation act. He spoke of
needed changes in this act in order to
make it of greater value to the work
ingman. He declared that the amount
of compensation should be raised in or
der to make better provision for the
permanent injuries, he urged that en-
ployers be called upon to pay for in
juries to the employed even though the
time lost was less than a week; he
urged the removal of the clause which
limited the amount of medical service
that the injured employee should re-
celve. He talked at some length on his
IL
sisted that while retail merchants had
opposed it when he first proposed such
legislation, that the recent convention
of the retailers in Kenosha had adopted
resolution demanding a trade COM
mission along the same line as he had
proposed in his demand for market
commission.
He had much to say of the commits /
sions and their makeup and charged tie
governor with weakening commission
rule by appointing men who were not
fitted for places on the commissions on
account Of their former associations.
Notwithstanding the fact that the
night was warm, the people stood for
nearly two hours under the spell Of the
polished oratory of the former gover-1
nor. He directed his attack entirely
against Governor Philip and not once
during the two-hour speech did he even
mention the fact that there were other
candidates in the race against him. It
had been expected that Mr.. McGovern
would pay his respects to Mr.. LaFol-
lette during the Kenosha speech, but
he finished without mention of he SEN
ator Is name.
After the speech was over, the former
goNernor held an informal recentinn On |