Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-08-02
MIR. HUGHES KEYNOTE SPEECH

The speech of acceptance delivered by Mr. Hughes is
lengthy one so lengthy indeed that the Capital Journal
could not print it yesterday without cutting out about
all it's other telegraph news.
1t would have required about page and half to
hold it, as contained 5000 or 5000 words TO
boil it down would be to lay the Capital Journal open to
the charge Of attempting to garble it,
Editorial comment upon is varied Just as political
beliefs are To the old stand-pat politician it seems
strong and convincing. To the rabld democrat is per-
haps appears weak and forceess. midway opinion
would perhaps be the truth One thing crops out
throughout the whole, and that is that Mr. Hughes is
relying entirely on what the democrats have done they
should do and what they have left undone that they
should have DONE 1t is negative campaign he fore
shadows.
Another peculiar thing about Mr.. Hughes campaign
keynote speech is that while attacking the administra
ton for what he is pleased to call its shortcomings ne
never once asserted what should be done or what ne
would have done under the circumstances. 1t was a
critical speech entirely. He spoke at some length on
things the country should do in the way of preparedness
and in other ways but that was all in the way OF
outlining his policies. He said for three years the
Mexcans had been torn by internal strife but ne forgot
to say that this condition had existed not only for three
years but for five two of them while Mr.. Taft was
president He says we should have had fnner policy
with Mexico but he does not state whether he means we
should have had war; intervention yet one OF these
is necessarily implied in his assertion.
He says he is in favor of equal suffrage and ne goes
further than his party platform in this direction nt
mating that personally he would have the question sub
amendment
Taken all in all it is artful Speech the speech OF
trained politician who points out all the weaknesses OF
his opponents without suggesting remedy or binding
himself to anything better 1t is also the argument or
an able and brilliant lawyer who is relying on the power
of oratory and the ntrcaces of argument to influence
the jury rather than depending the weight Of evil
dence the preponderance of testimony Mr.. Hughes
is past master in this line both from natural ability
and lifelong training. This crops out through his en-
tire speech.
He repeats trite things such as that he Stands for
the unhinchng maintenance of all American rights
land and sea- utterly intolerable is the of our
soil for alien intrigues. Every American must unre-
sedvedly condemn the mand support every effort for
their suppression" and many more things that every
American regardless of party stands for.
In some ways Mr.. Hughes descended to arguments be-
meath him. For instance he said: "Our opponents
promised reduce the cost of living This they failed
to do but they did reduce the opportunities of making
living 1t required some nerve to make that assertion
before intelligent audience in the light of the uneX
ampled opportunities that have been opened for all
classes and the unequaed prosperity that for nearly
two years has blessed the country the east especially
True these opportunities not due to the democrats
any than to the republicans for neither had any
thing to do with the that produced them. They
the natural result of conditions in Europe; but
that does not justify his statement that the people had
been deprived of opportunities of making living 1t
piece of ward politics unworthy of so big man
as Hughes
His arraignment of the administration is presented
able lawyer presents his case, and like most legal
presentations is made to bewder and misead the jury