The Washington herald., 1916-09-09
HUGHES CALLS HIMSELF
FRIEND OF LABOR MEN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.
might as well end the forms of govern
ment II we are to enter upon that path
of disaster"
Today the Republican nominee, con-
fronted by an audience of workingrnen
In Lewiston, where Roosevelt spoke a
week ago, and near where Gompers, on
Labor Day, attacked his labor record.
made brief defense of his veto, while
sovernor OF New York, OF the full crew
BILL"
First he read his record as it was print,
ed in the legislative news, adding In a
voice OF protest:
Now II any one rises in this country
to say am not a friend of labor. he
knows that he is not telling the truth
i do not agree with all that labor
proposes" he continued. 'T disagreed
when l thought demands were made
which were not equitable. 1 fought, for
example. the full crew bill. 1t applied
generally to all railroads in the State. l.
was admitted upon the argument be-
lore me that in some cases II was not
needed and 1t would require the ex-
penditure Of hundreds OF thousands of
dollars unnecessarily. I said l could not
sign bill like that We had a public
service commission where complaints
could be entertained and orders could
be made which were properly adapted
to the exigencies to which they relate. &"
But generally. he kept pounding away
on tho criticism OF the Adamson bill
And today a note of hope crept into his
speeches
What I have seen today and yester-
day" he said at tonight's meeting, con
vinces me that the Republican party is
on the eye of sweeping victory in State
and nation"
Here in Maine the Republican leaders
are straining all their faculties to see
things in the same light. AS a matter OF
fact, note of alarm has been sounded in
party circles curing the past twenty-four
hours. These leaders. while confessing
TO an admiration for the holiness OF
Hughes IN attacking the eight-hour bill
have been thrown into confusion because
OF its injection into the campaign with
election day only two days of
Criticism of Hughes.
There is absolutely no means by which
they can tell what its effect will be until
the votes are counted. They do not know
whether to play hard on the key or put
on the soft pedal.
There is also some criticism being heard
of Mr.. Hughes failure to lean hard on
the preparedness and Americanism doc
trine, though he did in his Lewiston
speech and again in the Bangor speech
tonight make a leading issue OF these
ROoseveltian issues. In fact, perhaps the
strongest thing he has said along this
line he uttered today at Lewiston when
he said:
The only tonic that can give US power
for our great work in this country is the
! tonic OF American sentiment which pays
no regard, so far as love and allegiance
are concerned. to any interest on earth
other than the one great interest OF
Americanism, OF prosperity OF the, Ameri-
can people, honor for the American flag.
and the protection OF American rights"
| Maine is anybody's State Just now, and
so far as Hughes himself is concerned.
he is confident of what the result will
be. The receptions he has received since
he arrived in Maine buoy him up in this
| hope. He began the second day Of his
tour here this morning with a good meet
ing at Lewiston, which, If not as demon
strative as that which was addressed by
Colonel Roosevelt a week ago, did pro-
duce hearty applause with considerable
cheering. At this meeting, among other
things. he directly accused the Presi-
dent and Congress of having abandoned
their duty in passing the Adamson bill.
Denounces Force Policy.
We cannot have Congress-" he said,
acting on the demand OF the Executive
! before 1t knows what 1t is doing and
with the whole American people looking
on aghast at such an abandonment of
executive prerogative and Of Congress
siOnal duty"
1T Lewiston, as the procession wound
its way along the main street, Repre-
sentative McGillicuddy. the lone Democrat
from Maine, in the National House. who
Is fighting hard against a Republican
Progressive combine, peeked out of the
| window of his law office and smiled at
! Hughes.
/ Another good crowd greeted Hughes al
/ Waterville. where the meeting was held
on the campus of Colby College, where
Iron Man" Jack COombs took his de-
gree as a baseball pitcher and was grad
uated into the big league.
\ short stop was also made at Pitts
field, and then the candidate continued
on TO Bangor.
Takes shot at Wilson.
In his address here tonight the candi-
date paid his compliments to President
Wilson. Discussing the Democratic
declaration in favor Of a tariff commits
| sion, he said
That was one OF a number Of very
rapid changes, showing remarkable po-
| littcal elasticity
Hughes is spending the night in Ban
gor. Tomorrow, the last day of his Maine
tour, he will depart at 6:45 a. m. for Au-
gusta, and during the day will speak in
Augusta, Brunswick, Rocliand and half
a dozen other towns. He will leave Rock
land at p. m. for Boston, where Sunday
will be spent. Monday he will visit the
Syracuse Fair; Tuesday. the Plattsburg
camp, and early Wednesday morning he
Will arrive in New York, proceeding
thence late that afternoon for Bridge
/ hampton. where he will rest for four
days before starting on a detailed trip
through the Middle West