The central record. (Lancaster, Ky.) 18??-current, 1916-07-20
A COMMUNICATION.
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(lO the Editors of The Central Record
! notice IN your issue Of the 18th an
article unsigned, and which the natural
presumption is that you father. You
charge Hon. Harvey Helm with desert
ing President Wilson in several instan-
ces. From absolutely indsputable au-
thorty gather the following, which
shows the error of your charge and
which trust you will. in Your usual
fairness. give the prominent space in
your paper that you did the article
making the charges.
Mr. Helm is charged with 'desertion"
by failing to support the Great Bank
ing and Currency Act. On September
10th. 1913, he delivered a speech in tho
House advocating the measure and urg-
ing its passage, stating among other
things that il was an insurance
against panics." The speech was
printed in the Congressman Record Of
that date, pages 5OO3.i and was printed
in pamphlet form at his own expense
and sent TO 10000 people of this dis.
trict. including those who are now at
tempting to deceive the people 10y mis-
representation Of his record. What
higher evidence of support could a
member of Congress give than to ad.
vocate the passage Of measure than
an appeal to his colleagues in its favor?
In the second place Mr. Helm is
charged with deserving the President
in the passage of the immigration Bill.
a measure which the writer says was
designed to exclude great many i'll
iterates and undesirable foreigners
from making America breeding place
and an asy um for crime. which bill
the writer now discovers Mr. Helm
voted for, but which Mr. Wilson vetoed.
Ii the bill possesses all the virtues the
writer ascribes to it. what crime was
there in supporting the measure. the
President 10 the contrary notwithstand-
ing.
The charge Of desertion on the Anti
Trust Bills is labored and oyerstrained
effort Mr.. Helm. before leaving for
Kentucky on the funeral committee to
accompany Senator Bradley's body,
had voted for the rule that made these
bills party measures. thereby lining up
with the President His unavoidable
detention IN Kentucky at the time of
their passage is the sole and only basis
for the charge Of deseruon, which to a
fair.minded man must seem as err
ronious as it is unfair.
On the fourth and last charge Of de-
sertion. namely the Panama Canal En-
emptior Act, Mr.. Helm voted IN ac-
cordance with the specific plank in the
democratic platform adopted at Balti-
more, standing with speaker Clark,
Majority Leader Underwood and all
the other House Party Leaders. He
explained his position on the floor Of
the House in speech delivered on
March 81, 1914, 10000 copies Of which
he sent to the voters Of this district,
and thereafter was renominated for
Congress without opposition,
Out of thousand or more record
votes Mr.. Helm has cast, the four above
enumerated are the only ones that the
writer can pick flaw with. and it is a
record any Representative should be
justly proud Of. Borrowing an ex-
preston from base ball lingo, it is u
batting average Of above thousand,
which places him in class of the famous
Tyrus Cobb. ! believe the fair minded
readers Of the Central Record will
agree with me that even the four votes
do not justify or substantiate the
charge OF desertion, but on the con-
trary. there is something about the
charges that suggest the death-rattle
of the cause the said writer seems to
be championing.
Furthermore, If il be true that Mr.
Helm was not and is not an admins
tration democrat, it is passing strange
that the press dispatches from Wash
ington to the Kentucky daily papers
have not disclosed the fact long before
the writer of the desertion article made
the imaginary discovery.
Icannot believe that the intelligent
voters OF this district want their Rep
preventative to play tine rubber stamp
act. If so the job should be let to the
lowest bidder and his instructions
pinned to the lapel Of his coat collar
before going to Washington to cast his
votes. 4. G. WALTON,
Stanford, KY, July 10, 1916.