The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-10-25
keokuk's Favorite Author-Son Te''s
just Who're the wisconsin sena
tor Falls Down In the
Scheme Of Things.
GIVES BIT OF HISTORY
Famous Banquet When "eob" Talked
Himself Out Of Presidential
Nominee Glass, Recalled
by Author.

Political Suicide" In the new ~
Times. 1t is captioned Fsycno-
Analysis and Bit of Unpublished a!s
/ tory, and is of interest here ootL
because Of the patriotism OF iocA
people, many of whom have NOT Deen
backward In censuring the Wlscon-
sin senator, and because Rupert
Hughes wrote the article.
Here is the way Mr.. Hughes opens
up on LaFollette:
| ENTIRELY too much time ana tenn
per ase being devoted to Robert M.
/! LaFollette. Anger and energy tnat
| should be directed to defeat or Ger
! many are layished on him IN lnis
way. at least, he is worth q DIVISION
| to our enemy; but over here, ne
| should be brevetted General NUS
ianse, and subjected to the conspiracy
of silence.
.aThe proposal to export him 70
| Germany ought not to be considereu.
Leave the atrocities to the Germans.
Let them poison wells, distribute
anthrax germs and scatter mines, put
1 do not let us export LaFollette. FOR
! one thing, the minute he landed IN
/ Germany, he would begin to attack
| the Prussians just as he attacks us
| and they would shoot him back to
/! us again in some still more noisome
form.
he ought to be expelled from the
senate as a measure. OF common
sense, for it is uncomfortable that ne
should continue to draw salary and
mileage from government whose
most earnest effort he tries TO
thwart at It's greatest crisis.
| But he ought to be put away
gently and with pity, not with
wrath, for he Is monomaniac,
politically. and there are thousands
| OF poor crazy folk In padded cells
who are no more the victims OF dis.
torted mental machinery than he IL.
| Whers LaFoIietfs Failed. E
| The only reason he is writing az
he Is about LaFollette, Mr.. Hughes
SAYS. is because he has never seen
I, in print any account OF the banquet
| at which Mr. Hughes says LaFollette
lost his chance to become president
/! in zone dramatic, tempestuous, after
dinner speech"
"LaFollette," he says, "at a pri-
yate banquet given by several hun
bred men Of imm ense resources in
publicity and favorably inclined to-
ward him, betrayed in one horrible
grafton, all the qualities Of unman-
ageable ferocity, blind perversity.
and intolerahle lack of tact that
have characterized him ever since.
- LaFollette was the worst vic
tim of 1t, for before he began he
was almost an idol to large part
of the audience, and an interesting,
hopeful statesman to others. At the
end of It everybody pulled him down
as already dead"
The banquet referred to was given
by the Periodical Publishers OF
America and took place In Philadel-
phia. President Wilson who was
being preened for transfer to larger
university" spoke during the even
ing, and also LaFollette who was
being doomed for governorship OF
the United States"
Says Mr.. Hughes, president Will
son made a noble speech, that won
to his support many who had not
1 liked him previously. He en-
phasized the Importance of wr1ttens
! law, the revolution by statute. and
hard won enactment, and when neces-
| sary. by war. Tears sprang to the
1 eyes OF many, when he said, I can
| not quote his exact words, but only
| their vague yet vivid recollection
when + look at the flag It always
eeems to me that the red and white
stripes are heaps Of documents with
/ streams OF blood running through
them-the blood by which our liber-
ties were won"
! LaFoIIette's Breaks.
"Mr. LaFollette did not hear the
speech" Mr.. Hughes continues, but
| came in on cue and proceeded 10
exhibit himself with vengeance.
few suspicious souls said he stayed
away from the banquet and speeches
in order to make an entrance. They
said he was a good actor But II
1 he was he cast himself for the VII
I lain; for he began his speech with
the most thorough going, devastating
insult to an audience that ever
heard $50. He exhibited himself,
exposed himself and published him
self for nearly three hours.
sI,aFollette began his speech with
no recognition Of the fact that he
was a guest at a friendly dinner. He
made no acknowledgements of hospi-
tality. but with theatrical gesture
raised high fistful OF manuscript"
Here Mr.. Hughes recalls as best he
can the senator's words, in which he
says he Is going to read his speech.
and that 1t will take about three
quarters of an hour, and that he ex-
pected to teach his audience some
thing.
- > The patronizing didactfc
sheer of the last phrase aroused re-
| sentiment. We were a bit fond OF
ourselves; we did not want to be
taught, especially at that hour.
Having destroyed his audiences hope