The Leader, enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1915-1921, 1918-08-23
The Ship Purchase Rill

The Ship Purchase Bill
he next point that Hardwick took
up was his opposition to the Ship
Purchase Bill. He expressed himself
as highly satisfied with having helped
defeat 1t in the dark days of 1914
when cotton prices were so low. He
sad that the real purpose of the bill
was to buy informed ships of the Cen
trial Powers. He said he had saved
America $40,000,000 because when war
was declared America had seized
those ships. One voter in the audi
ence got tired of having Hardwick
trying to ram SO much bluff down his
throat and asked him if America
wouldn't have to pay for the ships
anyway. Hardwick was cornered for
the moment. But as skilful a speaker
as Hardwlck can always work out of
4 corner III some wav SO he came back
with an oratorical squirt, Yes, but it
will be after the war when thew can't
buy powder and cannon to turn loose
against our people"
Hardwick completely ignored the
TACT that the purpose of this bill was
10 transport cotton from America to
England, where the English ammuni-
ton plants were begging for cotton to
turn INTO explosives to turn loose
against the Germans" He completely
ignored the fact that the farmer was
making starvation wages at the time
with cotton at SC and &c a pound in
America while in England he could
have sold it for l5c a pound and high
err. Hardwick played into the hands
OF Germany and pulled dirty deal
on the Southern farmer at the same
time The man who fired that uues-
ton al him in Ocilla had Tom in
tight corner and he knew it.
Hardwick dealt briefly with the
reasons for which he had opposed the
child labor laws and the food control
Legislation. Both of these bills should
nave passed and it is no thanks to
ftardw1ck that the Food bill did pass.
II II hadn't been for that law A1neri-
cans would be paying about SOC per
pound tor sugar when they could get
1t. - or more per bushel for wheat
and r1 everything else iii proportion.
he Southern farmer. who raises lit
tie wheat and no sugar. would have
ncen IN sweet predicament if Hard
WICK had been running things instead
~ ICSluCllC w i!SDn,
Wilson or Hardwick?
president Wilson doesn't amount to
mitch, though, according to Hard
wick: When little politician like
Hardwick attacks man like VII
son 1t reminds one OF a little horsef !,
tnat perches up on top of q fine big
horse and pufFs itself up and buzzes.
lr rather whlnes. lust look how big
am. am way up bigger than this
h;tle horse. And the horse lust
switches its tail up and knocks the
ho.sefy clear off into space, Tom
Hardwick has been doing a lot of
buzzing. but when Woodrow Wilson
wrote that letter to the people of
Georgia, and told them what he
thought about this Senatorial race
iom Hardwick was just knocked
clear off the map of Georgia. He
doesn't know It Jet but he will soon,
on September j: t. be exact.
Good Vaudeville Performer
Hardwick concluded his speech
with an attempt to discredit his two
opponents, Harris and Howard. He
had no real argument he could use |
against them. In fact he was I'D a
st tsp Tor certain. Harris has pub |
lie record that is absolutely above |
l!eproach. Hardwici, couldn't find any-
thing wrong with Harris record if
he looked with microscope for
thousand years. The only thing How
ard has done to disqualify him is to
act little too much like Hardwick
and Tom couldn't use that against
nm, The only thing the candidate
could do was to resort to the old
fashioned demagogue's stunt of a