The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1918-08-15
DEFENDS SELF IN
ARMORY Speech
Congressman Henry Allen
Cooper Tells the Kenosha
People He Has Been
Misrepresented.
SAYS RECORD IS CLEAN
Speaks to Crowd Of Two Hundred Peo-
pie in Kenosha - Declares Especial
Interests" Opposing Him Seek His
Defeat for Reelection.

The fact that Mr.. Lenroot voted for
the McLenmore resolution. the fur
ther fact that his loyalty had not evil
IDENTIFY been questioned by members of
Congress, because he had served on two
committees to escort the President of
the United States to the joint session
Of Congress were the high lights in
the defense" of Congressman Henry
Allen Cooper, when he spoke to two
hundred Kenosha people at the Armory
on Monday evening.
Tt was not characteristic Cooper
meeting. Mr.. Cooper who had been
considered considerable of an idol of
Kenosha people must have felt that
there was something lacking in the re-
ception given to him. OF course the
night was hot and this fact undoubted-
" cut terribly his audience. The men
who were present appeared to be good
Cooper men and the speaker was fire.
quently interrupted by applause.
The address could hardly be classed
az report of his Stewardship" as
Mr.. Cooper gave nearly all of the time
Of his address, and it lasted for two
hours to answering charges which he
termed "charges against his loyalty
He insisted that such charges had been
inspired by "certain interests oppos-
cd to him. Somewhere he referred to
a disgruntled man who had failed to
land a post Office and he repeatedly
fayed the men who had opposed him
for reelection as seeking to "destroy
and ruin him.
Mr.. Cooper was dramatic during his
address. He pharaphased the words Of
Madame Roland as she walked to the
guillotine and declared dramatically,
go Patriotism, Patriotism, What
crimes are committed in thy name, :"
and followed this out with the old de-
claration of DIR. Samuel Johnson, Spa
triotism is the last refuge of a scoun-
drel."
Mr. Cooper was clearly Of the de-
fensive and it had been the first time
that he had appeared in such a roll in
any political campaign in Kenosha. He
was making excuses and his principal
excuse for his votes on vital issues
was Some one else did the same thing,
some paper was favorable to the same
thing"
It would be unfair to Mr. Cooper to
say that the meeting was not an en-
thusiastic one The small crowd pre-
sent evidently was fully embued with
the idea that Mr.. Cooper S excuses were
worth listening to and they frequently
applauded him.
Mr., Cooper read at length from the
Congressional record and compared the
record with the statements made in a
phamplet which had been circulated by
men who have opposed his reelection
TIC Congress, His best points in his
address were made lame because they
Were coached in bitter denunciation of
the men who had dared oppose him.
Mr. Cooper prefaced his answer to
the charges against him by declaring
that these little personal matters
seem so trivial at time like this and
then he spent two hours considering
them. He declared that his votes in
Congress had been either misrepre-
sented or only half presented to the
people and that the charges against
him had been so cunningly drawn as
to leave false impression.
He had much to say in regard to
stools of special interests" and he
found this as the basis Of the cam
paign aginst him.
There was nothing offered in the
way of promise for the future. Mr..
Cooper made little reference to great
problems before the nation at the pre-
sent time. He said nothing in regard
to the position which he might take on
the problems which follow declara-
ton Of peace,
HIS whole address must be character
lied as a defense.