The courier-index., 1921-02-25

 E. Wood of. this county, made che following speech in opposition to the measure:
 MT. Speaker and Gentlemen:-
 In view of my recent experience on the floor in presuming to oppose an administration measure, 1 con fess to some degree of trepidation in daring to raise my feeble voice in opposition to this measure. Certain gentlemen have been continually on this floor, one especially, engaged in paving the dirt and rending the air in frantic efforts to teach us what our duty is in the matter of obeying the conlmandatory instruc- tions in a Democratic, so-called, plat form as promulgated by the Dem ocratic Convention which convened in Little Rock last August. These very earnest, dyed-in-the-wool Dem. ocrats, would have us Democrats believe and act as if the mandates of the said convention were as sa- cred and as binding as tenets of Holy writ.
 Let us for moment consider the manner in which that platform was adopted. First, let us see who the author was, where he got his au- thority, and the right that authority had to presume to dictate and to control the vote of the great Demo- cratic party of Arkansas. This plat form was formulated by one man and adopted by a convention large ly composed of his blind followers. I, for one, repudiate and cast aside any such assumed authority by any one man and his following. I deny the right of Governor McRae, or any other man, to dictate to me how shall vote on any proposition that may come before this body and I deem all the rant we hear of the binding obligations of the platform of the Democratic party in conven- tion of the platform of the Demo- cratic party in Convention assembled but the veriest sret,aa l contend that MT. McRae had no right and no prerogative to assert himself the authority to speak for the Democrat ic party of Arkansas, as he was not the choice of the majority of the Democratic votes cast in the pri- mary of August 10th, 1920. The basic principle of Democracy is that the majority shall rule, not plurality. I repeat that I repudiate his dictation and his assumed au- thority to write at will his conclu- sions and have them called the man date of the Democratic party. Let us go back to the returns from that primary and see if 1 am not right. The returns show that MT. McRae received 42,669 votes; MT. Terrall, 32,894; MT. Powell 32,613 MT. Floyd 22,587; MT. Haynie 18,282; MT Riggs 4,024; MT. Walsh 5,508; MT. Stroupe 2,537; MT. Wells D. PAT Total vote cat 163,361. The total vote of Mir. McRea and Mir. Haynie, the only two men in the race who said they would abolish the Corporation Commission if elect ed, was 60,951 Against the propo- sition was 102,410 cast for other candidates.ts By this token certainly it cannot be said that the party was bound to the abolishment of this commission.F
 ions of the Democratic platform, so called.
 Now as to blindly following MT. McRae as a political leader. There IS no man infallible, be he governor or be he henchman. And as to MT. McRae's infallibility, I would say that l followed his counsel and admonition at one time, in which, although l was conscientious in so doing, l found afterwards that 1 was entirely wrong. It was while a member of the Senate in the ses- sion of 1901. Influenced solely by representations made by ex-Govern- or J. r. Clarke in regard to the payment of certain bonds held by the Hudson Bank of New York, which the records showed had been once paid by the state of Arkansas, l was induced through ignorance of the true status of the bonds to vote TOT Tor their payment. I was told at ESe time, and I have never heard ene statement questioned then or since, that Congressman McRae ad- yocated the payment of these bonds refer to the Holford bonds, bonds which examination of the records later showed had been paid If any one here doubts it I hold in my nand a published statement made py Senator Eugene Lankford of lranle county at the time, sub Nantlating what I say. Ex-Govern- VI oiarke as an attorney had right 70 try to have these bonds paid for
 Tee. Congressman McRae who was serving the state in the halls vl Congress at that time as one of .oe honored representatives en- trusted to guard her interests in very way, had no right to partici- pate In such an unholy transaction aho by that act alone he has de- ssusr.o,yed my confidence in his infal- no'ity. An! you may say he was Snorant of the fact that they had seen paid. Yes, but Eugene Lank- s"ord, as chairman of the Senatorial committee to which the matter had .een referred, delved into the rec sses and found that they had been S@'u' Ek-Governpr Fishhsck as