The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1924-09-23
Worked 48 Hours

For forty-eight hours 1 isolated
myself in a hotel room and worked
on the speech. The theme I worked
upon was the right of the people
freely to discuss causes and objects
Of the war which they were lighting.
When the manuscript was finished
| submitted a carbon TO Mr.. Lemke
and James Manihan, the latter a
prominent man in the new nonpaI
tisan movement This was about 6
D. m. Of the evening on which | was
70 speak They returned the speech
to me later. saying that since The
fact Of my coming had caused CON
siderable speculation as to what |
would say, they had submitted ii -
their publicity department. Their
meeting they said was harassed by
the presence of secret service men
and they feared that the speech as
prepared might cause trouble, that
1t might subject them to opposition
in their work OF organizing the Non
Partisan League,
! told them the speech was forti-
fed by the example Of the greatest
statesmen the country had produced
exercising their right Of free speech
in war time but that I had no iucli
nation to insist upon delivering il.
j said / should bee very content 30
" thdraw from the program and te-
turn to Washington, leaving il %
them 10 make any explanation th"v
i.7,f- a 2
assume the RESPONSE bility for deeid
( ing against the subject Of my speech
and my treatment Of it. | told them
also I expected 10 make use OF the
material it contained in speeches in
! the Senate and that therefore per
haps my labor had not been wasted
They urged me 10 speak extempo-
raneously, Il only for five or ten min
utes; that they couldn't afford to
have me disappear from the program
under such circumstances, that the
people Of that section had complete
confidence in me and that they'd be
misunderstood If 1 did not appear.
Finally ] agreed 20 speak briefly.
Auditorium damned
We found the immense auditorium
packed to the doors As we started
e'bowing our way through the Jam
The audience began cheering and
soon the noise was deafenng. one
Of my escorts. impressed by the re.
cepton, clapped me on the hack and
told me to 20 ahead and make the
speech as prepared However. l did
not have the manuscript and this
was impossible.
talked for twenty or thirty min
utes and the audience Was warmly
I expensive. ! discussed my votes on
war questions in the Senate and II
applause is a criterion, the audience
appeared 10 approve those votes.
on the return trip to Washington
stopped off in Toledo. Ohio, to
keep a speaking engagement and
delivered to the Toledo audience the
speech I had prepared in St Paul.
Later I incorporated il in a speech
| in the Senate in which I defended
not only the right OF the people TO
discuss war issues. but the right of
Congress to do So A good deal Of
historical research had gone into my
effort and citations supporting my
view included not only such states
men as Lincoln, Henry CLAY, Daniel
Webster. Charles Sumner and other
great Americans. but Fox and
Burke and Lord Chatham, British
ers who openly opposed the course
Of their government during our war
Of Revolution; John Bright, who did
the same during the Crimean War,
and Lloyd George, who frankly criti-
cised his own governments policy
during the Boer war.
urged Congress should openly
declare the purposes of the war;
that such a declaration was the
surest means Of weakening the Ger
man military force. since the latter
could not then misrepresent our pur-
poses to the German people; further,
that it would strengthen our own
military force, because when the OBJ
jects Of the war were clearly stated
and the people approved of those
objects they would give to the war
a support 1t could never otherwise
receive.
Well, that was the nature of the
speech l had proposed to deliver in
St. Paul, hut which the secret serv-
ice men said to be listening there did
not have the pleasure of hearing