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2 Voices. Hurrah for Watson! Hur rah for Black! (Cheering and coun ter cheering.) Mr. Black. Now to return to some questions which my distin guished friend put to me the other day at Sandersville. He asked me if I admitted that there were evils growing out of the legislation of the country. I do not know that I quote his exact language. Mr. Watson. I said said, “suffer ing among the people growing out of vicious legislation.” Mr. Black. My friend says, “Do you believe there is suffering among the people growing out of vicious legislation ? ” Ido believe that there is suffering among the people grow ing out of vicious legislation. But I told him there, and I repeat it here, that I believe it is exaggerated. (Great cheering and cries of derision.) Now, in his reply he said that I did not read my platform—my own party platform. Now, mark you, I did not say, even by intimation, that the Democratic platform exaggerated these evils; but I do say that the People’s party platform exaggerates these evils. (Long continued cheer ing and great confusion.) Mr. Black. Now, my friends, let me go on. You are my frends, but you are annoying me. A voice. Oh, let us holler; let us enthuse, Mr. Black. Mr. Black. Now, let me say to you, as I stated here to-day, and look into your honest faces, that there are some evils that are not the effects of legislation, and for which no legisla tion can furnish you a remedy. A voice. We will send Mr. Wat son to find the r’emedy. Mr. Black. That is your privilege, my friend, but give me your atten tion, and I say here to my friends, now, that you will confer a favor upon me by giving Mr. Watson the same respectful attention you gave me. Same voice, evidently. Yes, we will listen. Mr. Black. Listen! I say that this platform of this new party —no, not this new party, but an old party under a new name. That old party with the same platform and princi ples; this old party that has done what has never been done before, and what could not be done in thirty years by the Republican effort; this old party that has made inroads on the people of the South, and made inroads and dissensions that ought not to exist. Now, what does this party say in its preamble. (Reads.) The conditions which surround us best justify our co-operation; we meet in the midst of a nation brought to the verge of moral, political and material ruin. Cor ruption dominates the ballot-box, legis latures, congress, and touches even the ermine of the bench. I say that, in my opinion, that ex aggerates the condition of the coun try at large. Ido not deny that there has been corruption; I do not deny that there has been corruption in high pjaces. There s always has been and always will be. But Ido deny most emphatically that the conditions sur rounding us justify such exaggera tion. I deny that we are brought to the verge of political and material ruin. 1 say that corruption does not dominate the ballot-box, Congress, legislatures and the ermine of the bench. A voice. Where am I at, Mister Speaker ? Mr. Black (without noticing the in terruption). I say that there is yet some virtue in the land; I say that there are good men and virtuous wo men in the land ; I say that there are good men in high places—uncorrupt ed and incorruptible; I say that cor ruption has not touched the ermine of the bench; and I say that while I would not attempt to explain away any of the evils that exist in our po litical and social life, yet these things do not demand the intervention of this new old party. I say that there is more virtue than vice; there are more good people than bad people; there is more incorruption than cor ruption ; there is in our midst more of the characteristics of a great and good civilization than the reverse; and over all, and in it all, and through it all, the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. (The cheering was so prolonged at this point, and the confusion so great on account of it, that some remarks addressed to the speaker by his friends could not be heard by your reporter.) Mr. Black. Please keep quiet, my friends; you are my friends. A voice. Undoubtedly we are. • Mr. Black. Now, my friends, there are a great many statements made in this preamble not sustained by the facts of the case. For in stance, that workmen were denied the right of organization for self-pro tection. Who does not know that there is not a city in the United States where there is not an organ ized society for the protection of la bor? Every man knows that. The engineers, the firemen, the shoe makers, the bricklayers, the tailors, and every other department of hu man industry in this country, is or ganized. Ido not say that there are not evils in this department to be corrected. Ido not say that m 7 dis tinguished firend did not address himself to the correction of one of these evils, to wit: the Pinkerton detective agency. But Ido say that the State of Georgia has a law on the statute books to protect the peo ple against that abuse ; and I believe that with, certain limitations that it is better regulated with State than United States legislation. (Voices in the audience that Major Black evidently did not understand, and neither did your reporter.) Mr. Black. I did not hear what PEOPLE’S PARTY PAPER, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1892. my friend said. We have witnesses in abundance of the evil effects of power and plunder. Now, here is an able indictment of the Democratic party, but my answer to that indict ment is, that while all these wrongs, all thesejevils were being perpetrated, all of you, my friends of the third party, were members of the Demo cratic party. While putting faith in this indictment, you are only arraign ing yourselves.) You may make it as black as you please, but, as I said at Crawfordsville, you might make every Democrat a devil, and every follower an imp, but you would only be blackening your own politi cal record and the record of your associates. You have laid down in the same political bed; you have .partaken of nourishment at the same political table; you have been fed out of the same spoon, and whatever sins of omission and commission you prove on the Democratic party, you are particeps criminis, and the blacker you make out this indictment against the Democratic party, the blacker you make your own record. (Great cheering and long continued applause interspersed with shouts of derision.) Where were you then? You farm ers, who are going to purify every thing; you men who are going to tear down the old flag and put up a new one in its place; you who are going to abolish poverty and bring abundance to everybody, where were you then, I ask? You cannot say you did not know it. A voice. Our leaders did not tell us about these things. Mr. Black. Why did not your leaders tell you so? The same voice; We let the old leaders go; we have young leaders now. (Laughter and cheering from both sides.) A voice. Hurrah for Watson, where are you at? Other voices. Hurrah for Mr. Black, hit ’em again, you can do it. Mr. Black. (Facing in the direc tion of the first voice.) My friend, you have done a timely and a friendly service. (Turning to the audience.) He has come to my re lief, even if I have not got any relief for him, and while he does not know it, lam always willing to give a man thanks for a favor even if it is is unwittingly bestowed. (Turning to the voice again with mock gravi ty.) lam very much oblidged to you, indeed. Listen now, my friend, when these leaders come before you on this plat form and say that for a quarter of a century they have witnessed the struggles of the two great political parties for power and plunder while grievous wrongs have been inflcted upon the people, just ask them this question, why did you not tell us that long ago? Listen. They say that this has been going on for twenty-five years. Now, if you be gracious, if you be charitable, if your heart is filled with milk of human kindness, if you want the truth, remember that they have been sleeping all the time that this has been going on. They belonged to the same political party, and eat ing out of the same political crib. A voice. (Directly in front of the speaker.) Hurrah for Watson. Mr. Black. Well now, Mr. Wat son will have an hour and a half, and I have no doubt but he will be able to entertain you. Don’t disturb me, please. Mr. Watson. (Directing his words to the voice.) I can take care of him; you boys be quiet, please. Mr. Black. Now then, proceed ing further on this platform, I do not know what my friend’s interpretation of it is. I would be glad if he would furnish it to me. I do not want to do him an injus tice. But you will find in the plat form of this old new political party, out of which this has been evolved, a plank in favor of female suffrage. Many think that there is nothing but sub-treasury in it, but there is a great deal that you perhaps never sat down patiently and gave earnest thought. Listen to this, in the pre amble of that platform. (Reads.) Believing that the forces of reform this day organized, will ne*er cease to move forward until every wrong is righted, and equal rights and privileges established for all men and women in the country. Now, I do not claim that that is in the platform, but it is in the pre amble. If woman’s suffrage is not a settled purpose, the trend at least is in that direction. Some of their leaders certainly favor it, but I do not say that it is announced as a distinct principle, but they do say that they intend to keep up this agi tation until equal rights and equal privileges are securely established for all men and women in this coun try. Does that mean female suf frage? Does that mean that this agitation is to be kept up until they ingraft upon the future statutes of the country that female suffrage is to be established? God forbid the day! God in His infinite mercy forbid the day when Southern women, or Northern women, when Western or Eastern women—but particularly Southern women, shall leave the re tirement of their homes to mingle in the strifes and contentions of the polling places around the ballot box. I believe in the rule of woman in the realm in which the God Almigh ty has placed her. That is the rule of the fireside, the home, the hearth stone; there they hold the reins in their hands, not in the public ave nues of life; not in the strife and con tentions surrounding the ballot box. (Cheering.) As long as we keep the home pure the body politic is pure, as long as we keep the foun tain pure, the stream will be uncor- rupted, and God forbid, I repeat, that any political privileges should be adopted that even has a tendency in the direction of female suf frage. Now, to come to the platform itself, distinctly. What is the first plank in it? I won’t stop to read. It was what we call the sub-treasury pl in. Now, I venture to say that there are many men here that never read the sub-treasury bill. A man may commit himself to a purpose and yet, possibly, the methods for the accomplishment of that purpose, if understood, would not commend themselves. Now if I understand this plan—and if I am mistaken I call upon my distinguished friend to correct me—no country could get a warehouse unless one hundred or more shall petition with evidence that the gross amount of cotton, wheat, oats, corn, tobacco, for the last preceding two years exceeds the sum of $500,000. Could you get a sub-treasury in Hancock county? I have not examined the statistics, but my own opinion is that you would not be able to get a warehouse in this county. A voice. That is right. Mr. Black. Now let me tell you, while I think that there ought to be legislation for the benefit, not only of the farmer, but all other interests, yet the day will never come when yon will get relief from the sub treasury warehouse scheme—when warehouses are to be built and money loaned to you at 2 per cent, per an num. Your own party do not agree on this scheme. We are often twitted because there are divisions in the Democratic party. I admit it, but there are divisions in your own. Do you not know that the best men in your Alliance are opposed to the the sub-treasury in your platform ? I do not say all the best, but some of the best. Here is the record. One of the most distinguished leaders of the People’s party has announced that he himself is opposed to the sub treasury. Listen to what he says; he is one of your own witnesses. You want to hear the truth, do you not? I believe that you want to follow the truth, but at the same time I believe with all the earnest ness of my soul*—while I am making no claim to infallibility, no pre eminence of wisdom, while I concede to every man the same honesty as I ask for myself, yet I deplore the un folding of this idea of relief by the the sub-treasury plan. You are fol lowing a will o’ the wisp that will carry you further and further into irretrievable disaster. Let me ask you this : How do you conceive the idea that any class wants to oppress the farmer ? Several voices. We see it; we feel it. (Cheering from the other side.) Mr. Black. Suppose that the mer chant was to put his foot on the neck of the farmer, is he not killing off his best customer? Who does the doctor depend upon for his patients? Who does the lawyer expect to have for his client ? Who must the banker depend upon? Now I say this, that there are evils to be cor rected ; that there are burdens to be lifted ; but let me tell you that when you are sick, and the sicker you are the more you stand in need of a wise and careful physician; the more you stand in need of a man of broad statesmanlike experience, with cor rect views on the great economic questions. And I say that it is not friendly to the farmer—l do not say that it is meant that way, but it is unfriendliness to the great agricul tural interests to be prating about their wrongs and disasters, and cre ating such discontent. I believe in a certain kind of discontent. I believe that no man ought to be content with himself, but should be forever strug gling and striving for higher and nobler things; but I do not believe in the discontent that breeds a lack of confidence. No wise physician would go into the sick room and say to his patient, “Sir, I see the strug gle for life—the film of death gath ering over your eyes.” No, sir; but the better and wiser physician will say, “While candor compels me to say that you are sick,” yet he will take him by the hand seek to en courage him; to infuse new hopes into his breast. That is the kind of a remedy that these people want, but I digress. This is the speech that Mr. Mc- Keighan delivered in the House of Representatives. He says: “The organization known as the Far mers’ Alliance has been brought into this discussion. lam a member of that organization.” Listen, my friends. These are not my words, but the words of one of your own leaders. He continues: “I am not a believer in the sub-treas ury for the reason that I find no warrant for it in the constitution.” The subject under consideration was the appropriation for the world’s fair, and my distinguished friend may say that still Congress made the appropriation for the world’s fair. But, to come down to the bill, how will you get the sub-treasury into operation? You cannot do it, be cause you have the president and both houses of Congress against you. What do you propose to do ? To enact a bad law because there is another bad law upon the statute books? You cannot do that until you get the two houses and presi dent. Admit that the government has done many unwise things. Ad mit that it lent the money of the people to bankers and whisky manu facturers. What is your remedy ? Call a halt and re-establish wise laws—just laws. Can you get the sub-treasury ? Here is one of your own leaders on the floor of Con gress who is opposed to it because he can find no warrant for it. What else ? I regard the sub treasury as a crude idea of ’the peo ple to protect themselves against certain abuses without understanding the causes. We all recognize these evils ; they arise from class legisla tion, but I propose to tell you in all fairness and in all candor that it is a delusion. Now, he gives his rem edy: The real remedy will be found .in the proper regulation and control of rail roads.” He does not say own them or buy them. lam with him there. I be lieve with Mr. McKeighan that I believe in honest truth, but I say that we have had untruth. We can not expect perfection in man. Do you expect leaders that will not make mistakes; that will not fall into errors? Why, listen! listen! Hear what my distinguished friend said in one of his addresses to the people of Georgia, March 17. Lis ten ! It seems that this domination is necessary in the People’s party as well as in the other parties. Listen : Let us all be generous enough to sink individual opinion in the absolute ne cessity for harmonious action. “Behold,” my friends, “how good and beautiful it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious ointment that run down upon the beard of Aaron—even unto the hem of his garment.” It* is only by yielding personal likes and dislikes touching details that any great movement can achieve success. Now listen ! Listen to this : It is no time for squabbles over details ; no time to fall apart into jealous dis cordant factions, because we cannot all have the platform or the candidate just to our notion. (At this point the speaker was reminded that only eight minutes remained.) Mr. Black. Well, fellow-citizens, it seems that my time is nearly ex hausted. I have spoken under em barrassments that you cannot realize. I have tried to be fair, to be honest, and I made no appeal to passion or prejudice; and I ask my friends to give Mr. Watson the same patient attention that his friends have given me. And I say to him now that if he could prove to me on this plat form before the honest people of the State of Georgia that he was right and I was wrong, I would withdraw from the race, give him my hand and join with him in any movement that I conceived to be for the best interests of the people. (Cheering.) But I cannot go with him. Not because I am not in sympathy with the people of the great State of Georgia and other States, but be cause I do not see any relief in his visionary schemes. I do not care who he is, lawyer, farmer, merchant, minister, who is more in sympathy with the struggles of the poor and the friendless than I. There is no sorrow that does not touch a sympa thetic chord in my heart. There is no man, there is no woman, there is no child in this broad world of ours in whose pathway I would throw a straw. Nay, I would rather follow the gospel of the Son of God, and pray for them that despitefully use me than put myself in antagonism with any man. But I cannot follow him. Why ? Because it leads to deeper and deeper disasters. Its principles are wrong. There are several ether questions that I would like to discuss; espe cially the laud plank, but I have not got time. I pray the merciful Father—the one God and Father of us all—that he will guide the people into peace, into harmony, into prosperity; and that his great common love may make us all prosperous and happy, and his own merciful name may be glorified. Mr. Black sat down amid great applause, and immediately cries rent the air for “Watson ! Watson ! Wat son !” The chairman advanced and said, Fellow-citizens, I now introduce to you the Hon. Thomas E. Watson, of McDuffie county. v The concluding words of the chairman was the signal for another outburst. MR. WATSON’S SPEECH. Fellow-citizens : I am glad that the speech of to-day is cast in a much more lofty mould than the speech of last Saturday. lam glad that the speech of my distinguished friend is so different from what it was last Saturday. lam glad that he has ceased to denounce me per sonally, and that the issues in this campaign are more important than I am, more important than he is, and must be discussed by any man who wants to represent the Tenth Con gressional district. (Applause.) I knew quite well when he spoke so vehemently about bringing back the flag— A voice. Yes, Watson, bring it back ; and cries of, Hurrah for Wat son ! Mr. Watson. I say here that I endeavored to give you everything I promised to give you (addressing himself in the direction of the voice) and the man who says I didn’t do so, and the man who says that I have wrongfully taken the flag, lies. A voice. Yes, bring it back! bring it back! Mr. Watson. Whenever an insult is dashed in my face the cowardly wretch who utters it may expect here or elsewhere to have it hurled back in his lying teeth with all the emphasis that honor and courage demand. Now, let it be understood that I am as anxious to discuss these questions and laws with all courtesy, free from passion and bitterness, as any man in this audience, but I am a gentleman myself. Cries of, Yes, you are. Mr. Watson. lam the represen tative of gentlemen; I have the prayers of honest men and good ladies myself, and no man shall in sult me without getting the reply, as I just said, that honor and courage demand. (Great applause.) If there is any one thing that ought to be made plainer than another it is that no white-feathered man shall represent the Tenth Congressional district. The Tenth is no white feathered district. (Wild and long continued applause.) Up at Craw fordsville last Saturday, as I said, there was nothing but denunciation of Watson. What remedies do the Democratic party demand ? The death of Wat son. What &re the abuses from which the country is suffering? The life of Watson. What are you going to give the people in order to relieve their dis tress? Disgrace Watson. What is going to ruin the country if he is elected ? Securing the prin ciples which the people demand. Should such a campaign succeed, my friends, you will sooner or later curse the vile passion and prejudice which deterred him from meeting me face to face to discuss the issues just as they should be discussed, and with calmness, with fairness, to ana lyze the position of the parties. Civilization would suggest the reme dy. The heart of the Tenth Con gressional district is in the right place and sooner or later will select the man to elevate the condition- of the laborer, the farmer and the me chanic without injury to any one. I asked him in my Crawfordsville speech if he would endorse this busi ness of raking up my private feuds in bygone years; if he would en dorse the method of going into my legislative record; if he would en dorse these contemptible dodgers like that Bradwell business that has been thrown among the colored peo ple to prejudice them against me. His answer was that he said nothing against me, but declined to answer or justify the dastardly course by those men who have neither the honesty to tell the truth nor the courage to face me in telling a lie. Now, let me put it to the honest judgment of both black and white alike; is not Mr. Black, the man| as piring for the seat which I now hold, the man who ought to make those charges against me? Cries of. No! No! No! and Yes! Yes! Yes! If anybody makes them, ought not he to be the man? His skirmish line ought not to sling their poison ed darts; they ought not to put him in the contemptible attitude of ac quiescing in their contemptible methods if he has not the manliness to denounce them or face me in en dorsing them. He ought to endorse the methods or condemn them. (Turning around and facing Mr. Black.) You bring to my mind a single disrespectful word that any of my followers bring against you, and I will either endorse it or if justifia ble, or correct it if unjustifiable. I believe in fair aggressive fighting. (Turning to the audience.) If they can throw me under these circum stances, let them do it. One of us is going to get whipped, and get whipped badly. (Cheers.) This is not a little dog-fall business; this is not a compromise business; this is a war to the knife, and the knife to the hilt; it is a contest to the finish; one of us is going to hit the ground and hit it hard. Cries of “You bet he’s hit the ground now, Tom.” Mr. Watson (handing Mr. Black a picture headed “ Congressman Tom Watson defeats a worthy colored man’s claim in Congress. Read what the Rev. Charles L. Bradwell says,” and the picture of Charles L. Brad well). Now, of the man or men who circulated such dodgers as that, I have only this to say : I brought that to the notice of your leader at Craw fordsville, and he scorned to take any notice of it. Now, the Democrats or the papers that circulate this story are putting Mr. Black in a very hu miliating position. They are either dirty enough to do the dirty work for which Mr. Black is not responsi ble, or Mr. Black is willing enough for them to do it and not man enough to take the consequences. (Wild and long continued applause.) As I said at Crawfordsville, I will not go into these personal matters any more until he repudiates them or dignifies them by his silence. And I say here now to his face, let him dare to mention the Bradwell matter here to-day, or if not to-day, let him no tify me now that he intends to allude to that matter in the future, and I will expose that thing in such away that the most ignorant colored man in this town will have the most in finite contempt for the man or men who got up those circulars. Cries from the colored. We know it, Mr. Watson; we know it. God bless you! We know you, and we know them. Another voice. Where are you at ? Mr. Watson. Yes, let the Demo crats ask where I am at. I know where I am at. I am running the Democrats to cover; I am here in the middle of the big road, and I am putting my fist squarely between the eyes of their leader, and he dare not endorse the scoundrelly slanders from the outside. That is where lam at. (Wild applause.) Now listen. Major Black said that he thanked my friend over here who interrupted him by saying that th leaders had not told them of the w they had been misled. He thong he could get great capital out of tha Now let us see. Suppose two trns tees had been managing a large es tate five or six hundred miles away from you; you took the returns they forwarded; on the face of these re turns the estate was being honestly managed; it went on, say, for fifteen or twenty years ; you thought that it was all right; that the books were all right. Then you began to sus pect these trustees from the fact that they were getting richer day by day, while you were getting poorer and poorer day by day; they were thriv ing on that estate while you were starving. (Grea.t applause.) Suppose that these facts put you upon inquiry, those circumstances aroused your suspicions; that you began to in quire into them, and the more you inquired the more dissatified you were. (The speaker going to take a drink of water, and finding the glass gone): Do not these Democrats steal my water? (Laughter) I did not expect much of those Democrats, but I think they might let me have a little fresh water. (Renewed laughter.) Well, the more you inquired the more dissatisfied you became, and you found oui: the cause of your want of success and their prosperity to be the dishonest manner in which they had been administering the estate, having elected other trustees who went there and got the informer tion upon the spot, and made a full exposure of what has been going on for the past fifteen or twenty years. Did not you do that ? , Many voices. Yes! Yes! and No ! No! the yeas having it. Mr. Watson (addressing his friends). Be quiet, my friends. Let me go right ahead. You see that the crime for which I have been ar raigned, and my condemnation sought, is because I told my white and black friends alike just how these trustees have been robbing them; and I told them their future welfare depended upon the honesty of the trustees whom they elected in the future. Voices. Yes, that is true, and you bet we will see to it. Mr. Watson. Now, who are so mad with me ? Why, these same trustees who have nothing to lose and everything to gain by continuing to deceive you, and destroying the characters of the trustees who have been representing you since you, the people, came into power and looked after your estate. Now, you might just as well say that the heirs at law of this estate were equal in crimi nality, with the dishonest trustees; to say that the people who were out raged and deceived were equally guilty with the trustees because they did not find it out sooner, as to charge the rank and file of the Democratic party with criminality, when they did not have the means of knowing it. The proposition not only defeats itself for absurdity, but it is insulting to your intelligence. The idea! You who have been in your places of business—in the fields making your crops, in the shops at your work-benches, at the forge making the anvil ring, in the facto ries and other places of honest in dustry—and now because you did not find it out ten, fifteen, twenty years ago, these same dishonest trus tees come up and insult you by tel ling you to your faces that you are equally guilty with them in theil rascality. (Wild applause.) What do you think of the men who say, “You ought not to say a word now, but let us continue fifteen or twenty years more because you did not find out sooner.” (Uproarious long continued cheering, and cries of “Good-bye, Jimmie!”) Now listen ! You Democrats ought to keep quiet, because it is so awful funny that even you will enjoy it if you will consent to take it in. Twelve years ago no man de nounced corporations and cliques in Georgia with more bitterness than my friend Mr. Black. Twelve years ago hs denounced the ring rule which I now denounce, and the only differ ence between him and me is that ha has gone over to the ringsters while I ana still making my fight for the people with the strength that God Almighty has given me. (Great ap plause.) At that time I was stand ing by his side denouncing ring rule that had brought corruption into Georgia politics, and which corrup tion I no w denounce and he upholds. (Long continued cheering.) Listen to what he says : They now call me a dreamer, and I have expelled to Arcadia, but I would like before I go to get a little Arcadian atmosphere into Georgia politics. Sneers and jeers from Mr. Black’s friends. Mr. Watson (continuing after long confusion). I say now, as Mr. Black said then, that I would rather have the dream of an honest man, looking to the wellfare of am honest people, looking, forward to the enactment of pure and just laws by which every man’s home, however humble, would be protected, than with my eyes open take chains in my hands and go to the industrial classes and try to rivet them forever. A voice. Where is the flag? and. long continued cheering from Mr, Watson’s consthuents. Mr. Watson. Where is the flag! Where is the flag! y)h, my good friends, the easiest man in the world to handle is the old moss-grown Democrat who cries out, “Where’s the flag ?” Why, that fellow has not got even sense enough to get away. r Note—This was the same fellow