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fur is- he has Written his charge*
1 w ill answer them in good humor,
in kindness and iu charity. Be say*
that I am noted for tny vagaries of
the past.
Now, let us see what those “vaga¬
ries” are. He means of course the
time when I had the honor to be the
National leader of the People’s party
which hud been the outgrowth of the
old Allianoe; lie means the vagaries
of the Farmer’s Alliance; lie means
the vagaries of Populism.
Well, let us stop and see wliat that
vagaries were. It is all a matter of
record,—not state record, not county
record, but national record and a
‘ re,fjord to history, if liar
go to some
doe* uot write it t Voices, “Good”
cheer* and applause. I What was one
of my vagaries in ttie nineties? 1
said as tlie champion of the under¬
dog, the champion of the common
people—and no matter what they say
about me, nobody can deny, but that
iJuivc always fought on that side
and never fought against them. <Ap
plutuejand cheers, hand cries “Hand
it tb them, tell it Tom.” )
In the Halls cf Congress I intre
d iced, spoke for, ami endeavored to
pass a law to catch the net income
of our,millionaires. My bill for an
income tax was laughed to scorn,
its author was called a “crank. ji
Thu bill itself was called it wild
dream of an impractical man ; but
what do we see today We see a
whole lot of rich men scared and
sweating blood, for tear the collector
and his deputies will get the Jfuil
amount that they owe (Laughter
and applause.) You had just as
.veil butt vour head against the
brick wall of this court house as to
NOW antagonize the income tax.
What else ? In 1890, ’92, ’93, as
the representative of one of the
noblest constituents that ever sent
a man to Congress I introduced a
bill for the Government ownership
of tallroads. (Laughter.)But I was
wild, wasn’t I.? That was awful.
The moss backs almost shed their
moss. Oh, the spasms they had!
Now what do we 11ml The Govern¬
ment is running everything and
everybody, railroads, telegraphs
telephones, express companies, and
tells you how much sugar we must
put iu the coffee. (Great applause
and cheers.) (A voi.-e: "We knew it
would all come around.'’)
Times maychavigc and men may
change with them, but principles
that ale eternal as Iho hills that
God made in the beginning will be
here (o give signals ,of.|he ii^tt fire.
All honor to the Old Alliance men
all honor , to the Old Populists,
(Voices: “Good, great,’’) From
Detroit to Miami, from- Boston to
Los Angeles, some lie in obscure
graves; some are still living—hum
ble, industrious and obscure in their
lives, but, wherever you are, I am
AS proud OF YOU TO DAY, as I was
tf the days of the past. (Great
applause and cheers.)
SOME MOKE WATSON VAGARIES.
Now, there is another tiling,
which in 1890, ’91 and ’92 I stood
for, and that was the Parcels Post.
1 said “Let the Government bring
the express company to our gates,
instead of our gates going to town
for the express package.” What
have they done ? They have now
passed that kind of a law, but it
does not come up to my ideal, nor
to yours. If I should go to Con
grt-ss, I will do my level best to im
prove the Parcels Post until it will
be as close to you, as beneficial to
you as the Rural Free Delivery
mail. (Cries of “Good”) They
called that a vagary until I put it
through, and now the man who
would try to tear down the mail
boxes in the country districts will
incite a riot. At tliis time a bill to
repeal the It. F. I). would receive no
more consideration in Congress than
a bill to abolish the.Ten Command
nients would receive. (Laughter.)
My record can be fonod along your
country roads in these mall boxes.
My record can be found on every
freight train that stops, here, and is
automatically coupled and on
coupled. I knew a waa at Thom¬
son, in the very bloom of young
manhood, Bill Sills, got hi* hand
rnaslic 1, by going in with nothing
but a little stick to eonple and na
couple a train. Like any ether
tiling that you see, it impresses yoa
more vivldlv tlum what yon read
or what you hear. 1 Jed the light
for the automatic conplur. It was
a long, hard battle, but we won it.
(Cries of good.) Those are some of
iu.v vagaries, other* being the direct
elecUon of U. S. Senators, the lend
ing ef U. S. money to the farmers,
~r r s\^ .
and the Issue ot government money
to the people to lieu of such nioun^
tainous issues of interest bearing
bonds.
These vagaries are standing the
test of time. But how, in the times
past, they did laugh us to scorn.
The laugh of scorn hurts like the
lash laid upon the naked hide.
Rtdieule has been known to kill
people. Social ostracism has been
known td break the hearts df strong
men, but liow they jeered, how they
did ridicule and consigned to Igno¬
minious oblivion the sub-treasury
plan alid the idea of lending money
to the farmers on their land
(Laughter.) And now, what do we
see ? Iu the advertisement of its
good deeds put forth by the present
administration, they proudly refer
to the fact that they have establish¬
ed the sub-treasury system and are
lending government money direct
to the farmers. The very measures
of reform that the historian, Wood
row Wilson ridiculed and condemn¬
ed in iris books, now bear the signa¬
ture of official approval of President
Woftdro^ Wilson. (Applause).
THE NEW RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD.
What are some of the issues that
are growing out of this war ?
First of all let me say so that I
shall not be misunderstood, I ain in
favor of supporting this war, now
that we are in it, until wo fight it to
a successful finish (Great applause
and cheers.) No man could take
any other position without being a
traitor to his government. After
that is said, let me draw- your at¬
tention to this fact—we should, by
all means, keep clearly in view
what we are fighting for, and what
sort of a victory will satisfy our de¬
mands, In otner words, let us have
a * definite program. Hew to the
line, but let us know where is the
end of the log. (Laughter and ap¬
plause )
Then what? Great questions will
loom up,as to what extent the army
shall lie disbanded, and our boys
sent back home, to peaceful pur¬
suits. tv hat shall be the size of our
standllz army ? Adequate to our
protection against foreign enemies,
but not too large for the preserva¬
tion of our civil liberties.
We now have in the army very
nearly five million men. It is pro¬
posed by the new conscription of
from 18 to 45 to increase that army
to something That number like nine of or ten in mill- the
tons. men
i,rm -V must go to the war, if the
President says it and if Congress
says it. When the Government
says it, we must obey, but it must
bt ‘ evident to every intelligent mind
,bat > ’ n time of peace, we can not
s P are ten million men from our
homes—ten million of people, some
rit ’ h - s °me poor, some from the
country, some in the town, some
black and some white—from field,
and forge, and mill, and mine.
How large an army, In time of
peace can we support, without en¬
dangering our liberties, or estab¬
lishing military domination over
the civil power. If I go to Con¬
gress, so help me God, I am not
going there to simply make trouble
for the President and put obstacles
in his way. No. I will go there to
do my utmost, at the earliest pos
sible moment, to re-establish free
dom of speech, to re-establish free
dom of press, re-establish individual
liberty, and re-establish the old land
marks which the war has moved so
far from where they have so long
stood. In other words, I would
fight as hard to restore the Cousti
tution of car fathers, and the Re
public for which our revolutionary
ancestors fought and died ; I would
work as hard to do that as l would
to win the war. (Great applause
and cheers.)
They say that Senator Jamas
Hamilton Lewis, (born in Georgia,
37 miles from liberty Ball,) com¬
ing np a poor boy jnst as I did,
Wunator James Hamilton Lewis said
in ihe United Btates Senate, that
the Constitution which h* swore to
'nphold is “obsolete,’* that State
Rights ought to he swept away; and
that there should he nothing except
the Federal Government aad the
Municipal Geveramants 1 If I
should be sent to Congress I will
combat that doctrine of Senator
LewiA, it is not democracy, it is
not the democracy of England, it
is net the democracy »( France,
> is not the democracy nf *ar fathers
J it can not live, such dne-tria*
Lewis’, If onr states are to live and
' our liberties not to he lost. (Cries of
THE COLUMBIA SEN’^NEL, HARLEM, GEORGIA.
good.) Such doctrines as that be¬
long to the hysteria and the ?x
t'ravaganee of war talk. They have
no place in the reflections of wise
men, no place in the reflections of
students or democratic Institutions.
Tell me that any power in this
country, or any other, can destroy
the principles of democracy. I
deny it, I deny it,
NO GERMAN MILITARY ARISTOCRACY I
In the French army when the
private soldier is off duty, his offi¬
cer is no more than his equal—he
can eat at the same table, daned in
the same cotillion, walk beside his
officer on the street, go to the same
picture-show if he wants to, sit at
the same table at the hotel, restau¬
rant, or garden of public resort.
How is it in the United States
army? We are creating a military
caste, “the officer was made out of<
better clay—made out of kaol^i—
the private was made out of ,d.
ditch mud at that. When off ®tv
the private has to pay the samp re¬
spect to the officer as when on duty,
although that officer be the thick¬
est negro that ever took pride it his
race. (Laughter.) If the officer is
dancing the private can not dance.
If the officer seats himself at one
table, the private must eat at anoth¬
er. If the officer is courting one
girl, or two, the private must let
those girls alone. (Laughter and
cheers.) When tho war is over, if I
am there, I will do all in my power,
to have the French system intro¬
duced, which teaches the private
soldier that no victory can be won
without him, that no blood that ev er
crimsoned a battle field is more
sacred than his; and, if he is want¬
ed on the battle line, lie ought to be
treated like a human being, when
he is off the battle line. (Applause
and cheers.) In other words, I am
not going to Washington, (if you see
lit to let me go at all,) as an enemy
to the president, for 1 am not an
enemy to anybody. I have my hot
temper and my sharp tongue and if
a man offends me and rouses my
temper I am apt to see red, write
red, and act red. (Cheers and ap¬
plause.)
I don’t claim to be an angel; you
don’t wont an angelic representa¬
tive in Washington; you want a
red blooded man; and thank God,
what blood is left in my yelns is
red, and what hair is left on my
head, is at least jiartiy red. (Ap
plause and cheers.)
Now if a proposed measure came
down from the White house to the
House of Representatives, I would
remember that our sovereign power,
is made into three compartments,
eaili equal to the other—thq Execu¬
tive, the Legislative anu the Judi¬
ciary. The Legislative takes an
oath, the President takes an oath,
;he Judges take ail oath, what is that
oath?—to support the Constitution.
If the President, or any member of
the Executive department, should
send down any to Coogrcss and 1
was there as your sworn represen¬
tative, the first question I would
ask myself as I read that measure —
Does this violate my sworn duty to
the Constitution of the United
States'. In other words, I am what
you would call a free agent, (cries
of Good) and no man’s slave t Ap¬
plause and cheers. >(Criesof “Good,
Good”, )I never was cut out by God
Almighty to serve any man ar.y
wherein thy Uyery of a flunkey.C Ap¬
plause). I would rather die like the
eagle breasting the storm, than to
live parrot like in a cage, though
iho bars were of gold, and my own¬
er the Emperor of the universe. M.v
conscienca is what God gave me;
my soi ltosaveis what God gavema,
and I will save it, if it is ever sav¬
ed, by the best guidance my heart
and my conscience can give.
Democracy! I ha veal ways stood for
it; I stand tor it now,and as long a#
breath remains in my body I will
staud for it (Applause). Talk about
itsdylug, you might as weil talk
about a tideless ocean, those waves
shall never again beat upon the
beach; you might a* well talk a
bont stopping th» unbidden daw
that fall* upon the flower and field,
you might as well talk about the
dying of all nature, about quench¬
ing the fires hidden within the iws
>m of the earth ; a* long as men
live, democracy will have Its ban
war, will have Its follower* awd
vv '^* fcave 1°®*. I am ready to
Riee l your foes, and feel able to sat
friends - ( C hoots and Ap¬
Pl ause -