Newspaper Page Text
Speech of Antoil r. Wright
At ' the Fourth District Meeting May
Bth, 1906.
I feel, my fellow-citizens, that I
can discuss the issues of this cam
paign with malice to none. I have
no enemies that I know of to pay
off and I have no private grudges
to gratify. My sole desire in this
campaign is to see the triumph of
the principles for which the People’s
Democratic League stands. I take it,
my fellow-citizens, that no man’s pri
vate life or* character is an issue
in this campaign, unless it outrages
our sense of public decency and ren
ders him unworthy of public confi
dence and public trust.
It is inconceivable that there should
be a political boss without a ma
chine or a political machine without
a boss. I believe that we have- the
happy conjunction of both of these
conditions in this community today.
The first plank in the platform of
the People’s Democratic League an
nounces our opposition to bossism and
its machinery. I believe that when
the Citizens’ Club was appropriating
this platform that with beautiful con
sistency they took it all even includ
ing this plank.
It is inconceivable that there should
be a political boss. I believe that
we have the happy conjunction of
both these conditions in this com
munity today. The ’first plank in the
People’s Democratic League announc
es our opposition to bossism and its
machinery. I believe that when the
Citizen’ Club was appropriating this
platform that with beautiful consist
ency they took it all even including
this plank.
Now, my fellow citizens, is there a
political machine in this community?
We do not need any great logical ef
fort to establish the fact that there
is. Mr. Lawrence, who was elected to
the legislature by the Citizens’ Club,
at a meeting of the Citizens’ Club
proudly proclaimed that he was “a
machine made man” and I don’t think
anybody doubts it. Mr. Osborne, in
addressing ,a meeting of his followers
some time since, during the past year
if I mistake not, quoted with evident
pride the saying of a North Georgia
olitician, which was in substance
he knew of only two perfect
M^h^^ons —the Japanese army ana
nKffii? M.nlie, n .
a happy one, but in view
of the fact that in the Fourth Dis
trict they now have two political
clubs —one a Mcßride Club and one an
anti-Mcßride Club —its truth is, per
haps, open to criticism. But the fact
remains that the people of this com
munity for the past seven years-have
lived under the domination of a pow
erful, compact and relentless politi
cal machine whcse rule, to quote the
words of Judge Adams, has been in
tolerant and has become intolerable.
My fellow citizens, is there a boss
in this community? Suppose that
you were asked to name the most
important political personage in this
community, what man would yon
name? Suppose that you had a mat
ter pending before the city council
upon which you desired favorable ac
tion, whose influence would you pre;
ter to secure? [Suppose that you de
sired to be appointed to some posi
tion in the «city government, wins.
suppCrt would you rather secure'and
whose antagonism would you most
fear? Suppose that you were a mem
ber of the Citizens' Club —but I am
not going to suppose an unsupposa
ble case —-suppose that there is a Citi
zens’ Club man in this hall tonignt
and he desired to -secure the nomina
tion of his party for any public of
fice. whose support would he first
seek? Suppose, my fellow citizens,
you had streets to open, franchises
to ask for or opposition to ward off,
whose support of all men would you
most covet? Is it the' mayor? Not
at all. Is it anyone of the board of
aidermen? Not at all. is it an;,
man in the city’s employ? Not at
all. To ask the questions that 1
have asked is to answer them. You
know and any man in this commun
ity knows, though he be of the dullest
comprehension, that this communitv
and the party in power has been and
is absolutely dominated by one map,
W|. W. Osborne.
I take it that you agree with me
that I am correct in both of these
propositions; that the people of this
community are dominated by a gross
political machine, and that the ma
chine, in turn, knows and obeys the
voice of its master.
I have no attack to make upon Mi.
Osbore as an individual. I recognize
that he is an able man, that he is a
man of indomitable industry and I
believe him to be a man of clean pil
vate life. But, my fellow-citizens, I
am utterly and unalterably opposed
to that system of ’ government per-
sonal government—which he has erec
ted in this community. 1 do not be
lieve that it is to the interest of
any city to be governed by a ma
chine. I do not believe that it is to
the interest of any party or faction
to be absolutely dependent upon the
will of any one man. I believe that
the inevitable result of machine rule
is to bring into prominence men
whose character and standing in the
community would not otherwise give
them the influence which they atttain.
I believe that machine rule is un
democratic and utterly subversive of
the spirit of our institutions.
I have not the time nor the inclina
tion to go over every phase of ma
chine rule as it exists in this city
today, but, my fellow-citizens, how
dangerous a thing it is when you
find that the machine in this city
has succeeded in muzzling, to a great
extent, the public press of this com
munity and is using its great powers
to further its partisan ends. I do
not want Colonel Estill or Mr. Sto-
Vall to editorially endorse this move
ment, for I extend to them the same
right that I reserve to myself, that
of following the dictates of their own
conscience. If these gentlemen be
lieve that we have a fair government,
if they believe that everybody is get
ting a “square deal,” if they believe
that it is to the interest of this com
munity to continue in power the Cit
izens’ Club, then I have no criticism
to make of them. But I do say when
a movement is started in this com
munity, composed of men of the
character and standing of such men
as I see before me tonight; when
this movement is lead by men of as
high character and standing as any
in this community; then, my fellow
citizens, I absolutely deny that any
paper which holds itself out to be a
public journal and purports to give
the news, has the right to do anything
else than give a fair and impartial
report of what is taking place at our
meetings. How deplorable is the con
dition of this city and its press when,
feeling that we are not getting a
“square deal,” we are driven to the
extremity of putting out our little
sheet every Saturday in order to ad
vise the people of what we are doing
and saying. If I alone felt that we
were not being fairly dealt with by
the newspapers of this community, I
would be inclined to doubt my con
clusions, but when every man con
nected with this movement from the
highest to the lowest has felt his
sense of justice and fair-play outraged,
then I know that I cannot be mis
taken. If such a speech as was made
in the hearing of some of you the
other night by Colonel G. Arthur Gor
don, which, to my mind, has been
the most important in this whole
campaign, receives the scant treat
ment which it did by the newspapers,
how under the face of the shining
heayens can we ever expect to get
before the people the truth of the
conditions existing in Savannah? 1
have no doubt but that when Colonel
Gordon woke up that morning and
read the report of his speech in the
Morning News he must have said to
himself: “it is all a mistake, I wasn t
at that meeting at all, I don't recog
nize my speech. ” And when he read
it in the Press that afternoon 1 think
that the only thing that really re
assured him that he had been pres
ent and delivered a speech the night
before was that the Press printed
an extract from his speech which
had been typewritten and which Colo
nel Gordon handed to the reporter.
’Now, my fellow citizens, this is a se
rious conditions of affairs, it is a con
dition that we are trying to meet
as best we may and I desire to say
to you that I consider it to be the
duty of every man connected with
this movement who has a spare dol
lar in his pocket to go up to the
headquarters of this movement and
and subscribe to The Searchlight and
further not only to read this pape.
himself, but also to pass it along to
bis neighbor.
Subjected as we are to this com
plete and absolute machine rule, it
seems to me that it is the duty of
every man to come forward and do
everything that he can to tear down
a, [machine which keeps in office
such men as Garrity and Mcßride. 1
think that it is your duty to tear
down a machine that extends immun
ity from legal arrest to men charged
with the gravest crimes. I think it
is your duty to help wipe out of exist
ence a machine that has notoriously
protected the gaming houses and pol
icy shops in this community; and,
finally I conceive it to be your duty
to rebuke any faction that has the
effrontery, with the record which the
Citizens' Club has behind it, to put
out a platform reeking with hypoc
risy. And furthermore, my fellow
citizens, I take it that it is your duty
to administer a rebuke to those men
who for the sake of a paltry office
have been tolled away from their al
legiance and have allowed their re
spectability to be made a stalking
horse of by the party in power.
The Small Girl Understood.
Apropos the rapidly vanishing cus
tom of saying grace at the table, a
lady on one of the Guilford Avenue
cars the other day was telling a
friend how her little daughter expos
ed what she termed her domestic im
piety.
“You know,” she said, “Grace will
never miss anything in life for the
lack of asking; and, though I warn
her repeatedly not to ask questions,
she heeds me not at all. I took her
to have tea with Mrs. Blank not long
since, and she was perfectly delight
ed. She behaved like an angel until
Mr. B. bowed his head to ask a
blessing. Then she began to nudge
little Mabel and to whisper.
“Mabel did not reply, till a pinch
more energetic than usual forced her
to look up, which she did very rs
r-roachfuily.
“ ‘What is your paper saying?’ ask
ed Grace, in a loud whisper.
“ ‘Hush,’ said Mabel, reverently.
“ ‘Tell me what he says,’ she per
sisted.
“ ‘He is saying grace,’ answered
Mabel, in a low tone.
“ ‘Does he mean me?’
“Mabie told her no, and tried softly
to explain matters so she would be
quiet. ‘He is asking a blessing,’ she
said; ’just saying thank you.’
“ ‘Oh'. ’ said Grace, with a very su
perior air; ‘you mean he is trying to
be polite to Dod.’ ” —Baltimore News.
Discount for Shortage.
A couple evidently from an exceed
ingly rural district recently presented
themselves at the home of a Buffalo
minister and announced that they
wished to be married. The would-be
bride was of a homeliness to cause
one less pity for the blind, but the
groom seemed satisfied, and as they
possessed the necessary license the
minister proceeded to perform the
ceremony.
“How much dew that come to, par
son?” the man inquired, bringing a
handful of silver change from a deep
trousers pocket. “Name yer regular
Agger that you charge th’ swells. I’m
a-goin’ th’ limit, by jinks.”
“Oh, I have no regular charge,” the
minister said; “just give me what you
think it is worth.”
The groom turned and eyed the
bride in a speculative manner.
“She's a good gal, es she ain’t much
on looks,” he said, thoughtfully, “an
I’ll be gosh derned es she ain’t wuth
a dollar an’ forty-flve cents!”
He was about to hand over the sil
ver, when the lady caught his arm,
and deducted the five cent piece from
the sum.
“Wait, Si,” she said. “Take back
this nickel; you don’t know it, but
when I was a child I chopped off two
toes with th’ hatchet.”—Harper’s
Weekly.
Would Have Women Police.
Mrs. Charles Goldzier of Bayonne,
N. J., gravely suggests to Mayor Gar
ven of that city that women be em
ployed on the police force. With equal
gravity his honor promises to give
the matter his careful attention. Mrs.
Goldzier’s enthusiasm on behalf of her
sex is well known. She is a member
of half a dozen clubs in New York, be
lieves in the single tax idea and is
prominent in equal suffrage circles.
BIG FREE ACTS
Band and Concert
Every afternoon & night,
at the
CARNIVAL
GROUNDS
Corner Whitaker & 4othSt
Entire Week May 14th to toth
Everything New
& Up=to=date‘
Robt. Zack,
Carnival Grounds.
Bell Phone 729. Ga. Phone 136.
Liberty Street Pharmacy
H. C, FRECIL Ph. G., Proprietor.
Soda Water, Cigars, Perfumes, Toilet
Articles, Etc.
Prescription Work a Specialty.
Liberty and Montgomery Sts.
HOME MADE BREAD
The kind our Mother Made. A Pound Loaf 5 Cents.
Buchheit’s Bakery,
West Broad and Henry Streets.
JOHN COTTINGHAM.
OCEAN CAVE SALOON,
Drayton and Broughton Streets,
SAVANNAH, GA.
High Grades Os
Wines, Liquors and Cigars. Cold Ale;
Beer, Porter on Draught.
Full view of the Champion Pugilist of
the World. Foreign Money
Exchanged.
TO ALL WHO G'RVM'BLE
sou that only appear contented
When you are grumbling about your
lot.
Mainly because of a much lamented
Absence of all that you haven’t got,
Listen to me. for I bring you healing—
If you would scatter those moods away,
If you would conquer that injured feel
ing,
Listen to me, I say.
Years ago, for a certain season,
I was a pessimist (strange but true),
And. as a matter of fact, with i-eason,
Not for the fun of the thing, like you;
All that I merited, looked for. built on.
Seemed to be doomed to a fatal slump;
Mine was the mental complaint which
Milton
Happily termed the Hump.
Came a night—and of all Decembers
That was the vilest—l sat alone.
Bitterly smoking before the embers,
Hugging my grievance, and making
moan;
Out in the onen a biting blizzard,
Whirling the gravel about like snow,
Froze the marrow, and turned the gizzard
Inside out, at a blow.
Then I said, this is something childish
(Which was a fact), and I crossed the
room, . , ...
Flung up the blind, and with sour disrel
ish
CUSTOMS OF THE MASAI
Sir Harry Johnston writes of the
Masai, that African race which has
been giving so much trouble to Ger
many of late: “The young men are
all warriors, theoretically, between
the ages approximately of 17 and 27.
When in this stage they are known in
their own language as el moran.
They pull the head hair out to its
greatest length, even sometimes twist
ing and plaiting fiber and string into
their wool. The hair is then thickly
coated with mutton fat and red clay
and tied into perukes. All hair on the
face and body is plucked out by iron
tweezers. Tire skin is kept constantly
lubricated with mutton fat riiixed with
red clay, but as a rule the body is not
disagreeably oily, and this lubrication
only has the result of giving a beauti
ful polish to their statuelike forms.
“As regards the body, there is prob
ably no more beautifully formed type
of man than the young Masai warrior.
SET 'DOCTO'R AGAINST ‘BACOJ'i
Dr. John A. Wesner, the eminent i
bacteriologist, practiced physics in the '
wilds of Northern Michigan before
moving to Chicago fifteen years ago.
His professional calls there often took
him into the rattlesnake region. One
spring night he was called to the rude
cabin of a woodsman, some twenty
miles away. A woman and her babe
were ill. And while it was charity
work, nevertheless he responded.
Just before daybreak his patients
were quieted and he had fallen asleep.
As the doctor was tired out he asked
if he could not lie down somewhere.
In the rear of the cabin was a small
detached room, used for a kitchen. In
this was a cot and he soon was dream
ing.
“Presently I was awakened,” said
the doctor, “by the noise of frying
meat. It continued for a long while,
■so it seemed. I was there for a cou
ple- of hours, and all during that time,
the same dull, crackling sound dis-
THE CLIPPER SALOON,
I 208 Broughton St., West, near
Barnard St.,
SAVANNAH, GA.
• High Grades Os
( I Wines, Liquors and Cigars, Cold Ale,
Beer, Porter on Draught.
: Foreign Money Exchanged.
Gazed for awhile on the roaring gloom;
Till, on a sudden, my awe-struck glances
Fell on a sentinel’s heav’n-sent form,
Driven, by pressure of circumstances,
Out in that beastly storm.
High on a magazine, bleak and lonely,
Nobly he paced his appointed beat
(Rather like Casablanca, only
That little horror complained of heat),
Daring an enemy's foot to touch on his
Windy preserves, he was hurled about,
Getting his spine well iced, not to men
tion his
Gizzard blown inside out.
Long I gazed on the gusty fellow;
Gazed, till mine uglier moods were
spent;
Gazed, till my whole soul seemed to mel
low
Into a chastened and bland content;
And. as I blessed him diew the cur
tain.
Leaving him on his wind-swept mound,
Life, I remarked, though a bit uncertain
Wasn’t so bad, all round.
Grumbler, such is the Grand Idea:
Surely the moral is plain to see;
When you're in need of a panacea,
Think of the sentinel—think of me!
Turn to Philosophy’s consolation;
Doubtless the gods may have used yot
ill;
But—by a Merciful Dispensation—
Others are worse off still!
—London Punch.
I The face is sometimes in keeping with
the body, but more often has a rathe?
brutal aspect. The Masai are not pure
negroes, but obviously received a very
long while ago a slight infusion of
I Hamitic blood from races dwelling to
I the east of the White Nile. While
| they are in the young-man-warrior
I stage the Masai live principally on
milk and on blood drawn from the
veins of living cattle. They also oc
casionally eat the meat of oxen, goats
or sheep.
- “When a Masai decides that he has
had enough knocking about and has
accumulated sufficient property on
which to retire he decides to marry.
This is usually about the age of 27
to 30. After marriage he shaves his
head, or at any rate keeps the hair
of his head very close cropped. He
■ ceases to anoint himself with mutton
i fat and definitely ranges himself with
. the old men.”
i turbed me in my semi-stupor. When
■ I awoke, sure enough, there was a
woman over the stove.
” ‘Been frying a lot of meat, have
n’t you?” I asked.
“ ‘No,’ she answered, T have just
commenced.’
“ ‘Well, somebody has been ahead
of you cooking bacon,’ I said to her;
‘and apparently enough of it to supply
all the logging camps between -here
and Duluth.’
“ ‘Oh, no,’ she replied. ‘That noise
you heard was Pete’s rattlers over
there in that hogshead,’ and lifting
the cover she showed me a mass es
wriggling, writhing red-skinned rat
tlers—about 200 of them. I did not
wait for breakfast, but hastily exam
ining the sick, again saddled my
horse and hit the trail back to town.
“And not since that experience,"
continued the doctor, “have I been
able to eat fried bacon.”— Chicago
American.