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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 10, 1902)
CAMPAIGN IN Speech of E. HoMwattr to the Eighth Ward Bepublic&a Club. KERXER AND HIS BACKERS ARRAIGNED 2MerthoJ of the Men Who ftapport (be. 'esent Con a reaaman front the Second trhraiha District Ks posed. Fpeech of Edward Roeeweter Tuesday, May , before the Eighth Ward Republican club: Mr. Chairman and Fellow Republicans: We are now attain on the ere of a mo. mentoua political campaign a campaign In which the destinies of the republican party of Nebraska will be determined by the ac tion of the Individual member and the character of the standard-bearers of the grand organization that brought Nebraska Into the union among the sisterhood of states. Your chairman has announced that this meeting was called for the discussion of eongresslcjiat candidates. It waa not my Intention to confine the scope of this dis cussion to the congressional campaign. Before entering upon that part bf the -program I desire to present a few reaaons why republicans of Douglas county should participate actively In the preliminary wrk of the Impending campaign. The state convention haa been called by the stste committee to meet In Lincoln June 18, and I presume the county com mittee will, within the next ten days, meet to fix the time for holding the primaries. Whether theae primary electiona are to be held under the old system of selecting delegatee to the atata convention by a county convention, or whether these dele, gates are to be choaen by direct election by the so-called "Crawford county ays tern," la In the mala Immaterial. The great question republicans must face la whether they will present a state ticket to the sufTrsges of the people, made up of the ablest mer, that can be selected from the bent element of the republican party, or Vhether they will court disaster by nominating candidates who have to be. apologised for and defended. niatner Meat Xee.eti for Leaders. It la as amasing as It Is deplorable that the men who. bate teen honored with lead erahlp and high, position tn recent yeara are no match Tn point of Intellect, morel force and Integrity to tho leaders and c&n dldates of territorial days. That fact was forcibly caied to my mind recently while attending the funeral of J. Sterling Mor ton, V. was associated with a galaxy of Intel'ertual giants in the upbuilding of this err A commonwealth. It la deplorable In. d'd that some of the ablest and best men vlthln the ranks of the republican party do not In late yeara participate actively in our politics, or have been crowded to the rear because the Idea prevails that any. body who haa ambition can aspire to a state office, even though he la notoriously Incompetent, Ignorant or disreputable, and that anyhody can go to congress, even If he has not the ability to fill a position ot city councilman. We remember that In 1891 a well-digger, who had previously scarcely touched a law book, was a can. dldate for supreme judge on the fusion ticket of this state, and waa only prevented from being elected to the highest judicial tribunal of Nebraska by the patriotism and - pride the rank and Hie ot democrats and populists, who did not want to degrade the supreme bench. '' ' . In the present csmpalgn wa must en deavor Brat and foremost to select as our standard-bearer a man broad enough to be chief executive of a great commonwealth, that boaata nearly 1,200.000 population. It has been stated aeral-offlctally that William Jennings Bryan will not be a candidate for governor In the year 1302. 1 do not, how ver, conalder It prudent for the repub lican party to nAk Its nomination for gov ernor with the Idea that Bryan will not be his opponent. Bryan , may be forced to run, even agalnat his own wish and private Interest. He is about the only democrat who could command the united support of all of tha elements of opposition to the republican party. Ho Defensive Campaign. The republicans must nominate a man capable of keeping with any candidate the fusion reformers may rally under. A man whose record affords a guarantee of un impeachable Integrity and executive ability of the big hear order. It la gratifying in deed that we ara not compelled to enter thla campaign In defense of the vlolatlpn of one of the declaration of the last re publican state convention. That conven tion emphatically declared against condon ing e-Jubeiilement. and we will not be com. peUed, thank Ood, to atand up In th next campaign to defend It. (Applause.) Now, Douglas county republlcana have little or no show for securing a nomina tion for one of their number to head the republican ticket. I have lived here nearly thirty-nine year and do not. remember t single instance when Douglas county re. publican waa nominated for the position of governor, but we will probably bavs the opportunity to aecure the nomination of some competent and able man for th po. tttlon of lieutenant governor, or possibly for state treasurer. I presume there will be no difficulty In finding men willing to serve, but we should be very particular to nominate only such a man for lieutenant governor aa would be able to fill the posi tion of governor creditably for himself and th party. Fourteen yeara ago Benjamin Harrison carried Nebraska by about 28.000 majority, and for nearly twenty yeara preceding that campaign every nomination In a re pub. llcan stats convention waa equivalent to an election. Two yeara later. In 180, James E. Boyd via sleeted governor of Nebraska nod from that time on Nebraska haa con. tinued to be n debatable state. Cataeea ef Party Defeat. It waa not merely the folly ot submitting prohibition that placed th republican party In jeopardy. It waa th misconduct of men It had plaoed In positions of trust. It waa - the peculation and jobbery that prevailed In tha statehoua for years by which en exasperated people were Impelled to repu diate th republican party at th polls and Let the COLO DUST twbu ocyotf work,? Slav If you wiU, but If you prstsr to mak house Worn easy, us t GOLD DUCT ft make bom brighter and car Heater. I only by THE It. K. FA fit BANK CQhtPJUfY. Uucese. Mw York, Boston, St. Lout. Maksra af OVAL FAiRY SOAA - 2 HI II . i SECOND NEBRASKA DISTRICT ,I'mn,..,,"i.U!iht.Jt " irnn - 6""f- w ....". V . r v",ur" ,a ana L . . . n Pronounca SUlty t0lfrt 'n,,',d cf belns let l00M .... ..h.,,i.w wun a reprimand we would ..... do Harney and none or the coitly and disgraceful experiences that have nr tfen us since that time. Let us see to It tbat It does not happen again by plac ne men In office so constituted that a bribe no matter how large will be spurned, and that men who accept office will regard it a a public trust. Right here let me say that there Is no man In the statehouse for whom I enter tained a higher regard than I did for Mr. Stuefer. We bad always been personal friends and I had the most Implicit con fidence In him. The Idea baa gone forth that I have some personal grievance and that the publicity given to his conduct was Inspired by some motive of revenge. This le absolutely unfounded. I can hardly even today convince myself that he was aware bf the lawleea things tbat he did, but th? record Is there. The transactions cbsrged up to him make It Impossible, In my Judg ment, for him to make a satisfactory de fense before the people of thla state. I regret this a much aa anybody, but th republican party must stand for tb strict est Integrity In the office of stats treasurer fter nil the leesons that we have had, and It th treasurer cannot afford to fill that office honestly, according to the spirit of the law, It Is his duty to step out and let someone fill It who will abide by the law, (Applause.) latfortaaee of Com In a- Contest. It Is not my purpose to Indicate what candidate or candidates Douglas county should support for any particular office, but I do not want to be a party to a sham or masquerade. When we present a can didate he must be a man who enjoy pop ular confidence and respect, and must have our earnest support. If we sre going to Lincoln with a candidate for governor we ought to go there with a determination that he ahould be nominated. If we put up a man simply to give him a boost and soms free advertising, with no Intention to make hlra governor, we ought never to put him forward as our candidate. It is not honest and it Is not honorable. We have done such things heretofore, but It was Iwaya my conviction that It was not good politics nor good faith. Tou are doubtless aware that the last legislature left a great deal of Important work undone, and that Its work was not satisfactory. This Is the consensus of opinion not only of republicans, but of all classes of our citizens. It was the duty or the last legislature to have reappor tioned the state in the legislative and congressional districts. It absolutely failed to do so by reason of the pressure by agencies tbat are so well known. The failure to give us the apportionment the constitution required haa robbed this county of at least three or four members In the coming legislsture, and In the legislature that will be, for the next Ave yeara. and possibly for ten. W denounced the democratic party for falling to reapportion the state for the census of 1890 and w have repeated the criminal folly that they perpetrated. While w ar not obliged to reapportion congress. It remains for the future to show whether or not it would have been advantageous for republicans to do ao. Iasne of Congressional Election. Now, let me pass to another subject one In which you perhaps have n more live In terest and tbat la the question of who Is to represent this district In the next con. trees. You all remember hat It baa been re. peatedly charged that The Omaha Bee had viciously opposed the nomination and elec tion of David H. Mercer to congress when he was a candidate the nrat time. The truth Is that The Bee did vigorously pp. pose the nomination ot Mr. Mercer, but it did not oppose his election after he bad been nominated. Every republican has a right to oppose the nomination of any candidate, and it Is his duty to exercise tbat right to the fullest extent. (Applause.) Now let me read to you two editorials that appeared In The Bee prior to the nomina. tlon ot Mercer for the first term. In 1892, which embodied the reaaona tor this oppo sition. On September 14, 1892, the follow. Ing editorial appeared under the head, "Why He la Not Available:" The backers of Mr. Dave Mercer had better bottle their wrath. This is not a question of good fellowship, personal friendship or political hostility. The editor of The Bee testified under oath before the United Btatee Pacific Rail way commission concerning the corrup tion . and debauchery of the legislative lobby. He testified among other things that Dave Mercer waa, with others, a member of the oilroom lobby at Lincoln. That fact was corroborated by other wit nesses, notably William F. Ourley and John M. Thuraton. His nd their testi mony haa been published by the Vnlted Btates and' ta accessible to the publlo and will be within reach of the candidates for congress on the opposite side. In the face of such evidence the editor of Th Bee cannot stultify himself or this paper by endorsing Mr. Mercer for con gress, even If he were otherwise fitted for the position or entitled to such a high place at the hands of the party. It has been the boast of the republlcana In the present campaign that the party has presented to the people candidates whose records are untainted. It cannot and It should not recede from thla high purpose. We cannot hope to command success this year unless we deserve It by presenting clean and capable men for the suffrage of the people. In taking that position the editor of The nee is not summing to dic tate who shall be honored, but he simply discharges a disagreeable duty tn pointing out who among the aspirants for leading positions are not available. Mereer'a Original Nomination. On fteptember 20, just before th nomina tion, this article appeared, beaded, "Dave Mercer'a Candidacy:" A majority of the delegates chosen by the republican convention of Douglas county have expreseed their preference for Dave Mercer as the candidate for con frees in this district. What claim has Dave Mercer upon the people or party for a aeat in congressT His career In Omaha began In the I'nlon Paclflc headquarters as t third-rate clerk, from which he was promoted to the railroad oilroom lobby. The work of -thla lobby waa to debauch and corrupt th legislature In the voting down of measures In the Interests of the people and promoting the Interest of the corporations and Jobbers. The menns used to bring about .this end were cards, liquor and lewd women. Once In the meshes of the oilroom lobby the people's representatives became the pliant tools and creatures of their seductions. This Is the only line of business which Dav Mercer has pursued with some de gree of success. His efforts at the prac tice of law were a flat failure. The posi tion he holds as deputy marshal and bailiff can hardly be considered aa th proper atepplng atone for the national leg Islature. And what claim haa Dave Mercer upon the party for services as a political worker? Aa chairman of tha city commit tee that conducted the campaign three years ago he permitted the campaign funds to go Into the handa of treacherous and thieving members of the committee who bad formed a conspiracy to defeat the head of the ticket for democratic boodle. Instead of warning the candidate he de liberately closed his ears and eyes and led the ticket to slaushter. The reault was the election of Cushlng and tha form ation of the boodle combine in the coun cil. For two years Dave Vercer has used Ms portion as chairman of the county committee to lay his pipes and pack the caucuses snd conventions. By the help of certain federal officiate, who ought to be Interested in building up the party Instead of wrecking It. he haa carried his point. If the convention that meets todav Is reckless enough to nominate Mercer for congress It must take the responsibility. Bee's in snort ( Mtretr. After the convention two or three short squibs appeared, aa there was nothing runner against Mr. Mercer In Th Be. W J were- la the presidential - year, Xiii, and consequently, es n.tloa.l committeemen. 1 i centered all of mr energy ( carry the Ute for Benjamin Harrison, and notwltb ,tndln act that there u 20.000 ma Jorlty against ui. the total you gave Mar- Neon electors e.,800 plurality and kept tha state in the republican column.- (Applause.) We not only carried the state for Harrison, but we elected Governor Crounse and tb entire republican stste ticket. Mr. Mercer also was elected. At the end of his first term The Be en corsed his renomlnatlon for a second terra in the following editorial on August 21 1894, under the heading, "A High Compli ment: V Congressman D. II. Mercer has received a flattering compliment at the hands of the republicans of this district. Without a dls Sfnting vote the convention of the Second congressional district vote htm a renoml nstlon for the position he has filled during . pm iwo years, wun tnia action The Bee has no fault to nml Mr M.r- h made a very creditable and efficient repre sentative and In accord with Ita well known policy. The Bee has not hesitated to give .in uruu wnenever creau was aue. Mr. Mercer has sgreeably disappointed those who had no confidence) In hla ability and ntnesa to represent the state in the na tional legislature. Hla record has been consistent and satisfactory to all classes of republicans, and his constituency, regsrd less of party, concur In the opinion that he has done as well In promoting their Inter efts during his first eighteen months in congress as any man could have done un der like conditions. This we cheerfully certify without ever receiving, asking or expecting any favors at the hands n' Mr. Mercer. If he shall do as well In the future as he haa In th past he will have no rea son for complaint of not being appreciated or duly credited with whatever good aerv Ices he may render. Mercer and the Exposition. In 1896, when Mr. Mercer bad served two terms, we bad reached n very critical stage In the affairs of Omaha. W bad assumed the responsibility for a great en terprise, the Tranemlssteslppl exposition, and ths fact tbat Mr. Mercer occupied a poaitlon of prominence In the committee on public buildings, la my judgment and In the judgment of the great majority of business men of Omaha, necessitate! the re-election ot Mercer. To bring this about the most strenuous efforts were made by myself and The Bee, as you may note from the following editorial that ap peared In The Be of July 5 on behalf of Mercer, entitled, "An Appeal to Working men:" The worktngmen of Omaha have more al stake In the renomlnatlon of Congressman Mercer than any other clnss of our citi zens. The most essential thing for work tngmen is employment. If Mercer goes back to Washington next winter with hie commission renewed for another term he will be In position to command support for liberal appropriations for all public works now under way or projected In this city and vicinity, lie will be In position to se cure all the funds necessary for complet ing the postofflee building and he will have little difficulty tn securing an Increase from 2fs.0iS to 1500,000 for the Transmlssls slppl exposition. With a renewed commis sion Mercer will be chairman of the com mittee on public buildings and thst means a great deal, not only for worktngmen In Omaha, but for workingmen In every town where a federal building Is to be located. Rallied In by The Bee. Following this editorial came a double leaded appeal Just before the primaries, saying, "Omaha Must. Stand By Omaha:" No man ever can succeed who does not stand up for himself. This Is equally true of cities. No city has ever grown great and prospered that haa lowered Its flag and turned Its back upon Its founders or Its champions. In the contest between Con- ffressman Mercer and his opponents the ssue is squarely presented whether Omaha will etand up for herself or go back on herself. Never before has sny political contest Involved so much fdr the future of Omaha as does the renomlnatlon of Mer cer. Personal likes and dislikes, political factions and petty feuds all sink Into in significance before the one supreme Issue, whether Omaha will deliberately strike a staggering blow at a project that Is most vital to her upbuilding and a revival of business activity by gratifying the ambi tions of men who are notoriously Incapable of being of any use in congress at the most critical time for the Transmlsslsslppl exposition. Every rational man must realise that the rejection of Mercer In the face of the colossal work h ha done for thla city and South Omaha during the last two sessions would be Interpreted at Washington as a declaration that Omaha does not appreciate the favors granted aa a concession to her Indefatigable repre sentative, and therefore is entitled to no further consideration by congress. In behalf of Omaha, for which The Bee has always stood and In which its future Is bound up perpetually, we call upon every citizen who has a vote to cast at the re publican primaries to stand up for Omaha by casting his vote for the Mercer dele gates. We call upon citizens who have no vote to give to exert all their Influence with those who have. We call upon busi ness men and property owners who have everything at stake to devote their time for half a day to the redemption of Omaha from business depression. Mr. Mercer is a poor man. His resources have been drained by a campaign which by rights ought to have been fought for him by Omaha without a penny of expense. It would only be an exhibition of appreciation of this man's service, which no amount of money could have duplicated, that those who have carriages and vehlciea place them at his disposal for the primary elec tion for half a day. Oar Absentee Representntlve. These artloles certainly show that Mr. Mercer was under some obligations to The Be and received a very cordial and vary nergetlo backing through that medium. Nobody can truthfully charge that after Mr. Mercer' first term and up to a recent period he has not bad th earnest and zealous support of The Be with nil ths Influence that It could exert, and that In cludes the last election as well ns the second, third and fourth elections. In 1S98 when he had already served three terms my efforts In his behalf were re newed with th same earnest vigor and hla opponents found to their sorrow that the appeals of Th Be to tb business roan and to tb working man had a vary decided effect, so Mr. Mercer certainly bad no grievance and had no right to have any up to th last time he was elected, and. In fact, up to th present time. After be had served four terma bis con tinuance became a aerlous question. It began to dawn upon the community that Mr. Mercer was what might bs called a visiting statesman. H had absented him self from Omaha from year to year except when he cams up for re-election. For twenty out ot twenty-tour months Mr. Blackburn was ths only medium through whom Mercer could be reached, although during th periodic congressional cam paigns his. constituents were showered with numberless letters and packages of garden seeds. Year by year ths worker became more convinced that he was not In touch with them. They began to com plain, and as I thought justly, thst he never took any Interest except In himself; that campaign after campaign was fought her on county and state tickets, and Mr. Mercer waa never on band; and he further, more, systematically repudiated bis cam paign assessments, and did not contribute even to his own campaign, as every other man occupying such a lucrative poaitlon Is expected to do. Farts Aboat ths Dlaaer. In an arttcls recently published Mr. Blackturn charged that I Invited myself to dinner with Mr. Mercer in tha spring ot 1900, and sought hi asslatanc tn my eenatorlal campaign. Well. I never Invited mysslf to dinner with anyone. I bar al ways been able to pay for my dinner, or go without them. I hav always been able to earn n living without sponging, but I sccepted an Invitation from Mercer to dins with him and apent a pleasant afternoon. I do not comprehend wby he should have retailed the story of my visit to Black burn as a wonderful event, or wby he bould Inslnust I bad called there for the purpose of promoting my political In- west. I atter ashed Mercer to help me la thejwho, U now aecrctary to ScoatoV iimti. senatorial campaign, and he cannot truth fully charge that I ever Invoked bis as sistance In anything except what was In the Interest of Omaha. (Applause.) 1 have time and again, of course. Induced him to Introduce and support certain meas ures, and even succeeded tn getting him to do aome things I knew to be for the promotion of Omaha's growth and pros, perlty and th Interest of the stste. but never have I asked blm to do anything that would be damaging or detrimental to this city or to any of It citizens. That famous dinner amounted to nothing except that an hour or two previous I re ceived a telegram from Omaha announcing that Mr Blackburn had called a very pe culiar endless chain system of Craw ford primary for th congressional nomina tion, tn which all the counties and all the prectneta in the three counties were to be tied together on one string, and the dele gates to be all voted for tn Sarpy, Wash. Ington and Douglas counties on one ticket. It struck me that this would precipitate a factional fight and I was very aoMo". to avoid a factional fight In 1900. I was so anxious to see Nebraska redeemed from populism that I was willing to make any sacrifice. Community of Interests Plan. The only thing thst happened on that memorable occasion was that I asked Mr. Mercer to have Blackburn's call revoked, cr revised, as there wss really no aerlous op position to Mercer. I bad gone Into no compact with anybody to nominate any other man and. In fact, did not encourage anybody to be n candidate, although I then thought that Mr. Mercer with four term had about all that he was entitled to. In fact, that any man with ordinary ambition would have dared to asked for. (Applause). After my return to Omaha we entered into what might be called a "Community of Interest Agreement," In the Interest of party harmony. To show that I was dis posed In favor ot harmony, I made the overtures snd went to ths office of John L. Webster, and there met Mr. Gurley and other friends of Msrcer. After Several con ferences ' ws agreed substantially upon a delegation to the stats convention and upon th member that were to represent this district In th national convention that nominated William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. (Applause.) A few days thereafter Mr. Blackburn called upon ms with a paper, or rather an agreement, to support Mercer at the con gressional convention, and requested me to head It. I signed that paper and my sig nature brought all of my friends into line. John L. Webster joined with me and brought hla friends, and then we made It unanimous. If Mercer had not the man hood to appreciate that aort of treatment he baa not a particle of manhood In him. I feel aure that any other man would have appreciated it. Silver Platter nomination. His nomination did not cost him a penny. Ho had put up a 11. tie scheme, or rather his understudy, to mak every candidate pay $300 to Blackburn, the chairman ot the congressional committee, who carried elf the other members In hi pocket. Whether Mercer was to have paid $300 or not I cannot tell, I cannot guess, but pre sume he would have paid It. Whether the money would have been paid out or refunded la another question. At any rate, he got his nomination without costing him a cent. At that time he had drawn $40,000 from the United Btates government. Just think of It, a man who never earned mora than $75 a month at any honest calling had earned In eight years $40,000 and the per. qulaltea. (Laughter). We went Into the great campaign of 1900. and I went into It In good faith. It Is a matter ot record that th call for the con. ventlon that nominated the delegates to the congressional convention made no mention of the fact that there was to be a con gressman nominated. That defect in the call made the nomination of David H. Mercer worthless. Judge Baker, who was anxious to contest Mercer's nomination, called upon me both before and after Mercer had been nomi nated and said the nomination would amount to nothing. He proposed to go Into the courts and have It set aside and mak Mercer run as a petition nominee. If he wanted to. I remonstrated against such a proceeding and succeeded In persuading Baker to drop It. I did not know until within the last ten daya that the paper to make that contest were all made out by Mr. Baldrlge. He tells me that he had the papers In his handa all prepared to go into court, and Mercer would have been thrown out If they had been filed. It waa only at my Instance that Mr. Mercer was retained as regular nominee on the ticket, and I fought his battle out and kept these people from acting. (Applause). la Good Faith with Mercer. Now, then, Mr. Mercer certainly could not Interpret my conduct as malicious, dis honest, treacherous, or anything of the kind. I was in good faith, and remained In good faith until the snd. Wherever there wss a csmpalgn meeting In this county I advocated Mercer just as much as I advocated the national, state and leg islative tickets. Just befors ths campaign closed there was a meeting ot Oerman- Amerlcans at Turner hall. We sat slds by side there In a great gathering that was assembled In my Interest, and not for Mr. Mercer. I appealed to the Oerman-Amert-cans to support Mr. Mercer, and pledged If elected to the senate to work hand In hand and shoulder to shoulder with our energetic representative tor every measure that would promote the prosperity of Omaha. The great body of the people that was assembled In th hall gsve Mr. Mercer an ovatton, and doubtless many ot them supported him becauss of tha pledge that I mad for blm .and the endorsements that 1 gave blm. But Strang a It may seem, during all that campaign Mercer never went near the republican county commit tee; he never was In touch with it. He refused to pay his campaign assessment, and while tha committee and other who had collected money to carry on th cam paign were paying tor balls, fireworks, brass bands, carriages, posters and other Incidentals to the campaign, hs did not contribute a penny. He did not take the campaign manager Into hi confidence to tell us who his work er were, wher they were located, as any other candidate would hav don without asking, and up to the time of ths election, while I kept him fully Informed of our plans and operations I never could get any information from blm, nor from Mr. Black, burn, who was the chairman of hla con. gresslonal committee. When ths day of elec tion cams I Went down to South Omaha with those terrlbl sampl ballot that Mr. Mercer pretends wer gotten up to assist his opponent. Thoso Terrlbl Sample Ballots. I found men dewn ther. democrats, hired by Mercer, but Mercrr waa the enly candi dal they wer willing to work for. And now a word about those ballot. They were not gotten up surreptitiously; they wer not designed to Impose on anybody) they war headed lndepndnt-democratla sampl ballots, and wer gotten up for that claaa of democrats who wer disposed t vote pert of ths republican ticket. These tickets were strslgbt democratic for presi dent, but soms of them wer msrked for Dietrich, some wtr marked for Mercer, and most of them were marked for the republican candidate for th legislature. Th first batch of these sampl ballots was prlnud blank and wars marked by clerks In ths bureau I bad organized under the national committee, as Mr. Hay ass could testify, that they were msrked with Mercer and marked without Mercer pro. mlsruously, becsuse we Intended they should be used where they could to tho best advantage. There wa nothing Im proper in that. On election day a lot of these ballots were tsken to South Omaha In a bark, occupied by Llewellyn, Collins and myself. They wer exhibited to Trou ten, Srhulz, Wilcox and other South Omaha republicans, and aome were dis tributed. But about $.000 ot these ballots are still In my office in the original pack ages, and will be exhibited In due course of time, to show up tha Impostur by which Mercer has tried to excuse hit treacherous course. When the wolf wanted to awallow the lamb be chraged him with rolling the water, and that Is the way tnes people have done. Within forty-eight hour after the election Mercer and hi henchmen pre tended that they had found proof that t had tried to defeat Mercer, and yet Mercer knew that these ballots were to go into the hands ot democrats only, and could not possibly have deceived any republican voter. In a recent article. In which I also trace Mr. Blackburn, hs said that about 150 votes were lost to Mr. Mercer In South Omaha by these tickets. What an lmpu. dent fake. How could Mercer lose votes through democratic ballots, circulated among democrats? If the republlcana hal voted these tickets be might hav lost some votes, but these tickets were demo cratic sample ballots and he certainly could not have sustaieed any loss among demo crats who voted for Howard. The charge Is almost too absurd to require contra diction. It was ttumped up by Mercer in order tbat he might find aome justification for hla own treachery In trying to defeat the republican legislative ticket and trying to prevent the election of two republican t'nlted States aenators. (Applause.) That was his purpose, and I can prove it by credible witnesses. Mercer's Infonnded Chararea. Now let us examine the situation and the relation of Mr. Mercer to the repub licans of Douglas county, and to the re publicans of the district and state. He was nominated In good faith, and sup ported In good faith, end received the larg est vote he ever received In the district; not the slightest defection anywhere. If I had been disposed to waylay him and help myself; It I had given the tip to the democrats that they could throw him, as they could have done by appealing to the supreme court to rule him off the re publican ticket, and make blm a petition candidate, I could have had all the help I wanted for the republican legislative ticket from the democrats. Through that entire campaign I never approached a man con nected with Edgar Howard, much less Howard himself, and he never dreamed of that not until long after election. (Ap plause.) Mr. Mercer had no ground whatever for complaint and he understood very well his obligation both to the paper that I edit, to myself and to the republicans of thla city, county and district. What were these ob ligations? This is a government ot ma jorities, and when the will of the majority Is expressed it Is to be respected, and any man who seeks to overthrow the expressed will of the majority la a political anarchist. Verdict of the People. It was known to all men that the sena torial contest was squarely between myself and John L. Webster. Every sample ballot at the primary election of 1900 had either my name printed at the head or tbat of John L. Webster. Mr. Mercer was not thought of as a candidate for the Vnlted Btates senate. When that fight was over and ths republlcana ot ths county by a most decisive majority declared In my favor Mr. Webster, be It said to his honor, accepted the situation and abided the re ault. But that waa not all. When the election came the people of thia district and state were given the privilege to express their choice for United Btates senator. Under the constitution of Nebraska every citizen has a right to express that choice on his ballot, when members of the legislature are chosen that are to elect United State aenators. Now, then, the choice of the peo ple war expressed through the ballot box at that election. In thla county alone 1,400 and some odd were credited to me on the official returns, but there were at least 600 or 700 not counted for me. I know that because I was present at the canvass of the votes of this county. In the district nearly 11,000 all told were cast for me. A majority of the republican vote of Washington county wss cast for me, aqd a majority of the republican vote of Sarpy county was cast for me. As a choice for United States senator Mr. Mer cer was not thought of in this district. The official canvass of the state shows that only 15 votes were cast In the whole state of Nebraska for David H. Mercer not one of those waa cast in the counties of Douglas, Sarpy and Washington not ons. (Applause.) Mercer's Inexcnsable Treachery. ' And yet Mercer had the audacity twenty four hours .after the election .to undertake to overthrow the popular will expressed through the ballot box by urging those who had been elected to violate their sacred obligations to their constituents, and to be tray ths trust confided in them by the people who bad elected them. What would be thought ot a man who would approach a presidential elector and ask blm to violate bis Instructions and pledge Implied through the expressed will of the majority at the ballot box? Tou vote for president nearly In the same manner tbat you express a choice for United States senator. You did not vote for Mc Kinley, cr Bryan, you voted tor the presi dential electors, and they were In honor bound to voto for the candidate for presi dent and vice president nominated by their party. In this instance the party did not fLVV v." n 'rAiil. - v.. liwV".F.TX' ' '"I " U.rf"- - :y ....... .r.v'. Oceans of Hair I Long, flowing tresses! Rich and .heavy braids! Beauty, splendor, elegance! Ayer's Hair Vigor makes the hair grow. It always restores color to gray hair, stops falling of the hair, keeps the scalp clean and healthy. I have tried many kinds of hair preparations, but none of them will restore nararai coior o gray pair eqwai to Ajert nominate a candidate for senator, but the people had nominated him. Mercer'a attempt to subvert th will of the people wss. In my judgment at least, ss great a crime against the people aa would bavs been bis attempt to persuade a presidential elector to desert ths candidate of hla party. That was precisely what he did. He did not wait until the members ot the legislsture bad assembled and en deavored to discharge their duty. lis did not wait until those members bsd registered their votes in sccordsnce with the Instruc tions of the people, to that they cculd at least excuse themselves for the betrayal of their trusta. But be approached them and had them approached and worked upon be fors that legialatur ever met and before one senatorial ballot had been cast. Carrlea Tales to Washington. Before starting for Washington hs gave It out cold In Omaha that he bad not de cided to be a candidate, although a very great number of people were urging blm to become a candidate. But when he reached Washington In order to excuse hi own despicable treason to the people ot hla own district he mads out thst I had endeav ored to defeat William McKinley and part of the republican ticket In ray peraonal In terest. But he found little credence at Washington. I sent him a scathing letter, and mailed a copy of It to the speaker of the house and to Senator Hanna. And the spesker wrote this In reply: "I regret that you have so much discord In Nebraska, but I feel sum that sometimes It Is well to use the olive branch snd somsttmet the ham mer." (Laughter.) This la precisely what David B. Henderaon wrote. I did not have to explain to President McKinley tbat I had been loyal to the party. Hs under stood It well enough and at the last inter view I had with him be complimented m highly on my course. Of course. It was all nonaense, because I had already eteppedout and am out for good but he said, "You will get there yet. You made a noble fight out In Nebraska; you carried the state; you ought to have been elected." Tbat la precisely what he said to me. (Applaus.) Now, let m review Mercer's senatorial campaign. He gave It out In Washington that hs was being flooded with letters from members of the legislature asking htm to become a candidate. There le not one soli tary letter ot that kind In existence. When the legislature met he received on lonesome vote, on complimentary day, and that waa given as a joke. The man who voted tor him would not vote for him In joint con vention. A great many acattered on com plimentary day. I am not surs but Judgs Julius Cooley was among those honored. But tn the seventy-two days that the legislature wss In session, voting from day to day, no body voted for David H. Mercer. And yet Mercer claimed at Washington that he waa the choice of a large portion of the legis lature. Mercer's Play for Speakership. To show what little faith can be placed In blm and what little honor be possesses: In the summer of 1899, after Thomas B. Reed bad resigned from congress. It be came apparent that a new speaker would have to be eleoted. A telegram was sent to me by the Chicago Tribune, In about these worda: "Are you In favor of a western man for speaker of the house, and would you favor the election ot Mr. Hop kins of Illinois?" And I responded: "I am In favor ot a western man for speaker, but my preference Is for David B. Hen derson, believing him to be the moat cap able and the most worthy man now sitting In congress representing the i wettern states." (Applause.) That was before Henderaon had an nounced himself. I bad already supported Henderson when Connell was In congress. Wtthln three - days after Henderson an nounced himself, which was a few days later, our Washington correspondent an nounced that Dave Mercer waa going to be a candidate for speaker. The Idea of Mer c for speaker was simply ridiculous. Presently I received a letter from Hender son and he said: "Well, what do you think of MeVcer being a candidate?" I wrote him: "I do not think he means It; I do not think he is serious, but hs simply want to be chairman of his old commit tee." Well, the light went on, and here was Ohio pronouncing for Davs Hender aon, then came Wisconsin, then cam Illinois, and then cam Massachusetts, but Nebraska was still holding bsck. I finally wired down to Burkett: "Where does Nebraska stand?" and Burkett re plied: "I am for Henderson. I am an Iowa man, but I mads an agreement with Mercer not to go to anybody until he comes." In the meantime Mercer was non est. You could get no trace of him. Hs had not been seen In Nebraska for months snd no one knew where to find him. Case of Unexampled Brass. Finally I rscelvsd a telegram from Hen derson laying: "Where does Nebraska stand?", And I wired blm: "Nebraska will stand with Iowa. Nebraska la for Hender son for speaker." I took ths liberty to do that because I did not want Nebraska placed In a false light. Whan Mercer finally turned up I said to him: "I havs taksn the liberty of assuring Hsndsrson thst you were for blm. It would hav been shame ful with Ohio, Pennsylvania and Massachu setts in favor ot Henderaon for Nebraska to bold back. You could not afford to stay out." "Why." said hs, "that Is all non sens. I havs been en th ground floor with Henderson all ot the time. I hav been for Henderson all of the tlms." Mar cer evidently did not auspect that I had in my drawer a letter, received only three days previous. In which Henderson said: "I depend en you to look after Mercer." (Laughter.) I did not say to Mercer you ar a blank falsifier, because that would bavs been dlssgrsesbly truthful. But I thought it disgraceful for a man to prevail- (Continued on Ninth Page.) Mi - r - ' -:- 5sc5353 natr Vigor Mrs. M. J. Maxcuk, Ssmner, Miss. J. C aTEf CsX. tswaft, Baa A BOSTON LADY- Is Alarvelously Restored to Perfect Health Pains's Celery Compound Was Her Deliverer from Nervous Prostration, Insomnia, Mental Depression andjWeakncss of Her Digestive ' Organism. Special Message of Comfort for Sick and Despondent Women. Mrs. F. L. Bernhardt, 382 Newbury St., Boston, Mass, found herself In an extremly perilous condition of bealth after a sur gical operation. Her touching story, writ ten for tha benefit ot other sufferers, Is as follows: "It Is with a feeling ot extreme grati tude and thankfulness and a desire to benefit others, that I write out my expe rience In the une of Trof. Edward E. Phelps' wonderful preparation called Patne't Olery Compound. 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