ublican, the democratic and the socialist parties that they
cannot month in and month out and year in and year out make the kind of
untruthful, of bitter assault that they have made and not expect that
brutal violent natures, or brutal and violent characters, especially
when the brutality is accompanied by a not very strong mind; they
cannot expect that such natures will be unaffected by it.

"Now friends, I am not speaking for myself at all. I give you my word,
I do not care a rap about being shot not a rap. (Applause.)

"I have had a good many experiences in my time and this is one of them.
What I care for is my country. (Applause and cheers.) I wish I were
able to impress upon my people--our people, the duty to feel strongly
but to speak the truth of their opponents. I say now, I have never said
one word against any opponent that I can not--on the stump--that I can
not defend. I have said nothing that I could not substantiate and
nothing that I ought not to have said--nothing that I--nothing that
looking back at I would not say again.

"Now friends, it ought not to be too much to ask that our opponents
(speaking to some one on the stage) I am not sick at all. I am all
right. I can not tell you of what infinitesimal importance I regard
this incident as compared with the great issues at stake in this
campaign and I ask it not for my sake, not the least in the world, but
for the sake of our common country, that they make up their minds to
speak only the truth, and not to use the kind of slander and mendacity
which if taken seriously must incite weak and violent natures to crimes
of violence. (Applause.) Don't you make any mistake. Don't you pity me.
I am all right. I am all right and you can not escape listening to the
speech either. (Laughter and applause.)

"And now, friends, this incident that has just occurred--this effort to
assassinate me, emphasizes to a peculiar degree the need of this
progressive movement. (Applause and cheers.) Friends, every good
citizen ought to do everything in his or her power to prevent the
coming of the day when we shall see in this country two recognized
creeds fighting one another, when we shall see the creed of the
'Havenots' arraigned against the creed of the 'Haves.' When that day
comes then such incidents as this tonight will be commonplace in our
history. When you make poor men--when you permit the conditions to grow
such that the poor man as such will be swayed by his sense of