The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1870-06-10
BACK BONE.

''What viii the poor Clarke organs do il it
anythingP Is there anything else but Kali
loch,' 'Kalloch,' that they can say in answer
to the various charges against their great
ehief?'-EmporiG Netcs.
Snow, kind reader, whose kick would you
think that was? That is the kick of Jacob
Stotler, in the Emperia Net1s of the Sd inst.
1t is the surest evidence that the object of IL is
endurance; for Jacob never had backbone
enough in him to kick at any object till it was
dead."-Ldterence Tribune. u
Back bone! That's cool, coming from
such dirty-faced, sniveling thief as
John Speer. John, you know how you
came to us and whined and begged few
weeks ago to be let alone, and how we
have had mercy on you and let you of
as easy as possible, not even copying
many of the just but severe criticisms:
from the press which we thought you
richly deserved. And that's the way
we get our pay is it? One day you ac-
cuse usof running with Kalloch, and
the next day of 'fgoing back" on him.
Now, what is your object in keeping up
this howl about other men? Nothing
in the world but to divert the public at
tention from your own villainies and
those of the man or men to whom you
belong s'body, soul and breeches." That
is your sole object. Speer is the last
man that ought to talk about the lack of
back bone in others. He never had the
independence to be man. He has al
ways been the meanest of servile tools
for the ''ring" at Washington that dis
penses patronage. He knows this. The
people know it. AT present he is owned
just as much as any slave was ever
| owned at the South. He does not dare
to cut lose from the patronage ring.
They would send him where the dogs
could not bite him if he did. He
has never even had the decency and
manly independence to criticise the dis
graceful acts of our Washington Off
Gals.
He now owes the Government $780,
600 of stolen money. He signed OF
procured the signing of false papers to
cover mp his thefts, and when called
upon to disgorge, he has dangIed the
dry bones of his murdered sons before
the public, told a vulgar anecdote or at.
tackled other men who have always
treated him well, in order to blind the
eyes of people to his viliainies and
those whose abject tool he is. SpeeI
has had the back bone to wear the col
lar of every man who cared to own
him. We have had the back bone never
to belong to any ring" We have had
the back bone to say ''no" to every prop
osition to wear any Senator's or Rep
resentative's collar. We have had the
back bone to keep out of all the steals
and gobbles. We have had the back
bone never to swindle the government
and to say what we pleased about pub
lie officials. Speer has had the back
bone TO defend them in all their crimes
because he had not the back bone to say
ought against them. We have had the
back bone always .'to do unto
others as we would have them. do
unto u.s. 1t is a characteristic OF
many men who have special
| weakness, to accuse all Others OF
having it and of thinking of all faults
that one for which they are most noted
| is the farthest from them. This is the
case with Speer in this back bone bust
ness. We know several others who are
the merest weather-cocks in politics who
accuse everybody else of being chang
able. We have nearly always had the
good fortune to be on the losing side in
Kansas politics. The men to whom we
allude, including the editor of the
Tribune, have always trimmed their
sails so as to be with the big side
Speer's politics is Office and money
Ours is principle. That's the difference
in our spinal columns. +.