Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1882-10-07
THE CANDIDACY OF COL. JOHN T
CRISP.

The expected seQu6l OF inc loPoo,
licau congressional convention which
met at independence, last week, IS
now before the people of the Filth
Missouri district iu the announce
ment of Col. John T. Crisp az q can
dldate.
We print his card to the people on
the outside of this issue. az . matter
of news, and as the most powerful
plea that we are likely to see during
the canvass why Mr.. Alexander
Graves should be elected to congress-.
We propose, 30 far as in US lies. to
to make a fair, square. clean fight o
our candidate, and to conduct IL
without dIrt-linging, personal denun-
citation or v~ituperation. We do not
believe in q personal canvass, and.
therefore, we can see no excuse for
Col. Crisp's candidacy, since he does
not even pretend in his announce
ment that there is anything else in it.
What do the people cart for the sore
shins of John Doe, or the sore head
of Peter Roe? What interest can
they have in a campaign of grievan-
ces? None.
Col. Crisp revives some ancient
history in politics to prove that he
was wronged in the eighth district.
composed of Jackson, Cass, Platte
aud Clay counties. because when
nominated the democrats refused to
support him. aud he now proposes to
remedy this wrong by antagonizing
the election of q regularly and fairly
nominated candidate put forward by
the people OF jackson. johnson aud
Lafayette, two of the counties named
having had. no more to do with his
reverses than had the man in the
moon.
When Col. CRISP made his canvass
before, his resonant war cry was,
death 10 boilers |" The reverbera-
tions Of his stentorisn tones lnger so
distinctly il the ears Of the true demo-
Gratis of Jackson county who followed
him that, much as they regret it.
they will be forced to immediate him
upon the altar of his own rearing.
"Death to boilers ~ now means,
death TO John T. Crisp.
Whatever .'lies" have been coined to
compass his downfall have not been
minted by the friends of Alexander
Graves ; aud We will be pardoned if
we fail to see any logic in the demand
that the democrats Of johnson and
Lafayette counties shall vote Tor
Col. Crisp because at q certain time
a number of democrats Of jackson
county accused him Of being q thief,
aud would. therefore, not vote for
him.
In this connection he says sit Is
an issue forced by them !; it is All
issue from which l have sErunk, but
one l am forced to meet. I an not
willing That my children should grow
to womanhood and manhood with
the brand on their forehead that their
father was defeated as a candidate
for congress because he was Q thief
until the people in their sovereign
capacity have said they deserve it"
From which We are to infer, we sup
pose, that il the democrats Of the
Fifth congressional district refuse to
throw their candidate overheard and
vote for Col. Crisp, that they will
thereby say that he deserves the sp-
pellation of sthief." We arc not 50
hard upon Col. Crisp as that. We
do not believe that their votes for
Graves will mean any such thing ;
and we think the statement that the
character of his wife and children are
at stake in q political canvass at all,
and especially in a canvass where not
a word Of detraction has been spoken
even against the husband aud father,
is a weak and puerile bid for sympa-
thy which is unworthy of q manly
man.
Col. Crisp's argument is redNctiO
adj absurdum. Read between the lines
it simply means that he wants to 90
to congress, and that he would rather
go by the aid of republican votes, by
defeating a regularly and fairly NOM
mated candidate of the democratic
party, than not TO 60 at all. 1t is the
old story of the flesh pots. The colo
nel's spirit favors democracy. but his
flesh is weak when the Greeks bear
gifts.
Democrats. nc matter how friendly |
they may be to him. will certainly
want 10 know:what pledges he has
made to the republican leaders. Van
Horn aud Warner, to secure their sup
port. They will. whether rightly or
wrongly. smell a bargain in the air. |
They will ask. "In organizing the next
house. should you be elected. with
whom will you vote, the democrats
who generally voted against you, or the
republicans who generally voted for
you 2"
A man with a grievance Is not Or
dinarily q very attractive being. Col.
Crisp announces himself in big letters
as having a grievance. aud he, either
through that discretion which is the
better part of valor, or because he
has nothing else to offer. does not
tell US that he has any democracy
left, or any republication recently
assumed. Under these circumstances
independent republicans will hardly
vote for him, and sincere democrats
cannot.
The democratic ''machine" which
he erstwhile lauted he o condemns,
since it placed Graves at the head of
I, it's ticket, but he nowhere fluids time
to reprove the republican machine
which with much less representative
backing abandoned lite principles 10
cast its influence aud weight in his
I favor.
Altogether We find the opposition
candidates pronunciamento 80 thin
(, Cruel that If he feeds on no better
| diet till the end Of the campaign his
fair proportions will become so at.
tenuated that instead of the figure
ola Falstaf we shall have III him