Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-11-13
THE TREAOHERY OF THE TIMEs

Times in the recent congressional con-
test in this district is a subject of COM
ment from one border of the state to
the other; and no wonder-it was as
stupid as it was unjustifable. Even
the Kansas City Journal, bitter, unre-
lenting partisan that it is, and willing
to use any earthly instrument at hand
to accomplish its purpose, laughs at
the Times o that it is through with
it, and ridicules its hypocritical at
tempt to place it's opposition upon false
grounds.
The 9 for its treachery are not
far to seek. DR.. Morrison Munford,
the proprietor of the paper, desired
himself to enter the halls of congress
as the accredited representative of the
people of the Fifth congressional dis
trict. That was a laudable ambition
for which no one could blame him but
there were grave reasons why his am.
bition could not be gratified by the
democratic electors of the district. His
only claim upon the party was through
his newspaper; and no n is more
ready than the writer to accord the
great claims which a faithful newspa.
per has upon the party which it defends
and upholds; but the Times had been
engaged in so many family quarrels that
it was alleged the doctor could not pos
sibly carry the strength of the demo-
cratic party in Kansas City.In a district
so closely contested as this, it was ne
cessary to have as the standard bearer
of the party one who could hold his
own upon the hastings with any and
all corners. DR.. Munford, it is notori-
Gus, is not a public speaker, and in his
race for congress, as upon the floor OF
the house, he would have been forced
to depend upon other agencies than
oratory to accomplish anything.
The congressional convention came.
DR.. Muntord, absent in California, de-
pended upon his friends to secure for
him the nomination. The contest was
made by his most confidential intimates
and agents. Without his consent it
would never have been pressed. A
consultation with the delegates showed
his nomination to be impossible. With
singular unanimity the members of the
convention, actuated by but one pur-
pose, the welfare of the democratic
party in the healing of the troubles of
the district by the selection of the
truest and the ablest man that had not
been a party to them, turned to Hon.
John F. Philips. He was q worthy
champion-a clean, upright, honora-
BILE Christian gentleman "a lawyer who
had attained to the supreme bench a
patriot who in the dark days Of re-
construction made a canvass of a con-
g~ressional district of the state against
the tyranny of the Drake constitution;
a tired and loyal democrat; n who
never shirked a fight for democracy,
who never scratched q ticket or made
terms with the enemies of his party ;
and, withal, an orator from whose lips
there have fallen q thousand pleas for
democracy enriched with the warmth
and earnestness OF the rarest eloquence.
He was such a candidate as good men
everywhere could rally around, and for
whom a loyal newspaper could well
have made such appeals as are seldom
read. But the Times sulked. At first
the excuse was, that the nominees ON
the county ticket were its enemies;
distasteful to it; and had been instru-
mental by Misrepresentation in defeat
ing its editor for congress; then it was
alleged that Judge Philips had written
DR.. Munford a threatening letter, when
as a m~atter-of-fact that gentleman had
in the interest of the party made every
overture to the Times that politeness
demanded and that honor permitted.
Then came a statement that in a letter
TO a common friend Judge Philips had
said that the course of the Times would
be regretted by DR.. Munford, that i
the event of his election the doctors
influence with the party would be lost,
and if he were defeated the wreck of
the party would be attributed to the
lukewarmness of the Times, or words
| to that effect, construed as a threat.
In the mean time DR.. Munford had
written a note to Judge Philips in
which he promised to give him the
support of his paper, but it came.
Every day silence for the democratic
candidate his meetings ignored or dis
missed with three or four lines; no ad-
vocacy; the editorial columns dumb;
no defense against false and calumnious
charges. AT last, as the election ap-
preached, evidence of support to the
republican candidate. On the day be-
fore the election erroneous statements
regarding the betting in the pool rooms,
calculated to deceive and discourage
the friends of Judge Philips. The
election over, when democrats felt out
ragged and robbed by fraudulent ballots
| aud there was talk of an effort to find
out the real verdict of the people, the
Times insulted every honest democrat
ic voter in the district by falsely alleg-
ing that if a contest was made it would
be to ave Mr.. Corrigan's bets rather
than to vindicate the truth, thus en-
deavoring to couple the honorable can
didate of the party with dishonorable
purposes and methods. Not satisfied
with pursuing him as far as it dared to
do during the canvass it has since its
| close ~eEdeavored to embroil him with
the county ticket and with the many
true democrats who helped him at the
polls who bet their money on his sue
cess.
We say nothing of the charge that
the paper vas suborned to treachery
by so many dollars and cents; nor of
the allegation that its curse was
prompted by the fear that it would in
the event OF a democratic congressman
being elected lose the control of the
federal patronage in the district. 1t is
unnecessary and we know nothing as