Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-09-22

Their Attempts to Defeat Judge AItseld
by Wholesale Lying-How He III as
Grown Stronger from Day to Day
the ISLANDERS Have Been Refuted.
Judge Altgeld has proved the very
"bullseye" for the shots of the campaign
liar this year, and the ingenuity of this
class of politicians has been taxed to the
utmost in order to provide material on
which the Republican speakers and
orators might feed. First he was an
anarchist, and then a socialist, but both
charges dropped to the ground almost
Immediately of their own weight. As
city attorney, as county attorney, as
judge of the superior court he had
proved himself not only law-abiding
citizen, but firm upholder and enforcer
of the laws.
The next charge made was that he
had written pernicious book. This
charge was a boomerang, for it created
a demand for the book that necessitated
the printing of 100, 600 copies, and when
the public read it they found in it moth
ing to condemn and much to commend.
Republicans never mention the book
now and no quotation from it is ever
seen in Republican paper or ever heard
from the lips of n Republican orator.
He was next charged with being
Ibel or a copperhead, and when it was
shown that he was a soldier in the
Union army the campaign liars tried by
forgery to prove that he never enlisted.
The official record knocked them out,
and they then tried to show that he was
the enemy of the soldier and that he
had written an insulting reply to an in
vitation to speak at a soldiers reunion.
Here they fell down again. for the pub
lished letter contained no insult, and he
did speak at the reunion and spoke well.
His writings. utterances and actions had
always shown him to be the friend of
the soldier and this friendship did not
begin with his candidacy for office.
The next story told was to the effect
that he was building $75,0 900 residence
with convict labor This was stuck to
until it was shown that he was building
no residence. Then the story was APP
piled to the Unity building, of which he
is the principal owner and which was
recently completed. 1t was promptly
shown that in making contracts for the
erection of this building it was expressly
stipulated that only the highest class of
union labor should be employed and
that Judge Altgeld saw personally that
the contract was complied with in spirit
and letter. This, too, before he thought
of being a candidate for governor.
He was next charged with being the
enemy of the public schools, but his po-
sition on this question was so well
known that the campaign liars pulled
their stories back.
His record as judge was the next
object of attack, but it was found to
compare so favorable with that of other
judges that the attack proved harmless.
He has been charged with being
drinking, bruising. plug-ugly, who went
from saloon to saloon with crowd of
loafers in his train and who pandered to
the worst elements in order to gain
votes. His visits to the towns of the
state broke the back of this story, for
the people found him to be quiet, gen.
tlemanly, temperate man, who met
them as one citizen meets another and
who created a favorable impression.
Hundreds more such stories have been
started and have died in their infancy.
They were not strong enough to with
stand the steady currents of facts that
were poured upon them.
This system of attack on candidate
proves his strength and the weakness
and desperation of the opposition.
Judge Altgeld has grown stronger day
by day, and the very falsehoods of his
enemies have made him votes by
strengthening him with the independent
voters and fair-minded Republicans.