Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1893-11-11

once year, they let the people do as
they please and say what they please,
and the place is full of uproar, misrule
and wickedness, and they call it the
devils day." The nearest approxi-
nation to that in this country has been
the first Tuesday in November. The
community ut such times seems to say:
go to, now; let us have good time
ut lying" Prominent candidates for
office are denounced rs unprincipled
and renegade. smart lie will start
in the corner of country newspaper,
and keep on running until it has capt
ured the printing presses of the whole
continent. What garbling of speeches!
What misintepretation of motives!
What Misrepresentation of individual
antecedents! The trouble is that we
have in this country two great manu-
factories-manufact of lies-the
republican mandatory of lies and
the democratic mandatory of lies
and they are run day and
night, and they turn out half n
dozen day all equipped and ready for
full sailing. Large lies and small lies.
Lies private and lies public and lies
prurient. Lies cut bias and lies cnt
diagonal. Long-limbed lies and lies
with double-back action. Lies com
plimentary and lies defamatory. Lies
that some people believe, and lies that
all the people believe, and lies that no
body believes. Lies with humps like
camels and scales like crocodiles and
necks rs long rs storks, and feet as
swift as an antelope's, and stings like
adders. Lies raw and scalloped and
banned and stewed. Crawling lies and
jumping lies and soaring lies Lies
with attachment screws and rufiiers
and braiders and ready-wound bobbins.
Lies by Christian people who never lie
except during elections, and lies by
people who always lie, but beat them
selves in political campaign.
Nothing but Christianity will ever
stop such a flood of indecency. The
Christion religion will speak after
awhile The billingsgate and low
scandal through which we wade almost
every autumn must be rebuked by that
religion which speaks from its two
great mountains. from the one mount
ain intoning the command: Thou
shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbor," and from the other mount
making plea for kindness and love
and blessing rather than cursing.
10, Christian men! frown upon
political falsehood! Remember that a
political lie is as black as any other
kind of lie.
Again, counsel you as Christian
men to set yourselves against the mis-
use of money in political campaigns
OF the thousands of dollars already
spent this autumn how much of the
amount do you suppose has been prop
erly used? You have right to spend
money for the publishing of political
tracts, for the esta blishment of organi-
cations for the carrying out of what
YOU consider to be the best; you have n
right to appeal to the reason OF men
by argument and statistics and facts.
Printing and renting of public halls
and political meetings cost money; but
he who puts bride into the hands of a
voter, or plies weak men with mer-
cenary and corrupt motives, commits a
sin against God and the nation. Bride
ry is one of the most appalling sins Of
this country. God says: Fire shall
consume the tabernacles of bribery"
Again l ask you as Christian men to
set yourselves against the designations
that hover over the ballot-boX. Let
me say that no man can afford to go
| into political life who is not teeto-
taller. Hot political discussion some
how creates an unnatural thirst, and
hundreds of thousands of men have
gone down into drunkenness through
political life. After an exciting can
vass through the evening you must
take something's" and rising in the
morning with less animation than us
ual you must ''talse something" and
going off among your comrades through
the forenoon you meet political friends
and You must take something" and
| in the afternoon you meet
other political friends and you must
take something;" and before night
has come something has taken you.
There are but few cases where men
have been able to stand up against the
dissipation of political life. Joseph
was politician, but he maintained his
integrity, Daniel was politician. but
he was "a teetotaler to the last. Abra-
ham was politician, but he was al
ways characterized as the father of the
faithful. Moses was a politician-the
grandest of them; but he honored God
more than he did the Pharaohs. And
there are hundreds of Christian men
now in the political parties maintain
ing their integrity, even when obliged
to stand amidst the blasted, lecherous
and loathsome crew that sometimes
surround the ballot box; These Chris
tian men doing their political duty and