Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1893-03-02
GOVERNOR LEWELLNG.

To one who has been an interested
ard careful witness of political affair:
in Kansas for the past ten or twelve
years, carefully noting the progress and
upbuilding of the republican party, I'M
til in 1888 it gave Ben Harrison The
unprecedented majority of $4,000, and
the general awakening and revulsion oi
feeling which followed in 1890, thai
since has resulted in complete wipine
out Of that majority within the past
three years, cannot help but find many
excuses fer an executive placed as has
been Gov. Lewelling at the head of q
state administration, only to be com.
PEELED to combat an open hostility from
avenaes which should have yielded lin
a loyal support, that have precipitated
the most arrogant political mutlny eve,
witnessed in any commonwealth. The
many thousands who revolted from the
hypocrisy and insincerity of the repub-
lican party and cast aside its principles
as dangerous doctrines, well know that
that organization had entrenched itself
and spread out it's tentacles until they
had covered nearly every organization
and public function in the state. Town
ship boards were looked after, juries
" ere drawn which " ould lean favorably
toward certain species of legislature;
even school boards were not overlooked,
and teacher with other than republi-
can ieanings had a hard row to hoe.
The G. A. r. was manipulated until a
democrat could not with dignity sit in
it's councils; the S. of V. was made a
sort of republican adjunct. The fashion
was extended into churches, through
the preacher politician. and even the
schools were sometimes dism Used that
an opportunity might be had to hear
some great republican plagarist who
taught that the farmer of Kansas ought
to give his labor to help the mechanic
of Pennsylvania. The republican press
was subsidized, and the press franchises
of the state controlled by politicians.
Al, OF these avenues had been thor
Oughly worked, as the $4,000 majority
in 'S8 bears witness, but until the ''late
npleasantness" at Topeka, it was not
known that even the state military Or
CARNATIONS had also been corrupted
and tainted gi'h the filth of republican
politics.
In 1889 there had begun a great
change in public opinion in Kansas, and
the belief became wide spread that the
G. o. p. was such hypocrit and pre-
tender, the friend of the politician in
stead of the common people, that it's
immense majority of two years previous
almost entirely disappeared in the
election of 1890. Two years later it
had entirely vanished, and for the first
time in the history Of the state the en-
tire republican machine was routed.
The entire roster of state officials was
given in charge of new political Or
ganization. The higher branch of the
legislature was overwhelmingly anti
republican, but unfortunately the lower
branch was 80 close that the manipula-
tor saw his opportunity to plunge the
new administration into a fathomless
abyss of difficulties. Through the
gentle manipulations of the state re-
turning board, with their little lottery
swindle, and the assistance of a few
county clerks. they eontrived to manu-
facture majority where one did not in
reality exist.
The formula was very simple. Senti-
ment was against them. They realized
1t before election day.
They put up the biggest fight possi-
BILE.
They had control of the daily news
papers.
They had.the telegraph lines,
The railroads,
The churches,
The G. A. RS,
The s. of VS.,
The militia companies.
In fact, almost every public function
in the commonwealth from the bench
to The military arms of the state.
If they failed, they had a resource in
reserve.
They would make the face of the re-
turns show a victory for one branch of
the law-making power, which would be
sufficient to block all legislation.
1t was desperate game, but they
had to play it that way.
The conrts could not go behind the
returns.
A certificate is as far into an election
ss court can see. All relation to the
voter ceases when the judge takes the
bench.
Backed by these facts, and to proiong
existence as political organization
the manipulation, the servant of the
manufactured q legisla-
ture.
Gov. Lewelling saw fit TO ignore the
acts of the manipulation, the politician
and the corporations, and recognize as
the law-making power those who were
In yxyf, ar6 lon,Jr