Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-11-22
ALL MEN NOT sPoILsMEN.


the defeat Of populism in Barton |
county and III Kansas. His editorial |
columns were last week full of bitter |
wailing and iamentatiOn, and he laid
particular stress upon charges against
the democrats of this county. We
doE't care to lacerate his already ex-
tremeiy raw feeling by lengthy criti-
cism of hds wOeful Iamentation; bat We
do feel called upon to refute some aof
his statements that bear particularly
upon the editor of the DEMOCRAT and
our course through the recent cam
paigR.
At the close of one of his Gambling
lamentations he says:
-'LasJ year, by the action OF the pop
ulIsG convention, the democrats got
three officers. By the action of the
dem0craJ leaders in the first commits
siOner district last year the republicans
got the commissioner, and gave the
county Work TO the republican party for
aJ least three years to come, thus
knocking out both democrats and pop
uiistS. rhe popuiists of this city, the
petition for the DEMOCRAT editor to
get the post office, and as d recompense
he voted his own vote and all his Prox
les against the endorsement of j. f.
Strothman for representative thereby
insuring his defeat"
AS to the democrats getting three
Offices last year, that was what the
populists ought to have expected, as
they were told before they held their
| convention it they expected successful
fusion they should act openly and
/ fairly-name their own candidates for
| the offices they wanted and leave the
democrats to name the democratic
| candidates. But no. the Beacon man
could not have it that way; he would
dldates, and let the democrats come
after and swallow the dose prepared
for them which they did, with saGis
| faction to- themselves but di5satisfac-
tion to the other fellows;aud particular
| y was it hard OH the fellows who cOnsid-
cred the SPOILS OF OFFICE OF more i'm
! portance than the uniting of all ele
ments opposed to republicanism.
That the republicans got the com
missioner in the first commissioner
district fast year, with all of the
attending calamities the Beacon walls
about, was also due to the guinness of
two or three populists-among them
the Beacon editor. That district was
then, always has been and is today d
DEMOCRATIC district; yet the popullsts
would force upon the democrats Mr..
| Langfeld-a good man, but d pOpuiist
for the sole purpose OF securing some
pap for the p0puliSt paper, the Beacon.
| rhe democrats OF the first district
would not take that dose-on top OF the
| oLher-and hence the lamsntaUion of
| the defeated sportsman.
| Now as to the petition for the
DEMoCRAT editor TO get the postoffice. -
Ii is true that the Beacon editor signed
our petition, as did many other popu
| list patrons of the office. AS many
republicans as populisus signed the
petition also, and many more democrats
| than either republicans or populisJs.
| We did not desire anyone to sign a
| petition III order that We might posi-
| Dly be enabled To at some time reward
them for it in any other way than by a
| faithful fufillment of the duties of the
office. Neither did we intend, nor do We
now intend to use the office or our infiu-
ence to get even" with those VINO saw
| fit to aid others IN their endeavOrS to
secure the appointment. Had we been
SO disposed We had every reason to
throw every stumbling block possible
in the way of some of the most prOmi-
nent and influential populist leaders in
the county. For instance, leading pop
ulists were most active in urging Mrs.
MitchelPs appointment. even after
having pledged themselves to our sup
port. The two populist commissioners,
one of whom was Mr.. j. F. Strothman,
joined with the republican commits
sioner in giving Recommendation over
their official signatures to James w.
Clarke, the only real opponent we had
| in the race for the position. And
further, Mr.. Strothman, having been
elected commissioner by democrats,