The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1894-08-11
THE MISSOURI SENATOR'S.

THE MISSOURI SENATORS.
A number of our exchanges, who
have leaned to the mOnometallistic
policy OF President Cleveland, have
taken occasion, since the presidents
tariff letter, to abuse and malign the
Missouri senator's. We suspect that if
the truth were told there is more at the
bottom of this abuse thar mere love for
the president.
That was an ableIletter on the tariff
question, and one that contained dem
ocratic principles, but it does not
furnish any ground for an attack upon
Vest and Cockrell. President Cleve-
land is q great tariff reformer, but no
better than the two distinguished
M~issourians.
When the president was a private
citizen in the state of New York, Vest
and Cockrell were making a name and
fame for Missouri in the United States
Senate.
When the chief executive was a cor
poration lawyer, Vest and his colleague
were working night and day for the
welfare of the people.
When Mr.. Cleveland was pleading
at the bar, Vest and Cockrell were
fighting for tariff reform in the
senate.
The tariff reform wave started in the
Mississippi valley, and was pushed into
Cleveland's territory by such men as
the Missouri senator's.
Tariff reform is an issue that was
born and nourished in the west and
south, and protected and fostered by
western and southern statesmen.
From the beginning Of their political
careers, the Missouri senators have
fought for the great principle. They
have devoted their time and talent to
it, and now because one of them has
taken occasion to make an attack upon
the president, about q dozen ''cuckoo"
organs jump up and say ''depose them
BOTH"
While it might have been as well for
Senator Vest TO have overlooked the
presidents letter, there are two sides
to the situation.
Both of the senators have time and
again been repudiated by the president.
In all of his actions he has overlooked
their wishes, and in asking counsel he
has invariably gone to their known
enemies, and, as in the case Of patron
age, has acted upon the advice of their
personal and political opponents. But
Notwithstanding this humiliation; not
outstanding the fact that the great
daily papers Of the state and the
bankers and capitalists were daily
impugning the motives Of u senators,
they renamed true to their constituents
and stood like q rock to the pledges
made to the people. They worked
like Trojans for bi-metallism, and even
In the face Of defeat, proclaimed their
adherence to the doctrine of Jefferson.
Missouri will not forget that, in the
great struggle for honest money, her
senators turned their ears to her, and
not to the east and Great Britain.
Herein lies the secret Of the fight
that is now being waged against them.
The administration organs, which have
been nurtured by patronage, think
they see q chance to d~epreciate the
love Missouri has for Vest and Cock
reIl. However, Missouri does not
judge of the loyalty of democrats by
the allegiance they pay any man. We
object to having democracy tested by
the standard of any one mans convlc-
tions. In other words, because Vest
and Cockrell don't move at the COM
mand of the president, we object to
having their motives impugned or their
democracy questioned.
Those administration organs cannot
s~ubstantiate a charge of d~isloyalty to
Missouri against Vest or Cockrell.
They cannot produce a scintilla OF
evidence to show that these statesmen
ever betrayed the people or broke q
pledge.
Missouri's senators are as true tariff
reformers as Grover Cleveland is. They
are just as good democrats as were
ever sent to Washington, and they are
as faithful and as true to their constit.
uents as men could be.
Mr.. Vest has worked faithfully for q
good tariff bill, and has never yet, in
public OF private, intimated that he oil
his people were satisfied with the
senate bill. He has never adopted il
as his own, o added his endorsement
10 1t. He has worked for the best bill
he could get, and, in turning over the
bill to the senate, gave it IS q compro'
mise and not as true tariff reform.
We suspect that u secret of the
attack Is q boom for other politicians
but until Vest and Cockrell do some
thing more than disagree with thu
president, Missouri will stand by then
and reward them. They have dom
much to place Missouri high up in thu
category of great states. They hav'
done much for the party, both in thu
state and nation, and no great question
has been settled in national legislativ,
halls, since the beginning of thei
stewardship, in which they have no
figured to the credit aud glory of TIN
] commonwealth.
A WORD TO THE COMMITTEE.