Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1895-05-01

Points Out the Source or Unjust and
Corrupt Legislation.
When man enters congress he must
choose one of two things. If he wishes
% be courted and feted by Washington
society, if he desires the
praise of the plutocratic press,
if he is looking after fat
places for his relations and friends, if
his heart longs for the smiles of aris-
tocracy and the fawn.ng of sycopants,
he has only to be the willing tool of
plutocracy and all these things are
within his grasp. If thus he chooses,
1,s future pathway is strewn with fiow-
ers'sa.d for him there is the purple and
| fine linen of Dives.
On the other hand, if he champions
the cause of the people, and stands up
tor the nations toilers and antagonizes
Shylocks who are enslaving the honest
yeomenry of the country, he will be
called a crank, an agitator and an an
archist
He will be scorned by society, ma
ligned, abused and ridiculed by the
plutocratic press and treated discour-
teously and snubbed by those in power,
and given to understand that he has no
influence with the administration.
This condition confronts every man
who Is chosen to represent the people
and he must become an ally of the
aristocracy Of wealth and desert the
people or stand up for the rights of
nd he Of Nv hn
power. Surrounded by lobbyists and
corruptionists, with unlimited money
to purchase votes, with avenue after
avenue to luxury and ease continually
open to the mental vision, surrounded
| by vice and profligacy, is it to be won
dered at that SO many of our public
men fall victims to the temptation, and
| forget the poor toilers who labor in
the mines and factories, the vineyards
and the fields, and who are looking to
| their leaders with such intense, fearful
suspense? Here lies the great danger.
! This is the very root of the evil, the
source of all our ills.
So long as the trusts and monopolies
hold such unlimited power, just so long
will our legislation become more cor
rupt and vicious. The greedy, unscrup-
ulous grasping, trusts have entered the
halls of congress and they have pol
luted the men whom the people have
trusted, and instead of a government
by the people, it is a government by a
money oligarchy. The capital city OF
our nation is reeking with rotteness;
corruption and bribery stalk hand in
hand with luxury and licentiousness.
The man who sells his vote loses his
honor and becomes the prey of vicious
habits. Once started on the downward
road there is no stopping and he be-
comes the easy tool of the money pow
er. Thus it has come to pass that the
congress of the United States is ever
ready to foster the robber trusts while
the people are starving. We talk OF
reform along certain lines, we hold
monster meetings and petition congress
for the passage of certain laws in the
interest of the people, and we wait and
fondly hope for good wholesome legis-
lation when the very men who are tc
pass the laws have sold themselves tt
the money changers. We must break
the hold which the money power ha:
upon this nation ere we can hope fol
reform. We must scourge the Shylock!
from the capital even as Christ scourget
the money changers from the temple
and we must turn out the unfaithfu
servants, and with them the corrup
tionists, the lobbyists, the rogues an(
prostitutes who make of the great cap
itol building at Washington veritabl,
den of thieves. II we would have thu
stream pure we must purify the heat
waters, so if we would have Just laws
passed in the interest of the men ant
women who have produced the wealth
of this nation, we must work reform
alton among those who gave us tn,
laws.
With an earnest desire to reveal t.
the American people this most shock
ing state of affairs and to show then
the source of the great danger whfcl
menaces us, wrote my book IF Chris
Came to Congress-" The picture
there drawn are no doubt vivid ant
startling, but this is because they ar
true-taken from real life. The pluto
cratic press all over the country i
heaping abuse and vituperation on m
for drawing aside the veil so that tn
voters of this country might look upol
this shocking scene of corruption
shame and debauchery, and 1 have bee
threatened with ostracism by Washing
ton society and expulsion from congres
because of the revelations and expos
ures / have made, but in spite of all thi
l propose to WELD my pen and rails
my voice in behalf of the honest toiler
who have elected me to congress, an
to "cry aloud and spare not unit
every man in the land shall be az
quainted with the true situation an
stirred to action.
Let me conclude with picture of tn
closing scenes of the session of cor
. gress which expired March A. 1t wa
the holy Sabbath day and the churc
bells were ringing merrily over tn
, city. In the capitol champagne fiowe
like water. Committee rooms becam
temporary brothels. Women of ill-r,
pute swarmed the corridors and san
songs in the public restaurants wit
inebriated congressman. 'I have SCI
= enty-five dozen glasses out" said To
, Murry, the disgusted caterer of II
: house restaurant. THAT tells the stor
: of the committee rooms better than ar
e words I could utter"
; In front of the main door is perfe
i cloud of gentlemen interested in le
e islation. Some of the faces are famili;
: and have been seen here for the la
i twenty years. Some are comparative
( new. Thousands and hundreds
: thousands OF dollars are to be We
!, = or lost within the next few hours.
n Around at the other door are mo
: lobbyists and among them are son
o women Backed up against the mart