Mexico weekly ledger., 1896-02-27
A Card From Mr.. Cook,

MEXICO, Mo-, Feb. 26.-In yester-
days issue of the daily LEDGER you
copy an article from the st. Charles
Nears which is intended to create the
impression, where the facts are not
known, that the action of the st.
Charles Democratic County Commit
tee in calling the county convention
to select Congressional delegates for
April 18th was done in my interest
and through my direction.
l am disposed to that Dem
ocratic newspapers in this district r
willing to be fair to all Democrats and
that a misstatement as to any candi-
date is not purposely made.
The News is supporting Hon. G..
Pitman Smith, the ''sound money"
candidate forsthe nomination, while
the Banner, which is for silver coin
age, is favorable to my candidacy.
want to say in correction of the
NeUs' article that l did not have, di-
rectly or indirectly, in any manner
C1y d1ly GtuibihAASutASh NAeh ohy
member of the st. Charles committee
as to the time of holding the county
convention. l was not consulted nor
was l advised by anyone on the COM
mittee or off of it as to what would be
to my interests, nor did | offer a
single suggestion to anyone concern
ing the committees action. | do not,
in fact, know who constitute the COM
mittee further than the chairman, MIR.
s. H.. Wright, and the secretary, Mr..
E. K. Britt, with whom my duties as
State Committeeman brought me in
confidential contact during the cam
paign of 1894. Both of these gentle
men were Mr.. Clark's loyal support
ers in the last campaign and / am ex-
ceedingly glad to know that both are
my warm friends in the present con-
test. 1t is quite likely that l have
other personal friends on the COM
mittee. 1t would be very difficult, in
fact, to pick a committee of represent
alive Democrats in st. Charles coun-
w "ililouS IiSlutahs obhS Va Ay
friends, Dut if any member of the COM
mittee supposed he was doing me a
favor by setting the county conyen-
ton forApril 18th | am wholly ignorant
of the fact. Personally, l would have
greatly preferred a different date SO
that il would not have confiicted with
the Audrain primary, which is called
for thatsday.
The probabilities are that the com
! mittee simply consulted the best in
~terest of the party and provided for
|, the selection of delegates in the regu-
lar and customary way.
This talk of "snap" action on the
|, part of the county committees in both
Audrain and st. Charles, in face of al
the facts, comes with bad grace from
| those who profess to desire party
l success. Audrain simply followed
J long established precedent and st
Charles, we presume, did the same
/ thing.
Pike has uniformly selected hel
carry III VIC CduiPdiSu, ahs
, does SO this year on the same day
> with Audrain and st. Charles. I nave
heard no complaint of ''snap" actor
in Pike.
The rule has been in this district fol
, a quarter of a century and more, fol
the counties to select, in their owl
: way and at their OWN time, the dele
!. gates to the various nominating con
ventions, State and district. AS a Dem
, ocrat who is anxious for party success
1 trust this time-honored rule will no
be interfered with in this perilou
campaign year.
Certainly no Democrat who is &C
quainted with the condition of tn
district could desire a protracted con
test for the nomination. The Repub
> licans will select their candidate O
March oath and begin at once tn
work of organizing the district.
J does seem to me that common-sens
politics dictates that we should settl
our party differences at the earlies
,lpossible date, to the end that tn
fight against the m enemy ma
! be unitedly undertaken.
. g r. Cook.