Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1897-09-09
h. P. WARDEN
Wants to Know If the Word Demo
cratic" Can Injure Democracy.

To the Senior Editor of The Intelligencer.
| MEXICO, Mo-, Sept. IL do nc
desire newspaper notoriety by an
means and if you will do me tn
favor to publish thes following,
will make it my last for the present
/ In your article appearing in you
daily of Aug. 80, you devote goo
deal of space in commenting upol
me, under the head of ''enemies O
Democracy" You say of course
that you "do not question but tina
Mr.. Warden was actuated by unself
ish motives" etc., when he intro
duced the resolution TO change tn
name of the Bryan Free Silver Clul
so as to include the word Demo
cratic. !" But" you add, IF Mr.
Warden had been specially desirou
of aiding the enemies of his part,
he could not have chosen more ac
ceptable course to them than he dit
on this occasion.
This statement comes from a pref
ty high Democratic authority and
suppose it must be true, but I dom
believe it.
1, as small member'of the Dem
ocratic party, who never failed tt
vote and never scratched a Demo
cratic name from a ticket have 9
right to do my own thinking and ex.
pect to do it.
If l, laboring under the ''misguid.
ance" of secret enemies OF the party,
or "bad association, am such a
numb-skull as to do that which
enemies of the party most de-
sire me to do, I wish to say that
there are other babies also who
favor putting the word Democrat
ic" in the name of the club. CThis
is all I asked or desired) Since Fri
day night such Democrats as P. H.
Cullen, E. FL. Carter, VIM. H. Ken
nan, Sam Craig and others have
told me they favored using the word
Democratic. / would like to know
what secret or open enemies of the
party they have been consulting.
Now, Mr.. Editor, with all due re-
spect to our Populist and Free Silver
Republican brethren, among whom
have some friends that like very
much, am Democrat. have al
ways been interested in the party
success. do sincerely think that
we ought to keep in progress here a
a Democratic club, not until 1900,
but all the time, for the education
of our children, if nothing else,
in the party history which is
woven with the lives of such
men as Thomas Jefferson, An
drew jackson and W. J. Bryan.
We have plenty of good Democrats
to keep alive such an organization
all the time, meeting once a month,
but who wants to be member of a
half breed political club2 A club
that is just mashy and soft enough
to reach out and pull in four or five
political stripes-a club that carries
the brand of no political party !
Does a respectable Republican or
Populist or Democrat want to be-
long to a club that is nullus .tflliaAs--
and that refuses to become legite-
mized?
l wish to ask Mr.. Cook If our club
is Democratic club, strictly9 If
SO, why do you object to inserting
the word "Democratic2"
There are some as good, sound
Democrats in this town as ever
lived who are so loyal to the party
that they have religious scruples on
the subject of being in club that is
not a purely Democratic organiza-
ton, with the word Democratic" at
tached.
Among these parties are such men
as Sam Craig, who got more new
to join our club last sum-
mer than any three other men in it.
There is also Judge VIM. Ell. Ken
nan, upon whose Democracy your
paper has seen fit to make recent
favorable comment, and there are
others. Now then, will you tram
pie on the feelings of such old Dem
ocrats as these in order to pander to
the whim or to make a compromise
with mugwumps2 If they admire
Democracy and its everlasting prin-
ciples, why do they not follow the
example of such great and patri-
otic man as Judge Walter Q. Ores
ham and walk out of the Republican
or other parties into the Democratic
party?
Can the word democratic" hurt
the cause of Democracy Why then
not yield to the wish of few good
Democrats?
Now, my dear sir, l wish to ask
you what you mean by making such
references to me as misguided
friend of Democracy" "yictim Of
misfortune on account of bad asso-
ciates," etc2
My dear boy, you have given
yourself away. / do not kneel at
the feet of you or your political en-
emies to get inspiration or supplies.
I was a Democratic voter before !
came to Mexico. But say, Sam,
what "bad associates" have I been
the victim of? Who have I been
misguided by2"
Well, if you don't care to say,
expect I know, anyhow, who you
mean. 1 also expect some few
others have something of an idea
who you mean.
Cook, now give it to me straight.
You would not have opposed my
resolution to put in the word 'tDem-
ocratic" had you not believed that ]
absorbed the idea from our friends
well, you know-just across the
way.
think you are too good Demo
crat to desire really to smuggle the
name Democrat" for any other
reason.
/ want to state for the benefit of a
few sap-heads who never had a po.
htical or any other existence with.
out worshiping at the feet of some
boss and naturally belong in the Re