Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-12-09
sPAsMoDlo VIRTUE.

Sio0o u POOPiC WIZ ouSiuccI IduC
kick against the existing order of local
affairs. The secret movers in these
| spasmOdic efforts at reforming the
town are hardly ever known publicly
mores the shame = because they
manage to generally find some men.
and women too, who are honestly
favorable to different state of public
affairs, to take the matter in hand and
! act as ';agitaiers." These we'll mean
ing people spring openly into the fight,
do their level best to stir up their
neighbors. and 'agitate'' for all that's
out. while the schemers the politicians
who expect TO accomplish some ulterior
purpose, pull the strings and lay low.
Our readers will remember a few
years ago, when E. l.. Hotchkiss was
county attorney, how the wire pullers''
accomplished their ends by setting the
"agitators" to work. Dozens of
prosecutions of joipt-keepers were
made, but few convictions, while many
thousands of dollars in costs were piled
up for the county to pay. The agitators
thought they were doing right, and the
fellows behind the scenes knew that
political capital in THEIR interests
was being made.
Hotc hkiss stepped out and Nimocks
stepped in as county attorney. What
was the result? Why, the wire
pullers saw to it that agitation ceased
the saloons were gwen to understand
that NOW they would not be molested
we've got our county attorney, and
now everything will be alright
There were as many, if not more,
joints running during the Nimocks
regime as during HotchkIss' Germ of
office. But agitation ceased = the
fellows who engineered the kick had
got CONTROL, and everything was love-
ly.
The indications are that the ex
periences of those years of turmoil Will
be repeated, IF the ,schemers can find
enough suckers to do the proper
amount of agitation. Because now.
you know, We have democratic
county attorney-an anti republican.
anti agitator, and man who will not
play the hypocrite or the knave for
political advancement
1t surprises us to see the Beacon of
this city lead out in the furtherance of
the plans of schemers and wire-pullers
referred to. Its editor may be. and
doubtless is. in favor of strict en-
forcement of the prohibitory liquor
law-we have no reason to doubt his
sincerity. The surprising part of bis
editorial course is that he cannot see
he is playing trump card for his
political enemies and most bitter ira
ducers in the past. 1t is still more
surprising that he would have become
SO radical in calling hard names and
branding as 'cringing cowards'' such
men as Mayor Geo. n. Moses, Co. Atty.
g. F. Dlffen bacher, Police Judge w.
M. Gunnell, and the whole mem Der.
ship of the city council, the city attor-
ney, marshal, etc.
In the face of all former experiences
with the attempted enforcement of the
prohibItory liquor law in Great Bend
and Barton cOunty-and in every other
county in the state; in the face of the
fact that our city officers were elected
by majority of the voters of Great
Bend, who certainly knew what would
be the attitude of these men towards
the saloons; in the face of all these
facts we would Ike to know what in
stlgated the following scathing attack
upon our city ADMINISTRATION, which
appeared in the Beacon of last week:
We have four OF live hiskey joints
running plainly advertised, aud open
To the Inspection of everyone who
desires To test them. They are running
in open violation of law, and patronlzed
by the city officials. aud the city
treasury gets $50 month license fee
from each of them. There is probably
no man in the county who is better
posted or the condition and workings
of these evidences of anarchy than our
city marshal, and their true character
is we'll understood by nearly all our
county officials. Now. laying all poll
tics and prejudice aside. we do not
hesitate to say that this is the most
disgraceful illegal and dehasing scheme
of money making practised ny any set
of gamblers and outlaws in the west
Our Mayor, Marshal. Police Judge,
County Attorney. and, in fact. all ou-
officers who took solemn oath to en-.
force and maintain the laws of our
state, are cringing towards. in the
face of this lawiess practice. A man
NAV he democrat republican. populist
A prohihitionist or any party advocate
and vet be able tn see the infamy and