Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-12-22
JUDGE WEBB AN IDEAL.
WHAT A U. S. SENATOR SHOULD BE.
ludSon Ellsworth of Milwaukee, Pastor of
Plymouth Church, Gives His Opinion
of an Ideal Senator.

Judson Ellsworth, pastor of the
Plymouth church, Milwaukee, deliv-
cred a sermon Sunday evening upon
''Ihe Senatorial Campaign" in which
he portrayed the dangers of the use
OF money. He makes reference to
the last contest in Madison. The
reported use of money in defeating
Gen. Bragg by Senator Mitchell is
still too fresh in the memory of the
people to have it occur again in this
contest This is what he said in
part:
DANGER OF ANOTHER SCANDAL.
''The return Of the time when Wis
consin must say whom she will have
to serve her in the United States sem
ate is a fitting time to think about
this matter of the senatorship a bit.
Both the perils to the dignity and
worth Of the senate of which | have
spoken, seem, to well Informed and
high minded men who have talked
much with me, to seriously threaten
our commonwealth at this time.
There is danger of repetition of the
essential scandals of former occasions
of a former occasion at least when
money played disgraceful role at
madison, and the capitol of our state
was disgraced by scenes of debauchery
of legislators by it, of which old Rome
might we'll be ashamed. | was not
there and rumor is always liable to
botch things in reporting them, but |
suppose there is no doubt that whisky
flowed like water and the headquar-
ters of the successful candidate was a
scene of lavish disbursement of money
for one purpose and another even if
there was no direct bribery and pur-
chase of votes, which / have never
heard any man seriously assert.
''If the danger that the size of the
barrel will determine who our next
senator shall be is not great, and we
avoid this Scylla on the one side of
our course, there is Charybdis on the
other, the even more serious danger
that mere political pull, the power of
the pfacticed politician, the methods
of the boss will fix upon the state
the yoke of an unfortunate choice"
QUALITIES A SENATOR SHOULD HAVE
Mr.. Ellsworth then went into par
ticulars to speak Of the qualities that
Wisconsin should seek for in the
choice of United States senator,
which were in short that he should
have disciplined and we'll balanced
mind, have been a student of history
that he might take advantage of the
experiences of the past; be gifted with
the powers OF expression, the more
eloquently the better; a man of un-
blemished character, of unchallenged
Wholesomeness of life, and lastly he
should be a man of independent Opin
ions and OF Spartan courage in ex-
pressing them on questions concern
ing the nations life and welfare. He
should be no mans man, but Gods
man only. 1t mattered not whether
such a man be rich or poor. Still if
there was choice it were better that
he be poor that he might be above the
suspicion of having used his wealth
as leverage to open the doors of the
senate. A man of moderate means
would be better representative of
the people of this commonwealth than
man of large means; he would be
more in sympathy with the people,
and defend them from the asserted
rights of overgrown money powers.
Such man would be less likely than
the rich man to have his moral nature
vitiated by those processes which the
love of money employs in the accumu-
lation of large fortunes"