Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1899-04-06
any one Of these in men who have

any one Of these In men who have
been promoted by their constituents
to places of honor and trust. They
owe 1t to themselves, to their con-
stituents and to the State to abstain
from all such immoralities and to lead
such lives Of purity that will not only
be an honor to our state, but an ex-
ample and Inspiration to our young
men. The public officer who visits
the saloon, the house of ill-fame, and
indulges In profanity is disgrace to
the State and ought to be speedily
reIegated to the walks Of private life.
l was panied recently to zee 10 my
town paper a highly eulogistic notice
OF one Of our most gifted State SEN
ators, in which was emphasized eome
of his best traits by bic own profanity.
Shame upon the man occupying such
place of honor who can 80 far forget
the proprieties and deoency OF his
position as to indulge in such an inex-
cusable and disgusting practice. God
speed the day when no county, state
or United States officer can be re-
turned to his position by the suffrages
of bis constituents who degrades him
self and dlsgraces his state by indul-
gence in these gross immoralities.
CLEAN JOURNALISM.
In moulding public sentiment and
toning up the high character of our
imperial state perhaps no class occu-
py more responsible position than
our newspaper men. The difference
between them and the public officials
to whom | have referred is that the
former occupy their position and
WELD their influence from a more
independent standpoint. They are
not dependent upon the suffrages of
their fellow-citizens for their place
of power and influence; and yet, as
the servants of public sentiment, as
well as the creators of public senti-
ment, they are perhaps, after all,
as dependent as the official politician.
As factors in moulding public senti-
ment and guaging the character of
our state our newspaper men occupy
no subordinate position. No one in
fluence is fraught with greater pow
er for good or evil than the press OF
our state, and in estimating the
needs of Missouri / would place sec
ond to no other the importance OF
clean journalism, There is no more
influential index of the character OF
a state than the newspapers of that
state. They are the barometers that
readily indicate the moral sentiment
of a majority of hepeople who pat
ronize them. An impure press can
not long exist unless behind it is an
impure constituency. A clean paper
can exist in spite of impure readers
until it has time TO educate the pat
rons up to its own moral status and
thus create sentiment that will up
hold it in its high moral course. All
honor to those newspapers which
are working this reform and trans
forming low and base public senti-
ment into one of high and pure
moral character. Such newspaper
men are the benefactors of their
race and deserve the gratitude OF
all good men. A clean political
newspapers is not an impossibility
or misnomer, as has been demon.
strated in few conspicuous cases in
our own state.
A few clean, courageous papers
scattered over the state will dc
more to give us high standing and
character abroad than any other
influence that could be named.
An impure, vicious newspaper
should not be tolerated in any COM
munity. Its polluting and poisonous
presence should be shut out from
every home. The argument that
public appetite demands the details
Of crime and impurity that fills its
pages should not save it from the
just denunciations of decent people,
and from being debarred from all
virtuous families.
The ban of purified public sen
timent and the simple remedy Of
Withholding patronage will soon
have the effect of toning up these
vile sheets or RELOCATING them to
the shades of the moles and bats
and hopeless bankruptcy.
My appeal for Missouri is for pur.
ified politics through the pure lives
Of our public men aud clean journal
ism on the part of the political press.