The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1900-09-07
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1900.
FOR PRESIDENT
WILLIAM. J. BRYAN
OF NEBRASKA
FOR VICE PRESIDENT
ADLAI E. STEVENSON
OF ILLINOIS
REPUBLICANS
w. AND
CORRUPTION.
do I desire a repe-
tition of the legislat-

REPUBLICANS "DO desire repe
AND tition of the legislat
CORRUPTION. i've scenes of two years
ago?' is the question for every voter to
ask himself. If he was satisfied with
the reign of bribery and dishonesty ex
hibited in the last legislature he will be
satisfied now. If he is one who believes
it is right for the United States senator
ship to be sold to the highest bidder, he
will not want change; if he is satisfied
with the example set before his children
he will not object to a repetition of the
scenes enacted two years ago and will
vote the democratic ticket. On the
other hand, if he is a man who believes
that honesty in politics is desirable; if he
believes that his children should be
taught by precept and example that
bribery and corruption in politics are
wrong and that honesty is not only the
best policy but is inherently right; if he
Legislators but the voters of the state
publican ticket.-Great Falls Leader.
1t would seem that in consideration of
the fact that Clark never could have
been elected United States senator but
for the aid of purchased republican
votes, the Leader and other republican
newspapers of Montana would have the
good sense to refrain from throwing
stones at the democratic legislature.
The Bee is far from asserting that no
democrats were bought, but it is true
that republicans were also bought
and that to the crime of accept
ing bride they added the grossest
political perfidy in supporting demo
crat for United States senator. What
ever may be said of the democratic sup
porters of Clark, they cannot be accused
of betraying their constituents as did
the republicans. Some of them unde-
niably sold themselves to Clark, but they
at least had the technical justification
that Clark claimed to be democrat. If
they were bride takers they were not in
every instance traitors to the voters who
elected them, as were the republican
legislators who took Clark money as the
price of their betrayal of those who
trusted them.
And it is rather astonishing that the
censure of the republican newspapers is
confined wholly to the democratic BRIDE
takers. They seem to have forgotten all
about their own black sheep. Even the
recent republican convention in this
county, whose managers were most
vehement in their denunciation of the
recreant republicans when their crime
was committed, was afraid to tackle the
subject in their resolutions. They had
no hesitation in condemning w. A. Clark
for corrupting the republicans, but they
had no words of censure for the republi-
cans who were willing to be corrupted.
A change has come DER the spirit of
their dreams in the two years they have
had to consider the matter, or else they
believe the percentage of republicans
who have a weakness for $1,000 bills is
too great to offend by criticism on the
eve of an election.
Republican condemnation of demo-
cratic corruption is by far the most by
pocritical feature of Montana politics.
Those who are pretending to depend or
republicans to stand as bulwark against
the success of democratic corruption,
certainly have not the weight of recent
political history as an authority for the
faith that is in them. On the basis of
experience in the last legislature about
seventy per cent of the Montana repub-
licans are willing to vote for demo-
cratic United States senator if the price
is right, while on the basis of experience
in Flathead county, republican senti-
ment in favor of democratic United
States senator is unanimous the price
is right.
In the face of such showing it would
be in good taste for the republicans to
remain silent about democratic corrup-
ton until they have shown disposition
to be rid of the beams in their own eyes.