Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1901-09-18
A BURNING SHAME.

The assassination of President Me.
kinley was a terrible blow TO the
| nation ard we are panied to notice
| that there are some editors in the
country who have SO far forgotten their
calling as 10 try to use this foul crime
as means to advance their political
| ambition. AS soon as w. j. Bryan
heard of the attempt on the Presidents
life he wired words of sympathy to the
RESIDENTS bedside, and later, i'm hts
paper-The COmmoner-came out in a
strong article denouncing the shooting
and showing in his usual forcible way
why there can be no excuse offered by
the assassin. This article gave some
OF the lower type of republican editors
| a chance to again open up their guns on
Mr.. Bryan. They went on to say that
the shooting was inspired by speeches
Mr.. Bryan had made, that the parties
| opposed to republicanism had stirred
up the lawless elements and that to
their work is probably due the present
crisis There are few people who will
pay attention to such rot. and the man
who gives it utterance is a degraded
creature only second to the brutal GRIM.
inal himself. The minute President
Mckinley was shot. the American peo-
pie discarded political controversy. All
are American citizens. He was our pres
ldent. Democrats. Populists, Prohibit
| tlonists and socialists alike joined with
republicans in condemning the crime
and hoping for the Presidents recovery.
The man who fired the shot was one
of those foreign cranks who have a
mania for the blood of famous men.
lie had no special grievance against
President Mckinley as an individual he
simply wanted to kill the President. If
w. j. Bryan had been president at the
| time he would have suffered the same
attack. Aud if it had been Bryan in
stead of Mckinley, we believe that re.
publicans all over this land would have
! Deen just as pronounced in their con-
domination of the crime as they were
when Mckinley fell; they would have
been panied just us much, for they
would have recognized him as their
| president just as people of other politi-
cal faith recognize Mckinley; they
would have become Indignant that aus
SUCH brute as CZo!gosZ lives in this
country. In other words, all would
| have been Americans ready to defend
their president against such foul at
tacks and ready to DO all in their power
TO rid the nation of such wrelches.
And no democratic or Populist paper
would have stopped so low as to have
said that the President was killed BE-
cause of soma republican utterance in
last years campaign.
| In country composed of thinkers
like we have III America, every citizen
Is a sovereign in himself. Every man
has right to think aud act on public
questions as his judgment dictates, but
when it comes to murder or even less
forms of law1eSsness, all good citizens
come out boldly and condemn it and
lend all their might and influence to
punisl tue offender and relieve and as
slst those in afflictIon. The day is here
when men can differ in opinions and
yet defend their opponents against In
jury OF any kind MIR. Bryan is opposed
To political doctrines advanced by Pres
ident Mckinley, yet in this misfortune
he was the Presidents fra defender and
Is today one of Mrs. McKinley's most
sincere symDathizers.
oname on the man or men who dare
10 make this unfortunate event a basis
Tor degraded political warfare. There
Is something wrong with his head. He
IS not even bonoring The president. He
mas no love for mankind. He is a mar.
row bigot and a foe to humanity.