The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1901-12-27
Missouri Democracy Convicted.


Mr.. Cardwcll said that the lobby
ofJciferson City owned the Demo-
cratic State Central Committee.
The Republic said Mr.. Cardwell
was liar. Mr.. Cardwell sued the
Republic for libel. Dispositions
were taken for the plaintin. The
plaintiff proved his case, proved
that corporations coughed up
money for campaign expenses,
proved that In consideration of
such coughing, members OF the
State Committee lobbicd against
bills In favor OF corporations.
The men who collected the money
for the State Committee and who
lobbied In the interest of the COR
porations were the same. The
Chairman OF the State Committee
was to be called upon to dcposc as
to the facts, when, n mysterious
"Mr. Brown" pops up Mt Kansas
city, pays plaintiff Cardwcll n
sum estimated nt from $1,000 to
$1,000, and Mr.. Cardwcll dismisscs
his suit against the Republic.
That newspaper denies that II au-
thorized any one to settle the suit
for Il. The deduction IL plain
that the money was paid to Mr..
Cardwcll by "Mr. Brown" to save
the party. The action came too
late to save the party. II came
Just In time to convince everyone
that the party was willing to put
up any sum rather than have the
Committee Chairman go upon the
stand and tell the truth. The pay
mcnt to Cardwell was simply n
plea OF guilty to the charge that
the State Committee was the paid
tool Of the corporations all the
time II was pressing n campaign
to reduce corporations to their
normal influence and to keep them
out OF politics. The Committee
boodlcrs simply stood n shake
down from Cardwcll and gave him
what he called "dignificd sum-"
Cardwell blackmnilcd the boodlcrs
because he had them on the hip,
and he made them give up after he
had exposed them to such an ex-
tent that any further exposure was
almost unnecessary. The Doodle
State Committee confessed
through "Mr. Brown" The whole
State, the whole country knows
that the trusted managers Of the
antitrust and anti-monopoly par
ty In Missouri only used their po-
sitions TO make themselves useful
to trusts and monopolics as lobby
lists. The infamous Cardwell not
only made his case, but he made
II by the confessions Of leading
Democrats that he had accused,
and then the leading Democrats
get together and buy OIL Cardwell
30 that no more testimony will be
taken. This method of choking
OIL investigation Is sublimcly dar-
ing. II is the usual Missouri
method, the motto of which is
"keep the facts from the people"
And the Democratic press of the
State will keep as quiet as Card
well since he received his "digni-
fed sum-" And then the self
convicted leaders, speaking of the
effect OF the whole Cardwell affair,
say "Pshaw, 1t will only bring the
Democrats out OF the woods on
election day to roll up bigger
majority than ever" Was ever
such contemptuous cynicism
heard before, even from Ingals or
Mark Hanna? The people OF
Missouri will rally around the men
who sold them out md held up
the corporations! The people will
turn out stronger than ever to ap-
prove of the crooks in charge of
the party organization! The peo-
pie in the woods are going to show
they are pround OF their lead
ers being shown up as boodlers
and lobbyists! Would any other
people outside Pennsylvania,
stand such an imputationp The
crooked party-leaders sncer in the
faces Of honest men and openly
glory In the shame that they act
ually had to pay blackmail to sup
press the truth. The party lead
ers count on Democrats of Missou-
ri caring more for the word De-