Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1901-10-31
Communicated
To the Voters of Butler County.

dates who are not only pledged TO re
form, but whose actions while occupy
ing public Office give proof of their sin
cerity.
If any proof or argument is needed TO
justify the birth OF this party then we
refer You to the reckless expenditures
and corrupt actions of the last Legisla-
ture of Pennsylvania, which was aided
and backed and defended by the state
administration, the chief of whom, was
the minority Governor of the state.
The voters on last November. 1900
chose a majority of legislators pledged
against the return of NJ. S. Quay TO the
L. S. Senate, bat the horde of lobby
| bribers, under division chiefs arrived
in Harrisburg with the opening of the
session, and the wishes OF the majority
of the voters of the state. as it had been
expressed as the polls were thwarted,
and after the first round of the carnival
of bribery. ended, Quay got a certificate
to again sit in the e. s. Senate and thus
new premium was put on bribery and
crooked methods.
Notwithstanding their high-priced
success in their first round the Organic
ed Bosses and political crooks proceeded
to tackle every Clergyman and layman
| during the session that did not travel
with them, and the pen of McCauley
or the voice of a Demosthenes would
fail if charged with n description of
their acts, committed under color of
law and their solemn oaths.
| This Legislature was so indefensibly
corrupt that mention of some names
makes those of Tweed and Bardslay
sound sainted and sanctified. Let the
| fame of Lincoln, Grant, Garfield Ar
| thur, Hays Harrison and Mckinley
shine on this so called Republican Leg
| islature and they would vanish and flee
| from its blackness like wills-o-the- wisp
| Yet the recent State Convention, owned
and directed by Quay and his Bosses,
who had stifed ballot reform, which
they pledged the people on the stum0
prior to election. endorsed the actions of
| this Legislature and proceeded to nomi
nate Mr.. Telephone Potter for Supreme
| Judge and Mr.. Quay Stone Ripper Har
| ris for State Treasurer, and pledged
them when they accepted nomination
| upon said platform to endorse what Re
publicans like Postmaster General
Smith, ex-Postmaster General John
Wanamaker, Samuel NJ Clemment,
District Attorney Rothermal, Senator
David Martin and q. S Revenue Collec-
tor McClain, all of Philadelphia, ex-
Gov Hastings, ex-Att'y Gen. McCor-
mick, ex-Congressman Chas. w. Stone,
Hon John Dalzell, George w Merrick,
ex-Lieut. Gov. Watres and the present.
Lieut. Gov. Goblin (who until recently
trained with the Quay-Stone organiza-
ton, but who now denounces their reck-
less corruption and utter disregard of
the interests of the people, denounce, as
do all the public men that have been
mentioned.
Moreover ministers of the Gospel all
over the state, who are not politicians
or Office seekers, several hundred of
them in the city of Philadelphia have
recently held public meeting 10 discuss
the peoples cause and they have de-
nounced the reckless and corrupt city
government of Philadelphia, as well as
that of the entire state.
This mention of the names of distin-
guished citizens of Pennsylvania. who
either now, or in the recent past. have
been Office holders, is here made because
they have in their public duties been
brought in personal contact with the
reckless and corrupt action of the state
machine, that seeks to muzzle and sup
press self-respecting freemen. Added
to these there are many thousand hon
est voters in the state, laymen. business,
and professional who know the truth of
these statements. These facts. as to
our state affairs and the methods used,
are to large degree applicable to con-
ditions in Butler County at the present
time, which plainly became manifest in
the Republican primaries of 1900 and
1901, when factional machine tickets
were printed and distributed, contain
ing only the names of certain candidates
selected by political clique who thus
assumed by their dark-lantern methods
to deceive mislead, and GULL the fair
minded, but unsuspecting voter, into
casting a vote for their candidates.
The employment of these methods in
the 1900 primary campaign by the ring
henchmen only succeeded by less than
100 votes in the County, and this is proof
ON its face, if the vote at that primary
had been uninfuenced by the printed
tickets and rosy promises of the gang
we would have had members at Harris
burg who would not have supported and
voted for Ripper Bills. needless new
offices, outrageous Traction and Rail
road Steals, four million dollars of the
taxpayers money to expend on the
Capitol Building, and tolerated falsified
Journals and padded Pay Rolls, and
numerous other doings and votes, not in
the interest of the people, of which
space here forbids our mention.
The Republican primary was held. the
present year. the first day of last June
and all candidates for Office at that time
announced their names in the columns
of the Party Newspapers of the county
and started in to make their personal
canvass on their merits before the
people; and if the canvass had been al
lowed to proceed to nomination day on
this line, doubtless, the ticket would
have been differently constituted. But
sometime prior to nomination day it be-
came apparent that a clique of persons,
known as the new county Bosses
by common purpose and agreement,
entered into canvass and used the Re-
publican organization solely in the in
terest of candidates of their own selec-
ton. In pursuance of this purpose they
made canvass of the County, mostly
by twos, in good carriages and took
with them good supply of the printed
factional tickets. that have been men
toned, and which they distributed to
certain of their borough and township
heelers. 1t may be said that many of
these claquers were BUSINESS MEN and
many of them were like the Indian,
they loved Ito BARTER and TRADE a
bit, with well-dressed dude acting as
PAYMASTER and accompanied by mem
bers of the legislature who showed their
interest in the scheme by leaving their
JOBS at Harrisburg to visit voters at
their rural homes If they did not see
the persons wanted in that way, word
was sent by some courier to them to
visit Butler; when they arrived here
their hands were eagerly grasped by
usually indifferent aristocrats, either on
the streets or in the office, and future
political plans unfolded, (Which perhaps
embraced them,) and they naturally
saw only the mighty ropes and pulleys
of the organization machine which was
well bushed and boxed with GOLD to
prevent any friction, and so the ma
chine ran at high pressure until the
polls closed, the eve of June first, when
it stopped for want of power and stood
still until the UNION PARTY ticket
caused it to fall out of balance, and
nothing but new bushing and high-pres-
sure running will stand any chance of
beating the time of the UNION PARTY
ticket
But the mendacious commercial en-
ployes of the state machine here have
got sealed orders to raise their cry of
| REGULARITY, as they did last year
Notwithstanding that after they were
squarely defeated last November in the
state, they fused with recreant Demo
| Gratis and some Judases, elected to the
| legislature as Anti-Quay Republicans,
and thus purchased their high-priced