The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-10-26

eign courts have a reputation all their own. There is
a lack of that acquaintance with minutiae. perhaps
which charaetertzes Representatives OF other countries
but there-is the positive realization OF good common
sense which commands the respect Of foreign Govern
ments. The diplomacy Of this country has been, for
the greater part. open and above board, bearing its
own conviction OF right
Yet there is great need for a better understanding
OF the commercial possibilities Of q well-trained con-
sular service. It is said that the reason OF Germany's
great success in South America IS the fact that the
Consuls OF that country are familiar with the Ian
guages and institutions OF the countries to which they
are the accredited representatives. The American
corps IS more or less deficient. Politicians viii hardly
raise the standard. The private. initiative of large
commercial concerns must supply a want which brok-
cn-down political hacks permit 10 exist.
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GOOD CITIZENSHIP JOINS P~ARTISANSHIP.
The public undoubtedly does realize that TO elect
8 ticket not in sympathy with the Mayors and Circuit
Attorneys Offices would be to impede If not to reverse
the best tendency this city has ever shown. Too
much emphasis cannot be laid upon this proposition.
The Mayors and Circuit Attorneys offices viii de
pend much for their effectiveness upon the officials
whom the coming election viii Install. Antagonism
on the part OF these officials would be detrimental
Close sympathy and active cooperation are positively
demanded.
The Republican machine. when It can leave of
crying SANDER and defamation through It's gang or
gans, IS loud in the clamor for reform. But that the
machine is any more serious in Its protestations than
in ISLANDERS passes belief. Reform does not interest
1t. 1t is the very machine that recently gave st
Louis four years OF the worst misrule ever perpetrated
on a town. The corruption we are busiy unearthing
to-day lived and passed as 4 joke throughout the
Ziegenhein administration. Reform" then. when op-
portunity nestled in the gangster lap. was a thought
tabooed, repudiated- Wherein has the Republican
local machine changed since It went out OF power two
years ago? The same men are in command and It
places the same old kind of men on its tickets.
The ticket to-day is the creature Of that machine.
bearing not only its stamp, but, IN spots, the finger
prints Of Butler. whom the machine appears 10 have
to a silent partnership In many things. The
machine candidates are the men upon whom. II elect
ed, the Mayor and Circuit Attorney must depend for
cooperation, the men upon whom 81. Louis must rely.
need not embrace their personal %qualifca-
tons. Sufficient is It that the ticket bears the faint
of the machine. For the purposes of comparison that
faint alone must determine the tickets inferiority.
Good citizenship VIII follow honest partisanship
right down the Democratic ticket except in the cases
Of Carroll, Cronin and Butler. Partisanship can be
accused Of nothing but good citizenship in electing
Democrats to the particular offices upon which the
Mayor and Circuit Attorney depend for cooperation.
To partisanship the issue might well be left Yet
the considerations which move the election Of Demo
Gratis have a force not confined to party limits. but
appealing to good citizenship irrespective OF any
affiliations, party or personal.
The city's natural and direct tendency toward a
more wholesome life has not conquered the gangs, but
requires to be fostered. Reform has already gone far
and accomplished much, but It has been the work Of
individuals. AS yet the entire municipal government
is not a unit for good. The reform movements future
depends upon public encouragement; the work cannot
rest always with individuals OF however high char
acter and capacity. Remove from the efforts OF Folk
and Wells the prop OF public opinion and St Louis
may as well abandon itseh to the old state of ahairs
Reform is the issue, personifed in the work OF these
men There is no other issue in this campaign. The
duty of citizens is clear. Let st. Louis put itself on
record.