The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1902-11-29
Bull Bsiaag outdOne.

The people Of Kansas City whs
respect morality and have at hear
nd name OF their city hay,
haef, aall torn up" over the action o.
the convention hall managers il
arranging to cap the climax OF thI
disreputable means hitherto employed
to relieve their debts, by exhibiting
a bull fight on a day set apart fol
Datioaal thanksgiving to God. Bull
Oaitiue IS cruel aud is not to be
palliated by comparison with some
other forms OF savagery which are
looked upon with less dlsfavor. With,
out meaning to ~depreciate in the
least the moral obliqnity Of the
Spanish sport, it must be admitted
that for demoniacal cruelty, in which
the delight OF the spectators is as
culpable as the newspaper toreadors,
the action Of the press and the public
toward w. J, Bsily, governor-elect Of
Kansas, presents a spectacle Of bar
barrie amusement unparalleled in the
history Of the country.
A bachelor Of forty-years, Mr..
Bailey in an evil hour lightly prom
Used that, If elected, be would before
Inauguration lind a wife to be mis-
tress Of the new governors mansion.
When was a candidate ever held to a
campaign promise before9 Yet every
man and woman in the land has an eye
on Mr. Bailey, and every newspaper
has a reporter DIGGING his steps.
Think Of the torture and anguish Of
soul a man must feel condemned to
marry before a certain Interchangeable
date without ever having felt any Of
the promptlngs Of choice and with no
cue to guide him in the performance
of and obligation fearfully and dread
fully u%nspecifc In one important
particular. All there's the rub. A
man condemned to be hanged feels no
such torturlng suspense. The judg-
ment OF the court covers every point;
be is to be hanged "by the neck
"until he IS dead, " on such and such
a day, at such and such an hour, by
the sheriff Of the county, etc. The
very fixedness OF detail gives him
rest. Not so in Mr. Bailey's case
He must perform a specific act, on or
before a specific date, but the object
of the act is indefinite and leaves him
like a drowning mar clutching at a
willow branch.
There are several clubs in this
country designed for the torture Of
public men, who are invited to their
banqugtS with the understanding
that they will be called upon to speak
upon some subject not to be an
nounced until the orator is upon his
feet. Cold sweat rolls down the
faces Of the most practiced orators
condemned to speak upon these con-
dltiOBs. But how insignificant their
torture to the agony Of soul Of a
man condemned to be married to
some underlined parsonage, without
prepense and aforethought, on or
before a fixed date, for better or for
worse. for richer or for poorer, aud
until death parts
Mr.. Bailey is no longer an impetu-
Gus youth. For twenty years or
more he has wrestled with the prob
lem TO marry or not to marry and
was never able to screw up his cour-
age to the sticking point. And this
when no one was watching him, and
when he might have taken the time
to follow the gentle leadings Of an
awakened fancy. That day has
passed. All eyes are now on Mr..
Bailey. Every tick Of the clock must
smlte upon his ear like the football Of
a jailor coming to lead MIN forth to
execution. Who will deny that the
morbid spectators OF his mental
anguish and the newspaper purveyors
Of the writings of his spirit are worse
than the convention hall managers
or the deyotees of the cruel Spanish
sport
An Iowan in Missouri