The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1902-10-23
LEST We FORGET. a."

by an official act thwarted an at
tempt of W. O. Atkesonandh his gang
to perpetrate an infamous fraud
upon his own party, thc Middle of
the Road Populists. For this Mr..
Crawford received his undying hatred
: and has been the subject of his vim
dictive abuse ever since.
This week Mr. AtkesOn writes II
long article over his signature, which
the Bates County Record publishes
a. its leading editorial, purpnrtmg
To give the facts in that case, but
they are SO warped and distorted
that one familiar with the details
would hardly recognize it as dealing
with the same case The facts in that
notable case, briefly stated, are us
follows:
In the spring Of 1898 when the
Middle of the Road Populists held
their convention and nominated a
ticket, by "A substantial ma iurity
vote they decided that they would
not enter into combination with any
other party, and the resolutions
which Mr.. Atkeson had prepared be-
forehand and which provided for the
central committee using its own dis.
erection in making nominations to
fill vacancies on the ticket which
might occur, were changed to conform
to the above action, and provided
that any vacancy which might occur
should be filed by a Middle of the
Road Populist. The convention is
the highest tribunal in any party
and so recognized the world over.
These facts, which were the keynote
to what followed, Mr., Atkeson pur-
pQscly omitted from his bill of com,
plants 1t is well know that he
accepted his defeat in his own party
with poor grace and he, with few
other disgruntled schemers, set to
work to override the will OF his own
party expressed in that convention.
When the time camefor the county
clerk to arrange the various tickets
filed with him, into an official
ballot, Mr., Atkeson, together
with the chairman OF the Populist |
committee, whom he controlled, ana |
the chairman OF the Republican COM
mittee, appeared before the clerk !
and demanded that he i'll "A vAcancv
on the Pupulist ticket for circuit
clerk with the Republican nominee,
and fill the vacant place on the Re
publican ticket, for which no nominal
ton was made, 10y the name of the
Populist nominee for that office. In
other words, it was demanded of Mr..
Crawford by these schemers that he
betray the Popullst party by over
riding the expressed will of its con-
vention by officially sanctioning such
an unholy alliance.
Mr.. Crawford took the matter IN.
der ADJUSTMENT and consulted the
highest legal authority in the state,
the encouragement, and other emf.
nent lawyers throughout the state,
besides some of the leading lawyers
at our bar, and acting under that
advice he refused to give the sanction
OF his official seal to that kind OF a
combination, but did place the certi-
fed name of J Frank Chambers, the
nominee, under one of
the Populists heads. The Republic
cans had made no nomination for
prosecuting attorney, in which case
the law assumes that no nomination
was desired by the party and the Re-
publican committee had no legal
to nominate Mr. Holcomb,
but Mr.. Crawford did place his name
under the head of nominations by
electors. If Middle OF the Road Pop
ulists, certified in accordance with
the action of that party sconvention,
had been presented Mr.. Crawford
would have placed the names on that
ticket.
As to that meeting at THE TINES
o flee, it was one OF the most prosaic
gatherings imaginable, deprived OF
the glamor which Atkeson tries to
throw around it. Owing to legal
complications in arranging the state
ballot, certified copy OF it was not
received by the. county clerk until
Saturday noon. THE TINES had held
its regular issues awaiting it, as it
had to go in that issue in order to
be legal. Mr.. Crawford had to ar
ro noo his hallots aftpr raooiyino tho |