The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1902-02-15
SONG Political Inconsistency.

II VIII sooner or later De 0NerUakeh oy
a ''penalty that fits the crime"
Only a few weeks ago the Hon.
Champ Clark and his friends were
alarming Mlssourians with the war
cry Of "trust the people" from the
Mississippi river to the Kansas line
and from Arkansas to Iowa, and in
their plea for a general state primary
as the proper medium through which
to select a candidate for United
States senator to succeed Mr. Vest
became really abusive Of the party
machinery and Of those who enter
tanned different opinions to those
entertained by themselves. The great
majority of democrats throughout
the state thought the innovation a
dangerous one for various reasons,
and when the state committee met at
st. Louis and concluded that it yer
best for the counties to speak for
themselves in the matter of selecting
a senator, walls of wrath were UNI
bottled by some of Mr.. Clark's indis-
Greet friends and their contents hurled
at those who entertained, honestly
entertained opinions Of their own
different to those held to be right and
proper by the advocates Of a state
primary.
The decision Of the state committee
which decision has the endorsement
of the people-was that senatorial
districts and counties could settle this
matter as best suited to themselves,
which decision left it open to the
various counties of the state to instruct
their representatives in both senate
and house as to how they should
vote On this important matter. Years
since the counties of Missouri, or
most Of them, began selecting their
party nominees through the medium
of primary elections, and those
opposed to a general state primary for
the selection of a senatorial candidate
on the ground that it would open up
the foodgates Of corruption in the
larger cities of the state and incur an
immense expense with nobody to.
meet it, merely took the position that
with no additional expenditure of
money-or little, at least-names of
senatorial candidates could be placed
on county primary tickets, affording
an avenue through which to get at
the choice of the people on this i'm
portant question that must at once
suggest itself as satisfactory to all
fair minded parties concerned.
Strange to say, however, it seems
that the very men whose slogan was
"trust the people" did not mean
what they said, or else they have
become so peSsimistic that they can
see no good in anything, not even
those things urged at a former time
by themselves. AS evidence OF this
condition OF affairs we reproduce an
open letter written by Ex-Governor
Stone to the democratic central COM
mittee OF Audrain county, over in
Mr.. Clark's congressional district,
which committee, bv a majority vote,
refused to allow the democrats of that
county to vote on the senatorial
question. Gov. Stone said:
81 am both surprised and disap-
pointed that the Audrain county com
mittee by a majority vote declined to
allow the democratic voters of that
county to express themselves on the
senatorship. Several days before the
meeting of your committee, / addressed
several members of the committee.
among them the secretary, saying in
respectful but explicit terms that l
hoped the committee would submit the
question of the county's choice for
senator to the people at the primary,
and said that as Audrain county is in
Mr.. Clark's district, aud as he had in
public speech and published letters
frequently expressed a desire to get
this question before the people, l
presumed the committee would be
unanimous in making the necessary
order to that end. | could hardly
credit the t~elegraphic report. therefore,
that the committee had at this meeting,
by a majority of four, voted down a
resolution to submit the choice for
senator to the people of the county.
although | have over and over
again expressed a desire to have this
question submitted at every county
primary. and still adhere to that posi-
tion, | have made It a rule TO accept