The St. Louis Republic., 1902-03-21
SECRETARY COOKS
CAMPAIGN BOOK.
Defamers of Missouri Are All Re
publican Leaders and Organs
of the Party.
ALIENS CHARGES REFUTED.
Elanders on the State Must BE
Contradicted by Democrats
Notable Case of Recent
Date Cited.
EEr-RIIC SPECIAL.

Jefferson City Mo-. March a0-Sec-etary
Of State Sam B. Cook is preparing poiit-
!caI handbook :or Missouri. which will he
r<sdy for distribution in the course of few
weeks.
Mr. Cooks purpose is TO compare the rec
ords of the two leading political parties of
Missouri. and also compare the Democratic
record in this State with the Republican
records in the adjoining States of Illinois,
Iowa and Kansas.
The figures given are taken from tho
official records and no statement VIII be
made which is not verified by the records OF
the respective States.
The assessment of railroad property III
Missouri under Republican and Democratic
rule, and a comparison of Democratic as
sessment In this State with that OF the Re
publican States named. make an interest
ing and important chapter. The nnanciai
condition of Missouri and the earnings OF
the State departments now as compared
with the Republican rule: the creation ana
reduction of the State debt: the manage
Yneut Of the school funds: the policy of the
RepubIican party leaders and party Journals
in defaming their own State; the gold
brick statesmen whom the Republicans
have secured from the Democracy, Win
ether subjects, are all handled IN such
way as to be specially convenient and use
full to public speakers and newspaper pup
fishers. Mr.. Cook makes the RepuoIcan
cry of Poor Old Missouri the SUBJECT Oh
his opening chapter.
DefamiuE Missouri.
1T is difficult to comprehend the spirit
SAYS Mr.. Cook, which prompts Republican
PARTY leaders in Missouri to continually de-
fame their own State.
Legitimate party criticism is not only
allowable, but is proper and beneficial 70
public interests: but Republican party lead
ers are not content with this instead
they seize upon every possible opportunity
on the stump and in the press to pTate OF
moor old Missouri and hold their State
up to ridicule.
This policy would be bad enough IL there
We're some foundation for such talk. for. as
the old maxim goes. 1T is dirty bird that
befouls its own nest but to defame the
State without a shadow Gt justification j,
Infamous in the eyes of every loyal Missou-
rian. no matter what his party preferences
may be-
Party politics is one thing. State pride
another. Republican party leaders have
become so consumed with the former that
they have apparently lost all the latter. Sc
far has this spirit gone among the faithful
who are shaping the Republican party poll
cies that the term poor old Missouri has
become the Republican battle cry Every
expression of derision and contempt against
the State however baseess and unjust, or
whoever made by, is hailed with approval
by Republican party leaders and by the
most prominent Republican party journals
A sample Case.
"A case directly In point: At the banquet
given in Kansas City in February by the
Young Mems Republican Association a
Eerens and Chairman Atkins are members,
Henry ]. Allen of Kansas made use of this
language:
In Missouri are many remote commu-
mites, untraversed by railroads, unlichted
by electricity. unvisited by newspapers
The people who were born there and who
yet live there are hereditary Democr1ts.
The problem there can be solved only by
the slow process of education
Strike from Mr.. Aliens language the
r-crd Democrats and substitute the wori
Republicans and even then such a SIAN
der on the State would have raised a storm
Of Indignation in any Democratic gather
ing.
And yet this slanderous attack on the
Commonwealth was epplauded by the 500
Republicans who sat around the banquet
board. anG was published with approval by
the leading Republican papers OF the State.
In all that quo .ence of Republican party
managers there wss not one who did rot
sink his State piide below the level of mere
partisan politics.
We have no quarrel with Mr.. Allen. He
had evidently teen reading Missouri RepuD-
lican newspapers. and listening to Missouri
Republican orators and his conclusions
were the direct and natural result D. the
information he had thus received. 1t Is not
surprising that pc ople away from Missouri