Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-05-30
remember to have read with shudder-
ing horror when the man Kitchener

remember to have read with shudder-
ing horror when the man Kitchener,
now commanding in South Africa, was
sent along the Nile he reached Omdur-
man, and when these helpless people
came In white robes and kneeled with
uplifted hands to pray for peace Mt his
hands-a long file of women and chill
dren knelt on that sunlit plain amid
those adobe hotlses-his answer to them
Was to open upon them with grape and
canister and shoot down thousands of
women and children in order to set an
example to the unfortunate Egyptians
and establish peace und to accomplish
benevolent assimilation. And yet on
the floor Of the British parliament men
rose in their places and defended that
act.
"Never did dream that on the floor
of the American congress there could
be found even man from Connecticut
or from Iowa who would be willing to
arise in his place and speak in terms
of commentator of an order issued by
an American general under the Ameri-
can flag in the American uniform to
kill all above the age of ten, whether
they be women or men.
"And yet we find that men are SO eager
for partisan advantage they stifle their
noble impulses. l say noble impulses
because these gentlemen who speak in
commentator of these crimes are gen
re
pulses. patriotic and country loving.
But it only shows, gentlemen, to what
depths of degradation we may descend
for partisan advantage. Is honor so
dear or national good will SO sweet that
we must put beneath us every emotion
Of charity and humanity? Is national
glory so much to be sought in our war
with the Philippines that the American
flag. thus far unstained by barbarities,
shall. sacrifice thousands and thousands
OF lives, forgetting the traditions and
teachings OF our country"
Playing With Fire.
Is the senate Of the United States I'm.
Willingly playing with fire? OF course
IL 1t is toying with the flames ut all it
is doing it unwittingly BY killing the
constitutional amendment providing for
the election of senators of the United
States by popular vote it is bidding de-
fiance to the public sentiment of the
United States in the most brazen man
ner, for Of all political reforms that is
the one most desired by the people, and
finally in some manner the people will
discover III way to get what they want,
even If they are forced to defeat every
senator who opposes this most salutary
and democratic measure The British
house of lords would no more think
of thwarting the will of the people in
the systematic and impudent way the
American senate does than it would
think of running its head into the fire,
and 1t would not survive until next
Christmas If 1t did. If given chance
to vote on the proposition to elect sem
ators by popular vote, ninc-tenths Of
the people would vote for it g.Adly and
enthusiastically. But there's the rub.
The lightweight senators, or ut least
two-thirds Of them. will not give them
the chance, thereby seeming to prove
that sometimes for Il season the crea-
ture is greater thnn the creator. If
some of our august senators do not look
q little out they may hear something
urUp.v $3.50 =
The people have made up their minds
that senators shall be elected by popu-
lar suffrage, and the recalcitrant sen.
ators would do well to take notice of
the fact that reforms like revolutions,
do not move backward.
Though beaten back in many a fray,
Yet freshening strength will borrow.
And where the vanguard haltS TODAY
The rear will camp tomorrow
There is only one way to accomplish
this most desirable reform, and that is
by systematic and persistent agitation
and systematic and persistent action.
The people might as well wake ND to
that fact. The modus operandi must
be this: Begin at the primaries and in
the township meetings. Vote for no.
body us q delegate to county nomi-
mating convention who will not pledge
himself in writing not to vote to NOM
mate anybody for legislator who will
not pledge himself in writing not to
vote for anybody for United States
senator who will not pledge himself to
vote to submit the constitutional
amendment to the states for ratifica-
ton. in that way, and in that way only.
can this reform be secured, and It will
take at least ten years to achieve it
even in that way. 1t will be long.
labor1ous and tedious performance, but
1t Is of vast Importance to the cause of
good and pure government.