Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-10-29

of Missouri whom l hold in higher
esteem than | do Frank Mcclure
of the Jackson Cash Book. He is
honest and fearless in his advo-
cacy of principles and men, and
never hesitates to voice himself
freely and plainly, without regard
to selfish consideration. | do not
always agree with him-the public
may lay the burden of the fault
upon me, if it will-but l do always
respect him, and seek to find a just
reason for my dissension. There
fore when he raises the voice of
friendly warning and cries out
"Bro. AXE, you are drifting to-
ward the reef. Pull for the shore"
II pause and think, so far as I
have capacity. The admonition is
general, but, l take it, with one
especial application, viz: that if l
will abandon the old Democratic
boat and Jump into the Folk band
wagon, all will yet be well with
me. Perhaps so; it is always
easier and more comfortable to go
with the tide and so float into
smooth water. But sometimes it
is necessary to risk the breakers,
is it not? If the light of truth is
flashing from out yonder rock
bound coast shall we rather seek
the dark-curtained nook of error
and injustice because the way is
smoother and thousands glide
therein? To Mr.. Mcclure it is not
necessary for me to asseverate my
honesty of purpose, I know; but
the reasons governing my opposi-
ton to the faxed Folk "boom" he
is entitled to have. Some of them
follow, and it seems to me they
are of sufficient weight to cause
Democrats who serve the party
because, with all it's faults, they
love it still, to pause and reflect
before joining in the piebald whirl
induced by Folks Literary Bureau
and such papers as the Globe DEM
ocrat and the st. Louis Star, to say
nothing of that Judas Iscariot, the
Republic, and the time-serving
abusive and sensational Post Dis
patch. Can either of these NAM
mon-controllcd sheets be depended
upon in the hour of distress and
exigency? When did either of
these stand true to principle when
the contest was between God and
Mammon? When heed a cry of
the people that did not come
through the counting-room door?
They are all for Folk. Why? Well,
for divers reasons not hard to
understand. Chas. H. Turner, the
arch-boodler and kicker of all the
coterie, is immune from prosecu-
ton. Why? Can you tell? l
don't know, but it is a salient fact
that he is brother-in-law to Mr..
Houser, controller of the CD.
There are others, millionaires, who
Embossed their pocket books to
fraudulently secure franchises-to
rob the people. "Respectable"
men-men of standing-men who
assume that the earth is theirs, and
in that contention do not hesitate
to do that which if done by those
of the common herd" would open
to them the doors of the peniten-
tiary. The city papers, quick
enough to grasp cause of offense in
the thirty-dollars-a-month crimi-
nal, are exceedingly tender of the
regulations of thieves and grafters
ennobled by "business interest"
The same fuses that make Mr..
Folk the darling of the syndicated
city press make him obnoxious to
me, and l will voice myself though
it be "treason doubly damned" so
to do. Then l don't like Mr.. Folks
stage-play to the galleries. He
affects superlative honesty too
much, and somehow the ring of
his coin sounds false to me. 1t is
charged by the CD, his chief
supporter, that the election in st.
Louis in 1900 was fraudulent; that
the Offices were in nearly all in
stances stolen from the Republic
cans. Mr.. Folk was elected"
that year by the smallest majority
on the ticket, so that if offices were
stolen his was n of them. Being
SO pure and having such hatred to
all forms of wrong, how can he
conscientiously prosecute other
people for technical violation of
law while his offense against it's
spirit is continuous and cumula-
tivep Stealing and using a horse
to pursue another horse-thi would
be equally consistent, it seems to
: me. | don't like the virtue that