The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1903-09-24


amendment to the constitution. for
feiting to the State the property of
the corporation so convicted. II goes
without the saying that the processes
Of the Criminal Courts should be
used against every institution or in.
diyidual. however great or powerful,
guilty of bribery.
NOT NEW FORMED OPINIONS.
These are my opinions. They are
not new formed notions. Perhaps !
may be pardored for stating as the
ground of my belief that the lobby
can be driven from the State Capitol
the experience of Kansas City. The
reference is somewhat personal and
possibly could be better stated by
another; but disclaim any special
credit. | simply performed my duty
as understood il and would have been
untrue to my constituents and to my.
self had | done less.
Very briefly then. Kansas City
once had powerful lobby, II was
old and experienced and had in.
fluential adherents, the support of
two great newspapers, and was back.
ed by more than s50,OOOOO0 of cap
ital
A few hours before the newly elect.
ed democratic administration took Of
flee in 1900 the old Republican coun'
Gil extended the franchises of the
Street Railway Company to twenty.
five years, and undertook to release II
from the obligations OF its former con.
tracts. Fortified behind these grants
the company defied interference. The
contest between the lobby and the
city lasted for more than two years
and forced me to stand for reelection.
The result in the end was a complete
triumph for the people. The Street
Railway Company of Kansas City now
pays into the city treasury per cent
of its gross earnings. The best esti'
mates place the amount to be paid
during the term of its franchise at
more than S7,000.000 in excess Of
what was required under the terms of
its franchises granted by the Repub'
lican city administration. The COM
pany has agreed to do street paving
which will cost. during the life Of its
franchise. not less than S2.000,000. 1t
has given universal transfers. 1t con-
tracted to eXpend millions in the con-
struction of extensions and in pro-
viding modern equipment and it
agreed to do many other things to
which will not refer, The result
of these contests is that the lobby
has disappeared from Kansas City.
have been accused of painting the
landscape and describing the beauties
of Missouri sunsets. The after dinner
speech quoted from was made two
years ago in the State of Virginia,
when | responded to the toast Mis-
souri," | still stand by what then
said. | know it is not pleasant read
ing for those who hate Missouri But
sirs, | would rather paint Missouri
landscapes and girdle them with sum
mer's choicest flowers and rarost
fruits; | would rather sing the praises
of her virtuous mothers and honest
sires. than to describe her as a morass
of iniquity, exhaling the foul stencil
of crime, even though | could see
sprouting from that same swamp the
fairest flower of my ambition.
would rather praise than denounce
my State. prefer the office of eu!o-
gist to that of detractor. No one OBJ
jects to the plain truth being told.
No one wants to hide crime or
shield a single villainy but | do pro-
test against the charge that the Cen
eral Assembly as whole is rotten
and corrupt, because four out of IA
stand accused.
| do protest against charges so
framed as to reflect upon the entire
Democratic administration which has
rendered honest service. | do pro-
test against those who bespatter with
sanderous filth the ermine of the
Judges of our courts, because they
have declared that men shall be tried
according to the forms of law.
| emphatically protest against
charges so vague that reply is inn
possible, yet so general and sweeping
as to give the impression that Mis-
,t+.fii is
the serpents of corruption make their
home. and honest men cannot be
found.
The Democratic party has given
Missouri good government. The great
mass of Missouri's officials have been
incorruptible. No one should ildis-
condemn the innocent with
the guilty or seek to profit by as
PERSONS upon the characters of hon
est men. We need not despair.
The world yet holds its course; the