The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1903-04-21
ROTTEN BOROUGHS.

Following the example set by w.
A. Clark of Montana, the corpora
tons of Missouri have adopted the
use of thousand dollar bills for the
purpose of shaping legislation in
that state A grand jury is now in
session at jefferson City, the CAPT
tai Of the state and. strange to say,
indictments have been returned
against several members Of the legis-
lature. and some Of them are in a
fair way to so to the penitentiary.
This astounding procedure proves
the Missouri bribers to be but coarse
ard shallow imitators of the Montana
prince of bribers. Had the Missouri
Corruptionists followed the example
of the man from that state who in
sisted upon being shown, they would
have learned from Mr.. Clark that to
prevent indictments, the grand jury
must be piled with the same medi-
cine administered in double doses.
This treatment caused Helena
grand Jury to view as so much brown
paper a roll of thirty one thousand
dollar bills. and the same medicine
would no doubt have had the same
effect upon the Missouri grand jury.
Besides the corruption unearthed
il the Missouri legislature, the same
Infamous state of affairs has been
discovered and exposed in the cities
% Minneapolis. st. Louis and Seattle,
while in the rotten borroughs of
nC1 Tel J,,x
ing and selling Of votes has come to
he a legitimate business and is de-
Tended openly by politicians and
newspapers. In Rhode Island. Gen.
Charles r. Brayton "boss" of the re-
publican machine, occupies a room in
the state capitol and frankly admits
that he is retained by many corpora
tons to look after their interests in
the Legislature. and sneers at the eff
forts of the governor to check the
appalling corruption. Here is a part
OF his defense Of the system:
"As for the buying of votes in a
few of the country towns, that has
lever been looked upon by Rhode
Islanders who understand the spirit
of the state as anything on the order
OF a crime. IT is simply custom
that may be evil in theory. but quite
harmless, usually. in practice. A
farmer naturally feels that he should
not be compelled to lose a day, or
even half a day. several times year
by going long distance to vote. sim
ply to cast ballot that will prob
ably have no appreciable effect upon
the result anyway. Even in a city
this feeling is so strong that thou
sands of voters stay at home every
election day If some one is willing
to pay a farmer for his time. that he
may exercise the prerOgative of citi-
zenship. why. he will gladly go to the
polls. voting there as he chooses. If
it usually happens that he marks his
ballot as the man who pays him for
his time would like to have him. it
is not a purchase, for the farmer
lives up to his strictest obligations
If he simply performs his duty OF
voting as An Independent American
citizen. He is not bribed"
Such is the standard of politica
morality in Rhode Island. and If
Delaware it is even worse. where the
fight of Gas Addicks to break into
the United States senate has beer
eoualed only by the efforts of w. A
Clark in this state.
Several of the New York daily pa
pers have sent representatives to in
vestigate the situation in Delawar
and Rhode Island and they repor
that even the ministers of the gospe
dare not attack from the pulpit tn
prevailing corruption, and this is n
doubt true. for the same spectacl
has been witnessed in this stat,
God is said to hate a coward: bu
how few have been the minister
with sufficient courage 10 attack tn
political corruption Of the day.