The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1903-12-12


toned as Candidate for Governor J
of Missouri. |
st. Louis, Mo-, Dec. 10.-The atten-
ton of the whole World has been at
tracted to st. Louis, and the man who
dared: face the ring that for years
polluted the entire political fabric of
this city. Who is this fearless man?
It Is none other than Joseph w. Folk,
Circuit Attorney, and it is to his activ-
ity that the conviction Of a score of
boodling members of the st. Louis city
council and the Missouri state Legis-
lature is due. Mr.. Folk is a native
of Tennessee. He went to St. Louis
five years ago to practice law, became
popular with the labor element by
settling street-car strike, and large
ly On this account was nominated by
the local Democratic machine. His
subsequent career is we'll known to
every reader of the newspapers. So
popular has Mr.. Folk become in his
city that the total number of Dem
Ocratic newspapers in Missouri that
have declared for Folk for governor
has now reached one hundred. "No
literature or correspondence Of any
kind has been sent out from the Folk
bureau, urging organization, but it
seems as If no urging is necessary"
the St. Louis Globe-Democrat (Rep.)
reports. 1.-The movement appears to
be spontaneous, and politicians say
that they never knew anything like
1t in Missouri."s
Mr. Folk made an address recently
to a meeting Of old settlers at New
Florence. "Civic righteousness" was
his subject, and as usual he treated
it vigorously 1.-THE honor Of the
state" Mr.. Folk declared, has been
peddled around by thu seekers of
brides in return for official influence.
The ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS himself dis
tributed money, amongst certain SEN
ators. Thousand-dollar bills have been
caught sight Of here and there with
senators in hot pursuit. Lawmaker
have confessed to boodling extending
through a period of twelve years. in
dicating that legislation has been
bought and sold like merchandise. The
eyes Of the world are on Missouri to
see what the people are going to do
about it. After all these exposures,
there can be no honorable concilia-
ton. Every citizen must either march
under the flag Of decency or the BAN
ner Of iniquity.
How to Stamp Out Corruption.
1.-THE allies Of the boodlers," said
Prosecutor Folk, do not dare come
out in the open and defend corruption
but on one pretext or another they
seek to accomplish the same purpose
mi
Did anyone ever claim that the ex-
posture and punishment of murder,
arson or other crimes, slandered the
state? Why are they so sensitive
about official thieves: being caught
in the net of the law?' They OBJECT to
SO much hell being raised He'll can
not be raised unless it is there, and.
if it is, it is better to raise it than to
allow it to remain and rot the. state.
Exposure and punishment of public
plunderers is a states honor, not its
shame. The disgrace is in tolerance,
not in correction. 1t is more honorable
to correct evils than to bear them in
ignoble silence. The only way to
stamp out corruption is to strike 1t
hard whenever and wherever it rears
its ugly head"
Many newspapers outside of Mis-
souri, take Mr., Folks popularity as a
sign Of the coming of better days in
political life. mo greater encourage
ment," the Philadelphia Press says,
could be given to the cause of re-
form" Noting the enthusiasm Mr..
Folk Is arousing, the New York Ev-
ening Post says: Ever since our
country was inswaddling clothes we
have had a keen eye for heroes, but
| too often they have been but the vic
tor Of hard-foughf fields or the lead
ers of brilliant charges. But if, in
the course of time, we come to bestow
| equal praise on the warriors of civil
| life, who make their fight against
/ greed and corruption and existing in
! justice, may we not expect an equally
/ far-reaching desire for the glory re-
sulting from civic duties nobly per-
formed? That something Of this sort
may really come to pass is the sug.
gestion and the hope which center
/ about such men as the circuit attor.
t ney Of st. Louis. When rejecting upor
the enthusiasm which his course has
aroused, it. is of moment to remembe,
that his heroism has been almost
wholly of the moral rather than the
physical sort. AS he drew the ne,
tighter about the boodlers, he was
beset. He was threatened, spied upon
his early history was searched for thu
discovery of some flaw or weakness
in his record or character. But h,
resisted all alike. He remained a
his post. It was his logged persist
ence that soon spread panic among
the members of the gang. Here wa
: a man of new sort. Here was mai
who could not be pulled off or hushe,
up by the offers of brides or threat
of violence.
TT is to be noted that the apprecia
! ton awarded to such men as thes
does not rest upon some novel schem
| Of betterment which they propose, o.
some promise of social overturning
or destruction OF system now in be
} ing. There is no trace Of Jacobinisn
about them. This, too is an evidence
of the breaking through of a nev
| t1n.