The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1904-01-22

The circuit attorney has been running
for Governor ever since he came into
office and hasn't had time to make out
his indictments pfoperly.-Lcad Belt
News.
The two latter squibs are flippant
attempts, with neither sincerity
nor truth, to discredit an official
who has labored, as no other cir
cult attorney before him has lab
ored, to bring an influential aud
thoroughly organized gang of
boodlers to justice. There is no
crime that is more difficult to I'M
cover than that of bribery, as there
is none more dangerous to the pub.
lie welfare. Yet Mr.. Folk has
been unusually successful III pro
curing evidence, securing indlct-
mcuts against many Of these enc.
mics of society and honest govern.
mcnt. and convicting them before
the trial courts. II is not because
of defective indictments that they
are not undergoing punishment,
nor of iuattentiOn to duty, for Mr..
Folk has been persistently atten.
tive and active in the prosecution
of these cases. Our criminal laws
appear to be SO honeycombed with
tcchnlcalitles that any shrewd law
yer may easily find Il hole through
which his guilty client can escape
Take the case of Ed Butler, for
instance. He was convicted and
there was no doubt of his guilt.
lie had attempted to bride n pub.
lie official; but he was rich and
had Il strong political pull. His
case was appealed to the supreme
Court. The rule of construction
in criminal cases is that the law
must be strictly construed and
strictly pursued, " and the Supreme
Court evidently drew the rule as
tight as the bark on a black jack
in January and raked the court
decisions with a fine tooth comb to
find Il precedent by which Butler
could he set free.
Butler had attempted to bride II
member OF II board of officials
which by common usage had been
letting the city garbage contracts,
and he secured the contract from
that board. But the Supreme
Court discovered that the charter
of st. Louis vested the letting of
this contract in another board of
officials, and therefore decided
thut Butler was not guilty of Mt
tempting to bride, although it was
n public official whom he approached
and one in whom with others the
to let the contract was
to be vested, or was by
common usage vested. Ii was no
fault of the indictment or of Mr..
Folk that Butler is not wearing
stripes to-day.
Nor is it true that Mr.. Folk has
been running for Governor ever
since he came into office. He was
earnestly endeavoring to do his
duty in way that no other cir.
cult attorney before him had dared
attempt, although boodling had
been going on for years and the ne
cessity was great for some effective
proceeding against this species of
public corruption. Because of his
earnestness in the discharge of his
duties-a thing so rare it seems
that it attracted attention all over
the country and turned all eyes on
him-the people began to talk of
Mr.. Folk for Governor. lie is no
candidate, but was
brought out and practically forced
into the race by people who be.
lleve in removing root and branch
the cancer of corruption on the
body polite of the State.
Then began the covert assaults
md innuendoes of the politicians
who have so long been managing
the party machinery in an effort to
liscredit and belittle Mr.. Folks
work, and the gangsters and hood
ers gladly joined in. A man
whom the people suggested was
not to be tolerated; the ring must
rule and name the ticket. Thus
t is that Mr.. Folk is suffering the
which every pioneer or
champion of reform and civic
righteousness must suffer-the op.
position, abuse, insinuating slurs
md Misrepresentation of all the