The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1904-09-08

tElrIy years OF DemOcrduc rule, We
now proclaim that the eradication Of
is the paramount issue Il
is true that the Democratic party pro-
poses to stamp out corruption, and has
nsade its cure the paramount issue o.
this campaign. / am proud to belong
to a party that is courageous enough
to do that. Do our opponents mean 70
charge the Democratic party with re-
sponsibiIIty Tor boodftng Of futivtdu=
ais in Jefferson City? II a party is re-
sponsible for the corruption that goes
on under its administration, and for
boodling done by individual members
of that party. then there should not be
a greasy spot left Of the Republican
party, under the administration Of
which the carnival Of corruption -four
ished In St Louis. ST. Louis boodling
compared with the boodling at Jeifer-
son City was as a cyclone to a sum-
mer's breeze. Both were bad enough
to startle the world, and should arouse
every honest citizen to. the necessity
of stamping bribery out. But to charge
either party with the responsibility for
the shortcomings Of individual mem
bers Of that party is a mere bandying
of words. | do not like to hear men
say there have been so many Republi-
can boodlers and so many Democratic
boodlers. The boodler is neither Dem
ocrat nor Republican; he is a GRIM
inal. The counting of Doodle noses
serves no practical purpose. The main
question is, under which. flag are they
marching now. will take up this sub
ject later on. Suffice 1t to say at pres
ent that neither party as such is re-
sponsible for boodling, but there is
honor due the party that stops it. This
the Democratic party is doing.
RECORD OF DEMOCRACY.
What has been the record OF the
Democratic party during its lease OF
power in this state. The people are
partners In the affairs Of state. and II
is we'll enough to take stock now and
then, to let them know how their az
fairs have been managed. The DEM
ocratic party must give an account OF
its stewardship. Here is the record:
When the reins of government were
put in the hands of the Democratic
party thirty years ago, Missouri was far
down in the list Of states. Under a
careful fostering of public enterprises,
encouragement of industries and eco
nomical government, Missouri has le-
come the fifth state in the Union in
population, and first as producer OF
all things necessary to the happiness
and comfort of man.
STATE DEBT.
The state debt thirty years ago was
S21, 76S,000. This has all been paid, to-
gether with interest amounting to s2a,-
600, 900. The last bond was taken up
and cancelled under Gov. Dockery's
administration. The only outstanding
financial obligations Of the state are
the school certificates. amounting to
81, $4,000, which are in the nature OF
an endowment for the cause OF
education in the state. | am not one
of those who would hold party Of to-
day responsible for things done by
that party thirty years ago. do not
believe In living in the past, but in the
present. I do not think it necessary
to go into the infamies Of the Drake
constitution, whereby women went to
prison for praying, lawyers and doc
tors for practicing their, profession,
and ministers for preaching the Cos
pei. Every fairminded Republican
now admits the injustice Of that in
strument, and classes it with the mis-
takes of the long ago. The following
statement in 4 the state Republican
platform, however, renders it neces-
sary, in order to be just and fair. to
examine briefly the origin Of the state
debt. I read the following extract
from the Republican platform:
WHEN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
FIRST CAME INTO POWER IN THIS
STATE, THEY INHERITED A DEBT
OF $4,000, 900, EVERY DOLLAR OF
IT CREATED BY THE DEMOCRATIC
PARTY. IN SIX YEARS THE RE-
PUBLICAN PARTY REDUCED THIS
DEBT TO $21, 100000, WHILE 1T HAS
TAKEN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
THIRTY YEARS TO PAY OFF A
PORTION OF WHAT REMAINED.
From 1851 to 1857, while the De-
mocracy was in power, the states
credit was loaned to certain railroad
companies, to aid in the construction
of railroads. 1t was common practice
at that time for state governments to
do this, and the federal government
railroad construction by
donating enormous tracts Of govern
ment land. The custom was a vicious
one, and our state constitution now
prohibits it. 1t is to the credit Of Gov.
Sterling Price, Democrat, that he ve-
toed the various measures providing
for the giving Of aid to the railroads,
but the bills were passed over his