Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1904-10-26
TIE DUTY OF VOTERS OF
WISCONSIN AND MISSOURI.
From the Arena aIagazlne.

ments and honesty, clean politics, and
| justice and equS lily Of all men before
| the law has never been more boldly or
strikingly drawn than today in the
commonwealth Of Wisconsin and Mis-
souri,.
In the former state the candidate for
! governor is a republican of the Lincoln
stripe, and against him he has arrayed
the corrupt political machine, dominated
| by the railroads and other special inter
ests atd led bv United States Senators
Spooner and Quarles and Congressman
Babcock, together with much Of the
worst element in the present day politi-
cal life OF the commonwealth. The con-
| hict is battle between light and dark
ness; between equal justice to all. the
fundamental principles vi free govern
ment and honesty and the domination OF
reactionary aad unrepubIican ideas, the
mastery of the people by the public-ser-
vice corporations and q saturnalia OK
corruption through the unions of the
| grasping corporations and an unscrupu-
Ions political ring
The leader Of the republican forces in
| Wisconsin il Governor La Toilette. he
| represents the genius and rhs ideals Of
| true rapnb'ieanism He is a stat esman
| fashioned after she order of Washing
| tou Jefferson and Lincoln He - a man
vino has won the undy ing enmity Of the
railroads and other public-service cor
poratious, the trusts aud the benefciarles
| Of special interests, the corrupt lobby
and the unscrupulous political machine,
| because ne has witnstood all the tempt
atoms of the corruptionists as well as
their threats of political ruin; and he
| has from first to last upheld and defend
I'd the best interests of the people in
their battle against the enemies of the
republic and the exploiters of the masses.
| The effort that is now being made to
draw from the electorate enough votes
| to support the corporations, ring or stall
wart republican ticket and the demo-
cratic ticket to defeat Gov. La Toilette,
| should be met by an overwhelming vote
cast in favor Of the governor and pure
governments vote whose volume
should be swelled by the ballot of every
| honest, lik3rty-loving democrat as well as
republican in the state, for in q battle
like the present, between the fundamen-
| tai ideals of free institutions and the
reign Of corruption through corporate
domination. no patriot should hesitate
in casting his vote for the man who per-
| sonihes in so splendid q manner the ideals
or true democracy or republicanfsm
| In Missouri conditions are reversed in
so far as the position Of the parties is
concerned. He, the leader Of the move
ment for honesty in political life, for
| clean government and the domination of
the principles Of Justice and freedom, is
| q democrat who has single handed
waged such q warfare against corrup-
ton by special interests and political
machines as has never before been car
ried forward by any man in the history
Iof the democratic commonwealth, Mr..
| Folks position was in some respects
even more unpromising and difficult
than that of Gov. La Toilette. Mr.. Folk
had the determined opposition Of the
| US. Senators in his own party from his
state; also the united opposition Of the
democratic machines, both state and
municipal, in Missouri; the opposition of
most of the congressman, and the i'm
placable enmity of the most powerful
and corrupt political boss west of the
| Mississippi river. The great uTbin press
| of his party in Missouri lent him little
| announcement, when indeed it was not
in open opposition. Moreover, he had
the state government hostile TO him; and
vet this man, who few years ago was
an obscure circuit attorney, uncovered a
condition of political corruption, first in
st. Louis and later at the state capital,
such az is perhaps only exceeded by that
which fiourishes Ia Philadelphia and the
state Of Pennsylvania and which is I'M
| dermining the very life of republican
| ism IN our nation. Under his unremitt-
| ing and unrelenting efforts one after an
other Of the prominent thieves in the
municipal and state government were
| exposed and the conviction OF about a
score of these men was obtained in the
| face Of the most stubborn opposition on
| the part OF the officials of the state.
From first to last Mr.. Folk has claimed
that the heart of the people was sound,
and In spite of the opposition within his
marty more than 100 democratic papers
| throughout the state demanded that he
should run for governor. Then it was
| that a battle royal was fought in Miss
ouri, as in Wisconsin, between the for
! Ces Of darkness auG light; between cor
ruption, personified By Boss Batter and
| the corrupt machines of st. Louis Kan
~ City and the state machine aided and
seconded hy the governor Of Missouri.
IT L ~
gressmen and the political leaders in the
democratic party on the one hand, and
an arousing electorate on the other
The result was that in spite of all oppo
siti0n Mr. Folk has been nominated for
| governor.
Now. however. the railroads, the street
railways and nther public-service cor
poratioDs, special interests that fatten
| through corrupt practices, Boss Butler
and his henchmen who have long rem
dered the city of st, Louis second only
| 20 that Of Philadelphia as cesspool of
| political corruption. the guilty officials
| In the democratic party and those who
hold briefs from the corporations, are
| leagued with the republicans in their
efforts to defeat Mr.. Folk and their hope
| Is based chiefly on the fact that the cleo
| ton methods in Missouri enable the
most gigantic frauds to he Ierpetrated
| in St Louis where Boss Batter has so
| long carried forward his criminally cor
supt operations
Here SIS in Wisconsin clear duty de-
wolves upon every sslf-respectiug pat
| riot As the democrats of Wisconsin
should support Gov La Toilette, SO
every fair-minded and republc-loving
republican in Missouri should vote and
work for the election Of the incorruptible
Young statesman who is carrying for
| ward the banner of pure government
| In each state tine friends of progressive
| republicanism or democracy have a SOL
! e1nn duty TO perform The pen ling bat
| tie In Wisconsin and Missouri is in our
/ Judgment far more vital and important
] 70 the fundamental principles Of free