New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1904-11-19
AN OBJECT LESSON IN DOWNING
RING RULE.

~
to the Republican column.
Missouri had been previously
overwhelmingly Democratic. 1t is
true that the city of st. Louis
Isometimes elected Il Republican
| Mayor and a Republican Repre-
sentative in Congress, but these
lwere incidents merely. The State
ALWAYS had a Democratic Legisla-
ture. n Democratic Governor, two
/ Democratic Senators, and pretty
nearly full Democratic represen.
tatiou IN the House. Missouri had
been slave State up to and during
the Civil War, and was represented
III the Confederate Congress. Tho
State was always elassed with tho
Solid South.
Now what happened in the No
vember election was this. Mis-
lsouri went over to the Republican
arty, horse, foot aud Dragons.
1t not only cast its vote for Roose.
Welt, but it elected full Republi-
can Legislature and State ticket,
with the single exception Of Gov
ernor, and to that Office it advanced
Joseph II Folk, the famous Demo
cratic District Attorney of the city
'of st, Louis.
Mr. Folk, although he had been
elected to the Office of Public Pros
ecutor as a member OF the motor
iously corrupt Democratic city
ring, had signalzed his position by
exposing and dragging to justice
its bribetakers, jobbers and rob-
bers, and securing the conviction
of some terms in the penetentiary,
while he drove others as fugitives
from justice out of the State and
out of the country But not only
did he make a deadly assault npon
the Democratic city ring of st.
Louis, but in the course of his in
vestigations he discovered that the
same sort of criminal corruption
had been going on in the Demo
cratic State Legislature, and he set
in motion prosecution OF the leg.
islative ring which brought to light
a hideous state of official graft.
The result of these exposures by
a Democratic law officer so as
founded and Mortified the people
of Missouri that they rose against
the Democratic city and State rings,
and drove them ont as far as the
election could do so. The result
so far, is that Folk himself was
elected Governor, and is the only
Democrat that will be in the State
Administration. The Republicans
will have in the next Congress
eight Representatives, whore in
the last Congress they had only
one, and as they will have in the
State Legislature on joint ballot
some twenty majority, they will
elect a Republican to the United
States Senate in place of General
Francis M. Cockreil, who has been
a Democratic Senator from Mis-.
souri, for the past twenty-four
years.
Now, the lesson which is to he
learned from this remarkable po-
litical revolution in Missouri Is
that State and city Government,
under the control of alleged Dewn-
cratic rings, had become so wholly
corrupt aud so absolutely unbeaf.
able, and so utterly odious to the
people of the State that, without
regard to party, they rose up In Il
body and drove out of Office every
rascal Of the riugsters.
1t is the usual rule for these cor
rupt. political rings to claim that
they represent the only true nnd
genuine Democracy in the State or
city, and to denounce every citizen
who will not come under their alb
solute aud arbitrary control as
renegades and traitors. However
that uubearable arrogance may be
able to lash the people Of some
States into slavish subservience, il
will not go down with the rock
ribbed Democrats of Missouri.
They have risen up as one man and
cast the rascals and robbers into
our darkness. The people of Mis-
sonri have set an example which
there is good reason to believe will
be followed by people of other
States, and the revolution should
go on until every corrupt aud
criminal political ring rule, no
matter what party it may claim to
represent, shall be hurled from
power and driven from all political
recognition for the balance of the
time allotted to the present gen
Grafton. .--Picayune.
Cured Consttpdtion.
Mrs. b. w. Evans, Clearwater, Kan,
writes; aMy husband lay sick for three