The Monticellonian., 1904-02-18
WHICH Do Y0U WANT?

WHICH Do 40t WANT?
 Tt smith Elevator
 Itis claimed by the friends of Governor Davis, now candidate for tbe third term for governor. that tbe reason why ae ha~ par done5 70 many criminals is because hc a-a great, big soft hcar5, snd sa,t resist the inportGntlies 2. Ill distress Those for whom our governor seems to have the are1rcst sympathy src persons who have been convicted in the courts of some violation of the jaws of the State Which do we stand the most in need of in Arkansas: officers who symplthize mos. with the law abiding portion of our cit i1eus, or those whose sympathles go out most 10 the yiol5tors of the laws
 Do we want d man for governor who wili see that our laws are enforced. or one wbo will eneeu- age the violation Of these laws by pardoning those who break them
 What has been Gov Davis rec ord in this regards h t6e three years he has been governor he has pardoned ESQ criminals Nor were the majority of these young boys or unfortunate women Most of them were hardened criminals. Among this number were,some who had deliberately and defantly vi- plated the laws of our State. We cite the following lnstances
 The people of Jackson County, Ark, concluded that they did not want whiskey sold in that county and voted it out. They had the right to do this. The laws of the State gave them this right. Was it the duty of the governor to res pect the wishes of d majority of the people Of Jackson county: Should he have sympathized with them in their efforts to purify the  moral conditions of their county and to protect thelr young men from the evils of intemperaaee1 Certainly our readers will answer these questions in the affirmative
 But what did our "big. hearted governor do to sustain the law abiding people of Jackson county. There was one man by the name of Bob Simmons. who said to the people of Jackson. in effect, II want you to understand tAat yoa may vote whiskeY out as much as you want to. but l am go. ing to sell it right here in your county site of Newport, and I want to see you help yourself. l am stronger than the law.
 Acting on this idea Bob sim mons opened up his @bIind tiger saloon. He sold whiskey openly. nis deposits in bank were from $5oto sI5o per day. The bank books showed his deposits to have amounted to S33.5oo. The people of Jackson county determined to see which was the stronger, Bob Simmons or the Ia. The grand jury indicted Simmons and his bar keeper, Will Crutcher. Hon. S D. Campbell, the district attorney, did his duty well, and Simmons and Crutcher were convicted Simmons in sixty-four cases, his fines amounting to B. 300 Crutch# CT was also convicted in numerous cases. Another man, Bob O3neal, followed the footsteps of Simmons in defying the law and was con vieted in Jackson county in twen- ty-two cases for illegal sale of i- quor, and there were others who met the same fate at the hands of the juries of Jackson county. Surely everyone would suppose that in a contest of this kind the governor would be with those who were striving to uphold the majes- ty of the law. But not so with Governor Davis. His big heart bled, but not for the law abiding citizens of Jackson county. It bled for Bob Simmons and his as- sociates. His symp&thies were so aroused for the illicit whiskey ped dlers that he pardoned them all. His heart was too big 10 see Bob Simmons part with any of