Los Angeles herald., 1905-01-10
FOLK ASSUMES
DUTIES OF OFFICE
MlSS0URPS EXECUTIVE IS
INAUGURATED
FLAYS BRIBERY IN ADDRESS
Declares Legislators Who Barter
Votes for Gain Are lntolerabIe
and Must Suffer Just
Punishment
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo-, Jan. o.
Every train arriving today added to
the already large crowds of people who
had assembled from various parts of
the state to attend the Inauguration of
souri,.
Mr.. and Mrs. William j. Bryan and
80 other guests, among them promi-
ment democrats and their wives, were
present.
Previous to the Inauguration ceremo-
nies Mr.. and Mrs. Folk were guests
of honor at a breakfast given at the
gubernatoria mansion by outgoing
Governor Dockery.
Promptly at noon Mr.. Folk was in
augurated. The ceremonies took place
in the house of representatives which
had been appropriately decorated. Gov
ernor Folk in his inaugural address
said in part: "Partisanship is good
thing sometimes, but patriotism is n
better thing all the time. Par
tisanship is well enough when it does
not conflict with patriotism; but pa
triotism is a higher virtue than parti-
sanship.
Some of you are democrats, some
are republicans, all are Missourians.
In the discharge of official duties let
us be Missourians before we are any
thing else Do not forget that you
will be aiding the party you may be-
long to most by giving the public the
highest service. You cannot help your
party by injuring the public. One may
be in private life a democrat or repub
Office he becomes a public servant-a
servant of all the people.
when you come before the people
to give an account of your stewardship,
the account must be for public service,
and not for party work. Your party
nominated you, the people elected you
here to serve the people and by that
service you will reflect credit or dis
credit on your party. You are here
as legislators, not as politicians, ana '-le
welfare Of the state should ever be
your first consideration. If the pub
lie veal Should conflict with party
advantage or personal ambition the
public good should prevail.
"If there be any corruption during
this session of the general assembly IL
would be a disgrace to the state and
reflection on every man in this body
and upon every official in the state gov
ernment 1t is too often the tendency
OF good men in legislative bodies TO
close their eyes to things of this ma
ture, satisfied with their own honesty,
but forgetting that it is as much their
duty to protect and defend the honor OF
the state as it is their own honor
Deals With Vote Selling
"The legislator who sells his vote
traffics in the honor of a sovereign
people and prostitutes the trust reposed
in him. There can be no offense which,
if allowed to go on, is fraught with
graver consequences. 1t is more fatal
to civil life than any other crime. for
1t pollutes the stream of law at its
source.
"It makes the passage of laws mere
matters of bargain and sale, thWarts
justice, enthrones iniquity and renders
lawful government impossible. If all
official acts were for sale we would
have a government not Of for and by
the people, but a government Of for
and by the few with wealth enough TO
purchase official favor. 1t is the highest
duty of every legislator, of every Of
fetal and of every citizen to do all that
he can to eradicate this evil, which is
the greatest enemy to free government
and the greatest danger that confronts
this nation today
Money Not the Only Bribe
at is not always by taking money
that an official may prostitute his
trust. He does it whenever he uses
the power given him to be exercised
for the public good for any other pur-
pose. An official can embezzle public
power as well as public money. One
in public office has no more right to
use his official powers for personal
ends than he would have to put his
hands into the public treasury to pay
a private debt.
I'm order to aid in the investigation
of rumors of corruption, laws should
be enacted compelling witnesses to
testify as to their knowledge of bribery
transactions and eXempting such wit
nesses from prosecution for any mat
ters directly or indirectly growing out
of such testimony.
"When a legislator accepts a pass
he puts it in the knowledge of the
representative of the railroad that he
has violated the law and is subject to
Indictment. This knowledge can be
used by the railroad representative to
club the legislator into submission to
corporate interests.
at is proper that railroads and all
interests, quasi public and public,
should have the right to appear before
lepislatiVe committees and present rea-