The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1906-02-09
CONGRESSMAN MURPHY TALKS.
Says Public Buildings and Pension
Bills Were Prsmised For State.
hood Votes.

Congressman A. Z. Murphy of
the Sixteenth district of Missouri,
one of the 'insurgent" Republican
members Of Congress who could
not be coerced by the party lash
and the big stick" nor bribed by
promises of Federal patronage to
vote for the Administrations I'M
just statehood bill, has few
words to say back to those who
call him boiler. In an interview
just after the vote was taken he
said
Il have noticed in the morning
papers that ! have been charged
with being boiler. cannot un.
derstand why ] should be thus
charged. for the reason that ! am
the keeper Of my own conscience
and have voted in accordance with
what believe to be the wishes of
the 200, 900 people in my district.
BY the way. when we talk
about bO.ters, ] am reminded of
the emissary with the coat OF many
colors lSecretary Taft is here re.
ferred to- who went to the State of
Ohio, after the majority had spok.
en-, aud advocated the defeat of the
Republican candidate for governor.
The caucus, MS Il was called, was
not n caucus, but a conference, and
Immediately after We had entered
into the conference Mr.. Adams, of
Wisconsin, asked the chairman,
Mr.. Hepburn, whether il was
conference or caucus, and the
chairman said / will hold that it
is not n caucus, but merely Il con-
ference. advisory and not binding
This we participated in, and yet
after we had voted, our friend, Joe
Cannon, who seems to be big boss,
made speech and declared TINT he
would consider aud hold that it
was binding.
They have tried to make a par.
tlSan question out Of this statehood
matter, but partlsanship will not
deter me from voting my sent.
ments and what | believe TO be
the wishes of my district in matters
that are clearly not political. But
it has been said that Mr.. Cannon
and Mr.. Beveridge agreed that this
should he made a Republican
measure, and put through the
House as a partisan question.
While ] have great respect for
these gentlemen, yet the Republi-
can party is not composed of two
men, and the only party measure
that can be put through this House
with reference to the question, so
far as ! am concerned, is the wishes
of the party. as has been expressed
in their platforms for the last twelve
years.
The people of the Sixteenth
District sent Ee here in repre-.
sentative capacity, aud | have eX
pressed my vote in accordance with
their wishes and their desires, and
if it is required OF me AS party
man that should cast my vote
otherwise, then | will send my
proxy here to the gentlemen that
purport to be the Republican party.
SO long as | stay here | shall
be the keeper Of my own vote, and
shall cast it for my district, but !
will never cast it in the interest of
any boss, nor for the advantage of
any machine, nor can | be coerced
into being a misrepresentation in.
stead of Representative.
Public buildings and pension
bills were promised in return for
votes for the statehood bill, and !
have been approached in the in
terest of the machine, aud, perhaps
had demanded il, could have
established a Federal Court at
RolIa, but ] cannot surrender my
vote, nor can surrender the in
terests Of my diatrict under such
conditions or any circumstances.
! may not be renominated, ! !
may not he reelected if ! should |
be renOmlnated, but so long as |
stay here ! propose to oppose bos-
sism, coercion and machin" rule. -
The funeral Of Father l,wuvrDl at
pnrrvvilIn an tho yu,b ,F, ,. ia,