The news-democrat. (Providence, R.I.) 1906-1909, 1906-10-30

WILL 90 ALL THAT I CAN BY UNDERTAk-
ING THIS BLOT FROM THE
EscuTcHEoN OF rHE STATE OF RHODE
ISLAND.
MY ELECTION OR MY DEFEAT REALLY
MEANS LITTLE TO ME-. BUT ASK THAT
MAY BE USED BY THE PEOPLE OF RHODE
ISLAND TO DO THIS THING FOR WHICH
PLEDGE ny PUBLIC AND PRIVATE EFFORTS
FROM THIS TIME ON.
Is this not a confession of past duplicity, in
sincerity and poltroonery' Is it not an admission
that for twenty years George II. Utter has been
playing base and ignobe confidence game on the
people of Rhode Island?
What becomes of that record of twenty years
unsullied public service? Is it not as hollow sham
as Elisha Dyers war record is miserable
mockery?
According to George H. Utters previous dec
larations the boss is private citizen who be
driven from the state house for his scandaous traf
hc in the laws of the state of Rhode Island.
When he pledged himself to exert all the power
of the executive office to drive the boss and his
monstrous merchandising from the halls of legisla-
ton, George II. Utter accused Mayor Higgins of
appealing to ignorance resorting to demagogy.
Yet it is this same Governor Utter who now de-
clares that Brayton has come to be menace to the
best interests of the state of Rhode Island
II is this same Governor Utter who has been
pointing to his faithful and courageous service in
public office upon which he asks the citizenship
to reelect him, who, no longer able to withstand
the relentless scrutiny of aroused and indignant
people, bows his head in shame and confesses Il
been content to be free from this influence myself
and remain quiet"
Singing and scourgng as have been the char
acterizations of the governors pusillanimy, they
are dwarfed into pettyness by this snvelling con-
fession. Partly false" only Falsus in uno, falsus
in omnibus, is as true today during all the CEN
turies since it penned, and it is as true Of
George n. Utter as it ever has been OF any culprt
against whom it has been aimed.
He has been false to the people in everything,
because in his cowardice he permitted the scandal
Gus usurpation and abuses of power continue un-
checked and unexposed; because he sat supinely by
while a brazen and vulgar boss sold the laws of
the state in the state house itself and did nothing
whatever to put an end to the monstrous outrage,
and because he has accepted nominations from
maevolent Braytonism and expects to be the
beneficiary of it's shameless debauchery of the
electorate.
George II. Utter now makes this pledge: That
l will do all that l can by undertaking to remove
this blot from the escutcheon of the state of Rhode
Island"
What is such pledge worth in the light of his
own confession? Absolutely nothing. 1t was George
II. Utter who, less than two weeks ago. warned
the people against accepting the pledges of any
candidate unless his past performances insured the
future redemption of those pledgesf
Judged by his standard his pledge is worth
less For two years he was the daily associate of
Braytonsm and eye witness of its iniquities,
yet nterfered with its vile practices by word
or act. On the basis of such confessed cowardce
how he have the effrontery to put forward
promise of future courage2
Success was almost assured the forces of civic
righteousness before George H. Utter declared him
self pusillanmous pretender. Today victory is as
certain as anything human can be, because out of
the mouth of it's own candidate and its own benh-
ciary has the declaration that Braytonism is
a malign and menacing thing that ought to be de-
stroyed
And destroyed it will be, not under the leader
ship of self-poried potroon but under the
leadership of that fearless and dauntless champion
of popular rights and civic decency-James H. Hig-
Gins of PaufIckef