The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1907-10-07
Shows to First District Citi-
zens That Machine at
Frankfort is Not Represent
alive OF Great Political
party, But Only Politicians
and Time Servers.
GREAT SPEECH AT BENTON.
(staf Correspondence.l

Benton, KY, Oct. Roosevelt
said at Cairo: you cant win a fight
except by hitting; no battle was ever
won by merely parrying the other
fellows blows" The Democratic ma
chine leaders have been on the de-
fensive throughout this campaign. In
fact, the campaign is more analogous
to prize fight than to any other COM
lparison. So far it has been a fight in
which the Democratic speakers have
had their full attention taken up in
parrying the blows delivered by the.
Republican candidates, and the only
| fouls recorded have been against theI
defense, while the Republican lead
ers have given solar plexus jabs inI
every round,
Augustus E. Wilson, Republican
candidate for governor, is the central
figure in the aggressive movement
against the Democratic machine
forces, for Mr.. Wilson always dis
Itinguishes to his audiences. the diff
ference between real Democrats and
such corrupt politicians as constitute
the machine. For a real, Jeffersonian
Democrat, Mr.. Wilson has nothinL
but admiration. He repeatedly has
said that no nation. state or commune
ty is safe unless there are two orr
more parties, and his conception of
true citizenship is the man.. who
shows that parties are the instru-
ments by which the good Of the re-
public is advanced, by Independent
and conscientious voting. To make a
fetish of a party, to be basely sub
missive to a party whip, whether Re-
publican or Democratic, is both con-
temptible and dangerous to the life oil
the republic.
Benton and Marshall county citi- |
zens heard just as fine a speech Sat
urday afternoon from Mr.. Wilson. as
1t was the pleasure of Murray and |
Galloway county to hear the day be- |
fore. There is that in Mr.. Wilson's
manner that disarms all suspicion of
insincerity How can fellcw-Kentuck,
ians doubt a man who looks them
squarely in the eye and tells them
that he wants them to vote conscien-
tiously and independently, because he
himself votes from the same motives?
Who tells them that his nomination
meant the death of any old Republic
can machine and the assurance thatN
no new one would be built? I'm this as
in all charges against the Frankfort
machine, he does not lay down pr.u-
ciples for them that he does not cX-
pect to follow himself His honest
contempt for machines is such that
causes him to condemn one wherever
il may be found, whether a Republi-
can machine in Pennsylvania or
Democratic machine in Kentucky?
1t must be evident to all the people
that there is nothing spontaneous
about the Democratic campaign
Beckham, Hager and company are
not the candidates of the DemocratcI
voters of Kentucky but Of Beckham
Hager and company. They are not
travelling about the state receiving
the free-will commentator of Dem
ocrats, who cherish their admins,ra-
lions as good history for future gem
erations of school children to study.
In truth they are harasslng the
good Democratic citizen
ship to stand by them once more,
and as a cloud to hide their malad-
they interpose the troub-