The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1908-10-02

en- orrorsd g. nsittsirlnf us rrss'
state triVsrtt1 tnd ths fehelf soa0ras
D., which " costs tfitW eArh fraf ~
even student ln tts state vnissfslu 49,
but ~ % each yeas f0t svstf rutH lH 80
public schools
HOW CANDIDATES spoUtp OF
JuocUo.
! now want g. orct roruo reAsons WV
| should be elected Governor The onl,
way ~, which a candidate can D. fairy
Judged by the people ~ by his party teroui
W oOiclal service. the platform and prom
iscs upon which he invites the SUFFRAGE Of
the people ard hv the influences that sur
round his candidacy I have already rr-
fcrrcd somewhat IN detail TO tho trnu-
cucc~ that have secured the nomination
Tor Mr.. Covhord that surround him today
and that VIII surround him w case ~ hiH
election. Those influences consist ~ tn"
representatives OF a corrupt and a discr'ed-
itcd machine; the representatives " thoso
public service corporations which seek IA
VorS from the State and seek 10 prevent
legislation in the peoples Interest," tho
representative of those saloons and LIQUOR
interests which have tried TO violate the
law in the past and expect 10 do so In the
future; representatives OF those VINO
would use men to violate the law who
are sworn TO enforce the law, who would
use mon 20 dchach the ballot who are
sworn TO protect the ballot. These are
some Of the infences that secured Tor MT.
Cowherd his nomination, that they are to-
DAY fighting for his election and which
will surround him II successful.
| owe my nomination 10 the people OF
Missouri alone. | did not desire to he n
candidate for Governor, or for any other
office. but | responded to the expressed
will of the people OF Missouri without ref
erence TO party. | number among my
supporters the representatives OF no pub
,lic service corporations seeking favors
from tho state; the representatives OF no
law breaking saloons and l want none OF
either. My nomination has come 10 me
unpurchased and unsought. My election
will come to me without the taint OF
illeEality, or II will not come at all, II
there is the slightest question as 10 the
legality of my election. | will refuse TO
qualify as Governor until that question is
removed. | want no tainted office. The
only Influences that will surround me as
Governor are the influences that are repre-
scented by men as strong and clear ana
true as ever asked the suffrage of a peo-
| ple-my associates upon the Republican
State ticket. II YOU ask me for my dec
~laration Of principles and the promises l
offer To yoI. ] refer you to the republican
state platform. every plank of which l
endorse and every word of which l APP
prove.
THE RECORD OF OFFICIAL SERVICE.
And now as to the records OF official
service mat MT. tOWnpTu anu 1 NE W
the people as the promise of the manner
in which we will discharge the duties Of
the great office of Governor. To an exam
ination and comparison of those records
invite the attention of the people of the
State. Mr.. Cowherd has held four Of
fetal NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Prosecuting At
torney of Jackson County, First Assistant
City Counselor of Kansas City. Mayor OF
Kansas City, and Congressman from the
Fifth Congressional District. He has held
public office for fourteen years. and If he
or his friends can point to a single In
stance in any office that he has held
where he ever attacked an abuse. cor
rected an evil, opposed or defeated cor
rupt political influences for the benefit OF
the people of Missouri, I shall be glad to
nave that instance brought to the atten-
ton of the people Of the state.
I have held the office of First Assistant
City Counselor of Kansas City. Prosecut-
ing Attorney of jackson County and At
torney General Of Missouri. And II my
opponents can show wherein I have ever
failed to do my entire duty to the best of
my ability, ] invite that criticism. For
the purpose Of this discussion, 1t is not
important to refer to my record In the
office OF City Counselor OF Kansas City or
as Prosecuting Attorney of Jackson Coun-
ty. Four years ago. / was nominated for
the Office OF Attorney General by accident
and elected on purpose. And yet 1t was
an Office that ! thought ] did not want,
though / endeavored to take hold of 1t as
if l did. l soon learned that l could &C.
cupy my entire time with its ordinary rou-
tine duties, but l felt that as chief law
officer of the State ] should endeavor to
correct some Of the abuses and evils that
existed in our commercial and industrial
system to the injury of the people of the
State.
THE STANDARD OIL TRUST.
I found in the spring of 1905 that the
price of the products of petroleum had not
declined in this State for twenty years,
although during that time there had beer
a great increase in the production of crude
petroleum and a great decrease in its
price. / found that in the Kansas and
Oklahoma oil fields in 1900, there had beer
produced 81 900 barrels of crude petroleum
for which the producers have received
s1.20 a barrel; while in 1905 the produc-
tion had increased to over IL. 900. 900 a
year and the price had declined to 40 cents
per barrel. And yet. Notwithstanding this
great increase in the production of crude
petroleum, and Notwithstanding the great
decrease in its price. the price of refined
oil in this state, less than one hundred
miles distant, had increased during that
time over two cents a gallon. ! found thai
though there were a few independent OF
companies in this State, they were per
mitted to do only a. small portion Of the
business and that the price of refined OF
to our people was absolutely fixed ant
maintained by the Standard Oil Trust
And when ] realized the significance OF
these conditions. l realized that we hat
here in our midst a power greater thar
the power that was ever exercised by any
tyrant or despot in all the history Of thu
world. 1t was a power which could say
to the producer what he should receive
for his raw material. and could say to thu
consumer what he must pay for the fin.
ished product. 1t was a power dangerou.
to the existence Of Republican institutions
for it meant that we had upon the one
hand a master and upon the other hant
its necessary corollary-a slave. I turned
to the courts in an effort to secure RELIEF
for the people Of Missouri from this trib'
, ute which the Standard Oil Trust hat
levied rpor them for years. / instituted 6
suit against 1t and two of its puppet cor.
porations. the Waters-Pierce Oil Com.
Dany and the Republic Oil Company. Al
the time this suit was begun, there wa:
not pending in any State Of the Union Of
the United States Court a suit against thi,
Trust. A suit which had been begur
against It a short time before in the Stat,
Of Kansas had been dismissed because 4
was claimed no evidence could be secured
to sustain 1t. At the beginning. my effort.
to disclose the secrets of the Standard OF
Trust were greeted only with derision ant
contempt. huf 7 worked nm yVbap 7 fo,,pf