The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1908-02-27
And the Wind Blew.

was we'll filed, and the governor
who is a fluent speaker held the
attention of the audience for over
two hours. If the speaker were
candidate for the state legislature
the measures of reform that he ad-
vocated would have been very ap
propriate, and even though his rec
ord of the past twenty years as a
shrewd political manipulation might
tax our faith in his sincerity, we
might feel like supporting him, but
his talk had no more to do with the
duties of United States senator
than Ito use his own language) the
moon has to do with green cheese.
It would be appropriate for can
didate for the U. S. senate to tell
the voters what he hoped to do for
them if elected, but on this he was
as silent as sphinx.
He told us of many defects in
the past management OF our state
affairs defects that must have
been known to him when he was a
member of the legislature, when he
was attorney general, when he was
at various times stumping the
state for the republican ticket and
praising the record of the republi-
can party just as earnestly and ell
oquently as he now critlcizes it
Granting that he is now sincere in
his desire to remedy these defects
and is not simply talking to gain
votes, how does he expect to do it
at Washington?
AS g. s. senator he would have
to deal with the currency legisIa-
ton, with tariff revision, with the
ship subsidy, revision of the inter
state commerce law, parcels post
law, inland water navigation and
numerous other measures that the
people of this state are interested
in, but where he stood on these
questions he never mentioned. He
did refer to the record of Sen. Kit
tredge on the Panama Canal issue
and tried to make it appear that
the senator had antagonized the
president by working for a sea lev
ell canal. He said a commission
of government experts whose ahil-
ity and honesty we don't dare to
question" had reported that it
would take twenty years to com.
plete the sea level canal while the
lock canal could be built in six
years, and the sea level would cost
$1OO, 100000 more to build. Ifany
experts ever made such report
there was certainly good reason to
"question their ability and hon
esty," as experience has proven
that they were woefully off. Sen.
Kittredge said at the time that the
sea level canal would not cost over
$50, 100000 more and the differ
ence in time would not be more
than two or three years. Judging
by the latest testimony of Gen.
Goethals, the present superintend-
ent of construction, the sea level
type could be completed sooner
and would cost very little if any
more than the lock type. Thus
experience has already proven the
wisdom of the senator's position
and his critics now have the hot
end Of the poker.
Although his talk on state issues
was not pertinent he discussed d
matters that the people are inter.
ested in and it is with these that
Mr.. Crawford has been identified
in the past, SO we refer to them.
He criticized severely the old
caucus and convention system ot
making nominations, claiming that
the public service corporations
dominated the conventions, dictat.
ed the resolutions and determined
the candidates. That with the
prestige that they gained through
the distribution of passes and 9th,
er favors that it was impossible fol-
any person antagonistic to them to
secure nomination. In fact he
said any one who would run up
against such an organization as