Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-05-21
FOLK WILL TALK
AT COvINA FIRST
FORMER GOVERNOR TO REACH
LOS ANGELES TODAY
MlssouRIAN WILL LECTURE BUT
ONCE IN ANGEL CITY
MAGAZINE Writer Quotes Buffers Own
Words Relative to Latter's In
PRODUCTION to Man Who
Convicted Him

Former Governor Joseph Folk OF
Missouri will arrive in Los Angeles
at S:45 o'clock this morning. The Dem
ocratic county central committee Will
meet him at the depot and accompany
him to his hotel. Friday he will be
taken about the city and surrounding
country on an automobile tour. He
will deliver a lecture Friday evening
at Covina. Mr.. Folk will deliver but
one lecture in Los Angeles and that
will be at Simpson auditorium, Satur-
day evening.
Saturday the distinguished guest
will be entertained at luncheon by the
City club at the Westminster hotel.
He will be in the city but the two days
and will leave after the lecture Satur-
day evening for his return trip east.
The subject of his lecture here VIII
be. Soldiers of Peace"
First and foremost among those who
have struggled honestly and persistent
ly to put down graft in politics and
to arouse the public conscience in be-
half of clean government has stood
Joseph Folk After a most remark
able career as circuit attorney OF st.
Louis, Folk was made governor OF the
state of Missouri at the age of thirty
five.
Butter First Hears of Folk
AS circuit attorney of st. Louis he
made a non-partisan fight against one
of the strongest and most bipartisan
political machines ever organized IN
this country. For thirty years the
Missourians had literally turned over
their money to maintain system that
curtailed their rights and liberties. In
an unguarded moment Ed Butler, the
political boss of st. Louis, whom Folk
afterwards convicted of bribery, allow
ed Folk to become circuit attorney.
According to William Allen White in
McClure's magazine, this is how Folk
broke through the political fence, as
told by Mr.. Butler himself:
Said Ed Butler sitting on the porch
of the Hotel Navajo in Manitou, max
ing a fine picture of defunct leader-a
statesman out of job: 1T was like
this: l was going to dominate man
named Clark-good fellow, and all
right, s fairs I know. when in comes
Harr yHawes to my office one day an
says, Colonel, how bad do you want
that man Clark? An 1 says, well
l dunno; I've promised it to him.
Well, Harry says, I got young teller
name Folk I want to have It That
was Harrys way. lie wanted to be
leader. An he knew he couldn't beat
me fair; so he done it the other way.
saws, well, I'll see Clark and see
what he says And seen him and he
saws he didn't need the office particu-
larly. and 1 says, well, if you don't,
Harry Halves s got a young feller
name Folk that's been attorney for
the Union Labor fellers and settled
up their strike for EN-, and Harry
kind O. wants to name him. and So
the next time I seen Harry 1 says,
bring your little man around and
he done it and I looked him over and
there didn't seem to be anything the
matter of him, so l says all right and
he was nominated. An look what he
done-spent four years tryin' to put
me in the penitentiary-that's the kind
of a man Harry Halves is. He's a
leader now, and I'm out. An that's
how he done It."
UncoVers Corruption
But Folk gained his office without
any false pretenses. In all his speeches
and to all his friends Folk declared he
would enforce the laws as he found
them, but as every office seeker for
the last thirty years had declared the
same things, none of the machine
ever suspected that such thing might
really happen. 1t was something of a
joke that the man who nominated Folk
laid great stress on the fact that Folk
would enforce the law and that man
was one Of the first Folk put behind
the bars for boodling. Within three
years Folk uncovered in ST. Louis
more corruption than had ever before
been uncovered at one time and place
in the civilized world.
The machine used every conceivable
means to brighten him from his pur-
pose it set courtesans upon him; 1t