The Mena weekly star., 1910-10-20
TOLD OF MISSIONS
COL. ROOSEVELT QUEST OF KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS AT
 PEORIA, ILL.
THE CoRRUPTlONISTS SCORED
Alter Commenting the Work of tho Roman Catholic Church in Africa tho Colonel Denounced tho Jack Pottsra1 In Legislature.

Peoria, III. Oct. 14.-Bx- x-Preeident Roosevelt came up from the South in to Illinois, denounced corrupt legis- latures and commended work which the Roman Catholic church ia doing Leaving St. Louis early in the day, he travelled across the southern end of Illinois, speaking at several places on the way In Peoria he was the guest of the Knights of Columbus, to whom he made a speech at a dinner.
 It was Col Roosevelt's first public utterance to Roman Catholics since the Vatican incident last spring. He said that he favored the broadest measure of religious toleration.
 In brief speech to the crowd at the railway station in Springfield, Col Roosevelt made what was construed as a reference to the allegations of corruption in the Illinois legislature. Hardly had he begun to speak when a man in the crowd called out:
 Scored the corruptlonlsts.
 Give 1t to the Jack-potters colonell"
 The others in the crowd to whom ex- pression had become q familiar one since the confession of members of the Illinois legislature that they had shared in a corruption fund which was called the jackpot" applauded. Col. Roosevelt took 1t up and attacked the men Involved in the legislative scan dal as vigorously as he did In his speech last month at the Hamilton club banquet in Chicago, from which Senator Lorimer was excluded after the colonel had refused to attend the dinner unless the invitation to the senator was withdrawn.
 Good. my friendl l am glad to hear you say that he said "No man who Is worth his salt will have any thing to do with any ono of the creat- nrc who wore tainted in that scandal. The most important thing before us as people is to drive from public life the cooruptionist, tho bribe-taker, the birbe-giver The men whom you speak of as jack-potters arc traitors to tho American people. traitors of the basest kind, and it Is infamous in any one to condone their iniquity or to support them and stand behind them directly or indirectly The presence in public life of such men is a shame and a scandal and do not care rap whether they belong to my party or to some other party. hold 1t my bounden duty to be equally hostile to them in either event"
 A Country Of Toieration.
 When Col. Roosevelt arrived in Peoria he went to the Country club for luncheon, then visited the kome of Archbishop Spaldlng A public recep- tion followed At the dinner Bourke Cochran of New York. Richard Henry Little of Chicago and Dr. R. Emmett Kane of St Louis made speeches be- Tore Col Roosevelt delivered his ad- dress.
 In his address Col. Roosevelt said
 There is no other country in the world where there is such really broad religious toleration, such kindly good will. among good people of different religious creeds. There Is no other country whore Catholic and Protestant get on as we do here, each treating tho other on the basis of our common citizenship, and judging him not as to how he worships his creator. but on his conduct toward his fellowmen, on his own worth as man. We must never permit anything to make us de- viate from this standpoint.