The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1911-09-28
The Foolish Contest.

The Democratic contest, so called
br the two supreme judgeship and the
.unerintendency of schools, has finally
collapsed, after a desperate effort to
make some kind of a showing in the
contest though the latest move on the
mast of the contestants would in effect
compel the cases to drag along to
stemity. The commission has ruled
t,at the poll books need not be pro-
diced unless fraud is shown, and that
no fraud has been shown. The at
toney for the contestants has appealed
to the Supreme Court which meets in
October, and says that if the commiss
inner is sustained he will proceed to
c,ll. one by one, the 5000 or more
voters who have been challenged which
will build up lawyers fees intermin-
ably fine game truly, when it is a
fact, and is now known that it can
only end IN futlllty.
The collapse of the contest was indi-
Gated when judge Marshall, attorney
for the contestants, admitted the other
day that they did not expect to show
fraud! In the name of all that is sane,
what did they expect to show then?
The only answer is given by Marshall,
in citing about 5000 names of voters
with an effort on his part to show that
in the registration of these names cleri-
cal errors had been made. In short
the Democratic contestants are ready
and willing to take these offices on
trivial technicalities. They virtually
admit that the incumbents were duly
elected, but announce themselves of
no more exalted morality than is reveal
ed in their readiness to overthrow the
will of the people and take the Offices
themselves on nothing more substanti-
al than immaterial errors made by
clerks. A fine exemplifcation, surely
Of the sort of morals that dominates
what is left ofthe vicious old Demo-
cratic machine. Judge Spencer, of
counsel for the incumbent, the piddl-
ing nature of the contestants contenti-
on in Commissioner Culvert'S court by
producing the poll book to show that
the question as to whether or not Mar
shall himself was qualified voter had
not had the answer set down, and that
according to his own contention, Mar
shall was not himself qualified voter.
The whole contest may be con-
sidered desperate attempt to perpetu-
ate what is left of the old Democratic
machine by the same old methods.
The contest was i'll advised liz
any event, and I can but wonder at
the POLITICAL judgment of the men
who instituted it. 1t has so far served
one certain purpose, and that has
been to establish and make certain
that the Republican candidates were
honestly and fairly elected. Now,
when the fact no longer be evaded, the
contestants through their attorneys ad-
NIT that there was no fraud, but in
stead of admitting that they have failed
and dismissing the suits, they announce
themselves ready to proceed in the at
tempt to take the Offices away from
these men on absurd technicalities.
Such course betrays the innate dis
honesty of the whole proceeding.
The futile contest are the last expil-
Ing gasp of that old machine of the
Democratic party which gave the state
such frightful dose of bad govern
ment. It's tribulations have impress
ed it with none of the wisdom of the
proverb that honesty is the best policy.
Its misfortunes, which it brought upon
itself, have taught it nothing as to the
r-trlbution that surely follows wrong.
Injustice will not win in government
aud Of this its own fate is a fine illus
tration, but even the truth of experience
does not teach it. Failure and defeat
are the wage of betrayal of the people
and its own disasters emphasize this,
out still it does not know it. And now
that this last foolish contest has virtu-