The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1911-11-09
DIsPosEs oF CLARK.


The editor OF the Globe has
known Champ Clark for many
years, long before he came into
prominence as presidential pos
sibility, ami esteemed him a man
aboN the average III ability with
honest convictions, and good old
Missouri horse sense, although a
little off III his political reckon
ing. However, as Champs, as
pirations have ''riz' his common
sense barometer has gone down
III compromising proportion until
those admirable qualities which
marked him in earlier days as a
leader OF men, seem to have de-
parted from him, as did the glory
and power of Saul, when he got
above his business as king. The
speakership seems to have rat
tied the gentleman from Mis-
SCUM" and caused him to cut
such unseemly and undlgnified
pranks as to lose him the conf
deEce of the public and his own
party as well, and today he sees
the possibility of his nomination
for president fading from his
view. In his recent Nebraska
speech Mr.. Clark again got him.
self tangled up with that unfor-
tunate annexation problem, the
ghost of which, Banquo like, will
NOT down for him, and he said:
"Nine-tenths of the people of
this country favor the annexation
Of Canada, and / don t care who
hears me say it.
"YOu let me run for president
on a platform calling for the an
nexation Of Canada, in 90 far as
this country can accomplish that
end, and let President Taft run
against me, opposing annexation
Why, / would carry every state
in the Union"
This second bad oratorical
break Of Speaker Clark on the
the subject of the annexation of
Canada, brought forth a severe
rebuke from the Democratic
Standard of Anaconda, Mont,
which says:
In the later years of his life,
close friends of Marcus DAILY
heard him say now and then: 81
know that / have made a good
many mistakes, but, anyhow, I
think i can say, to my own cred
it, that j haven't made the same
mistakes twice That is, at
least, more than Speaker Clark
can say. He Numbered stupidity
months ago, when he INDUCED in
idle remark about the alleged
wish of the people of the United
States to annex Canada. Our own
people felt that it was "a flippant
and thoughtless remark. not very
creditalle to the speaker Of the
national house of representative s
and they let it pass at that, be-
cause nothing pertinent was in
volved, since we do not crave the
annexation. But the people of
Car AGA grail bed at it and took
it seriously. To the astonishment
of all Of us, this flippant remark
by Speaker Clark actually serv-
cd IL gCod degree to peryert the
issue in the most important Can
adian elt elton of which any of us
have knowledge. We all wonder,
ed how the Canadians could be
thus misled.
Speaker Clark has made the
same mistake twice. We believe
that il is the sentiment OF the
great body of his fellow citizens
that he rs recklessly indifferent
to the responsibility as well as
the dignity of his high official
resi- visibility as well as the dig
nifty of his high official station.
He may have spoken at first in
a thoughtless way; he speaks
now with manifest method. In
the first instance his remark was
foolish; in the second instance
it is mischievous. This time,
we feel quite sure, his own fell
low citizens will take him SER
iously, as, the first time, he was
taken by our neighbors across
the border. In the government
of the republic he holds the Of
flee which, with respect to power
and influence and Importance
ranks next to the president it.
self. Champ Clark ought to real
ize that the people want no trif-
Ter in the speakers chair.
As we have said, the former
comment of Mr.. Clark-because
hn 4