The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1912-09-27
HUMAN RIGHTS
ROOSEVELT JOKE
(By Frederick w. steckman. J


of the third term candidate that thu
man rights" may be assured the great
mass of the people only by putting
him in the White House for another
four years has caused a litter of mer-
riment to spread over Missouri.
II there is one commonwealth in
the Union that can throw this can't
ing phrase back into the teeth of the
Roosevelt rooters it is the "Show Me-"
state
Human rights" has been the slogan
and the watchword of the Missouri
democracy for many years. The stat
ute books of the state TEEN today with
real pros ressive laws, not theories,
but actualities.
Missouri boasts as many, if not
more, social betterment laws as any
other state. And everyone of these
acts of humanity have been passed by
democratic legislatures.
The ! initiative and referendum,
which the third termers would try to
make the unthinking believe is an
original discovery, has been part of
the Missouri constitution for eight
years. A democratic majority put it
there.
The nine-hour workday law for wo-
men was enacted by the last Missouri
legislature, both branches Of which
were in the control of the democrats.
Eight years ago Missouri adopted
a child labor and compulsory educa-
ton act. Two years ago this law was
amended so as to make it applicable
to the entire state instead of to only
large cities.
Mrs. E. NJ Grossman, wife of the
assistant treasurer of the democratic
national committee, was largely in.
strumental in the passage of the two
latter laws, and to her and the late
Senator Thomas O. Kinney, whose
democracy never was questioned, be-
longs most Of the credit for their pres
ent successful operation.
An inspection of the Missouri stat
ute books might sead -e1e-sto believe
that the third term party platform
trainers had many Of its sections be-
fore them when they drafted the doc
ument on which they are now seeking
recognition.
Missouri has a corrupt practices act,
direct primary and senatorial primary
laws; an antitrust law strong enough
to bring the powerful Standard Oil
and International Harvester trusts to
their knees, and an anti-lobby act,
which drove from the state capital two
years ago every special privilege rep
resentatiye and forced the railroads
to acknowledge that their rights were
not superior to those of the common
people.
1t was during the administration Of
Joseph w. Folk that the humanity
laws found their way to the Missouri
statute books, but one must go back
further to find the Inauguration of
remedial measures that the third term
ers now would claim as their very
own.
A brief comparison of the systems
.
employed by the democratic Missouri
legislature and the republican general
assembly of Illinois affords a striking
example of the progress of the former
and the standpat proelivities of the
latter
In Missouri it is impossible for jack
pots to flourish for the very good rea-
son that every precaution has been
taken to keep the searchlight on the
operations of the legislators. For in
stance, in Missouri the speaker of the
house and the president of the senate
must announce their committee ap'
pointments before bills are introduced
and ten-day limit is set as the time
any bill may remain in committee.
In Illinois the committees are not
appointed unit latter the bills are pre-
sented, or the great bulk of them, and
there is no limit upon the time com
mittee may keep bill. To the man
familiar with legislative affairs It is
readily apparent why the lobbyists at
Springfield, H.. have the whip hand
in the legislature of Lincoln's state
and why it is impossible for these
same tools of the interests to throttle
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