Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1912-05-23

tral c0mmlVoo, paS fhiS 'ieSAN~"
on. modern politics;
Kansas. Just now. is going through
a whirlwind politically, aad the boss
busters are putting up the walls OF
their fort 80 substantial that they
seem to think can't be penetrated,
shouting all the time "the time for
bosses is gone" But their motives
do not seem to correspond, for their
actions speak louder than words.
Kansas at this time is bossed in
way that has eclipsed all bossing so
far attempted from the time OF It's
admission into the Union to the
present date. When careful sur
yey OF conditions is made politically,
you find that the main satellites that
bossed Kansas in times gone by are
still in the fold, and the conventions
packed as they we're of old. The hay
is cut and dried weeks before and
fed to the common herd, who with q
hungry political appetite, seem to
relish the feed on the great feast
day, the day of the great convention.
They only come together for the pur-
pose of ratifying the things that the
bosses have mapped out. The bosses
know who is to be the temporary
chairman, the permanent chairman
the secretary, committee on creden-
tials, committee on resolutions
(which were written days before),
the committee selecting the dele
gates and the bosses have ever Sc
lected them, even the Big Four. The
bosses chairman has this In his vest
pocket or somewhere upon his per-
son so that no halt will be, made in
the proceedings. Then the news
goes out to the world that the people
have ruled, for we bosses are the
people, when in fact the people don't
rule at all, they only endorse In
herds, and the common people Gown
the line swallow the dope, simply
because the Boss Doctor says take
it." You can't help yourself. Kansas
seems to be a. common old thing,
It is carried around in the vest pock-
cts of the bosses and handed out
promiscuously to anyone who asks
for it. We have been given away,
redeemed ourselves, and when we
/ cit safe some new political prophet,
assisted by the old guard, who al
ways wants to be in the ring, starts
us out again on our charity mission.
So it goes from one boss to another
and the question is who do we want
to boss US? We are arriving at
point where we want men, not fan
atics. We want brains, not buster.
We want statesmen, not demagogues
We want men with a sitter back
bone than the fishworm, the man
: that can get down with men. No
man can sympathize with you unless
he has had the same experience you
have, who knows what it is ITO earn
his living by good old, hard knocks.
The demagogue that gets out and
hollers ten cent corn and three cent
hogs" is shouting the galleries and
handing you rot of the worst kind
This Kind of politics don't go in Kan
sas, for no one wants ten cent corn
and three cent hogs no matter what
his politics is. Human nature is the
same the world over, for they all
seem to get all they can, and can
all they get. The man that is crying
'let the people rule" took this from
the man that stirred this country
from center to circumference pol~
tically with the free and unlimited
coinage of silver at the ratio Of six
teen to one, and is trying to ride
into office on this supposed popular
wave. Initiative and referendum are
not the ideas of sound and safe gov
eminent, and when man gets to the
point that he has not enough conf
dence in himself as to his honesty,
as a citizen, with the only desire
of asking for position, drawing the
salary and letting you do your own
work, is not worthy of trust as a
public servant, and Ought to be rele-
gated to the scrap pile of broken
down and worn out politicians. So
Kansas goes, and we hope that when
she gets over this spasm her politics
will be released by the probate court
(if he is not recalleD and pronounc-
ed sane. Kansas will outlive this
again Dust light case of blood poi
SOM and when this is worked out
of the system with some other kind
of political germ, we will all get to-