The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1915-08-26
Brother Codrington Informed

demands are SOMETIMES Hldue upon
"a fellow, especially an editor
Here, for example, is Chris Cod
rington of the DeLand News, a
man who certainly has better
sense than to ask such fool ques-
ton, who clamors, "Will Jordan
please inform the trusting people
Iof the state as to whether or not
the railroads and saloon interests
'Iof Florida contributed to Gil
christ's campaign for governor in
1908, and, if so, how much?"
Notwithstanding the jackassi-
cality of the question, Jordan, be-
cause of his regard for Chris Cod
rington as personal, if not po-
litical friend, hereby takes pleas
ure in giving Chris confidentially
all the information he demands.
THE railroads and the liquor deal
ers sent accredited representa-
tives to The Herald to give strict
Ily confidential information as to
what they were doing. Mr.. Par
rott, of the East Coast Railway,
came down in his private car for
the sole purpose of telling Jordan
THAT the railroads were putting up
E$2, 315, STOP for use in the cleo
| ton. Gus Muller, the whiskey
general of Jacksonville, came with
Mr.. Parrott simply and only to in
form Jordan that the liquor deal
ers had subscribed to a. fund a.
mounting to 1860, 432.19 which al
so was to be used in the campaign.
That all this vast sum of money
was used, there can be no doubt,
for Stockton was defeated by
5000 majority.
When these men told Jordan
what they were doing, they pledg-
ed him never to tell either Gil
christ or Chris Codrington any.
thing about it, and to this day
Gilchrist has never known what
an immense amount of money it
took to elect him nor hwo contrib
uted it. He was always under
the conviction that he was elected
by the unbought vote of the peo-
pie.
Now, seriously, Chris Codring-
ton and every other well inform
ed man in this state knows that,
when Gilchrist was running a.
gainst Stockton for governor,
Stockton made a speech in which
he declared shat he did not want
either the liquor or the railroad
vote; consequently, that vote
went to Gilchrist To whom
should it have gone? TO Stock
ton? Perhaps Chris will say that
railroad men and liquor dealers
should be prohibited by law from
voting at all.
If any money was contributed
and used by any man or set of
men, individual or corporation,
for the election of Gilchrist as gov
ernor, and the money was improp-
erly, illegitimately or illegally
applied, Gilchrist was in utter ig-
norance of it. One instance of
money contributed and spent with
out his knowledge, legitimately,
occurred at Live Oak, where some
friends put up the cash and hired
half a page in the Democrat in
which to advocate his cause.
Other instances might be given,
but it is unnecessary.
If there is any man in the
United States that would not for
a moment countenance any TORN
of corruption or even of simple de-
ception to be used in his behalf,
that man is Albert w. Cilchrist of
Punta Gorda. We know him and,
as Paul says, we testify OF those
things we do know. He has the
one chief requisite which is lack
ing in two-thirds of the public
men of the present day, moral
courage. Neither the devil nor
all the saints, neither friend nor
foe can swerve GilchriSt from the
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