The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-12-03
Dr.VOrbeck Reveals Wrangle
at Meeting Here Last
Monday.
HE TOLD DELEGATES
THEY PINED FOR PIE
Physician Says He Had His Say
But Was Steamr0llered
At the Finish.

There was a ripple of insurgency at
the meeting of the Southeast Missouri
Democratic Club here last Monday,
but it did not become publicly known
until yesterday.
The question of "home rule" caused
the clash. The vice presidents of the
new organization were chosen by the
delegates who took part in the meet
ing, and the rank and file of the coun-
ties which the vice presidents are sup
posed to represent did not get a
| hearing.
DR.. J. c. Vorbeck, who led the revo-
lutionary forces, declared that the con-
| ference was violating the principle of
the primary law, which, he asserted,
had come to stay.
"This is but an ax-grinding club"
shouted the physician. 'You are going
to appoint men to head the Demo-
cratic party in the counties of South
east Missouri without giving the work
ers a hearing You cannot overlook
home rule.
"Instead of this conference naming
the vice presidents who are to repre-
sent the club in the various counties,
you should permit the Democrats of
those counties to make their own selec-
tions. We might get the best men in
those counties and we are just as apt
to get the dead ones.
"The old convention plan of choos-
ing candidates and fixing states is
gone and in its place has come the
primary law, which gives the people
the right to rule
The Cape physician was sat upon.
While he made the delegates listen
while he had the floor, his suggestion
was received with frozen gIances, but
he did make a few of them squirm in
their chairs, he said.
When asked to explain why he
thought the club was an "ax-grinding
organization, DR.. Vorbeck said: "You
see this is the propositions: the men
who met here do not represent the
party, and the club does not represent
the party. There are some live men,
bers in the organization, but most of
them are what are commonly consider
ed dead ones
"Now the conference selected num-
Der of vice presidents, who represent
their respective counties in the South
east Missouri Democratic Club. These
| men are going to attend the Jackson
Day banquet in St. Louis, where Presi-
dent Wilson is expected to make a
speech. They will be there as the lead
ers of Democracy in Southeast Mis-
souri,.
'If the party is successful next year,
these men will claim all the credit that
belongs to Southeast Missouri, and
will, of course, spear all of the po-
t.tical pie. That's why l call it an
'ax-grinding club Any organization,
which only expects to land job for
each member is no better than set
of deuces, as a poker player would
say.
"Some of the men who were chosen
vice presidents are chairmen of coun-
ty committees. l have written to those
men during the course of recent CAM
paigns and failed to receive reply to
my letters. That shows just how ac-
tive they are in behalf of the party.
"Now am opposed to pinochle po-
litics, and l think l can say that a
great many Democrats in Southeast
Missouri are. Pm afraid l can't sup
port the club"
One of the local Democrats who took
part in the conference, was asked to
reply to DR.. Vorbeck's charges. He
said: "Now Doc is sore because we
had to push the steamrollers over him
The trouble with the Doc is that he is
too long on oratory. l don't think such
chaff should get into the press. VI
course, we Democrats do disagree al
times, but its all supposed to be just
between us girls"