Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1916-04-21

en- the opportunity
Editor d. o. Croft is not an "op-
portuhist" He does not wait for
the old boy to come along and knock
at his humble door. He is the sort
that create opportunities, take them
by the nape of the neck and wiring
all the good there is in them out of
them for the good of his fellow hui
man beings, and recks little of the
honor and glory that may reflect on
the wringer. ID. o. doesn't expect
his name to be emblazoned upon the
golden panels in the hall of fame:
he seeks only by his deeds a niche
in the temple of memory of his fell
lows for what good he may accom-
plish for them-and the believes he
can be of benefit to them as their
representative. When a man like
this seeks the rather empty honor
of representing his people in the leg
islative halls, there is reason to be-
1eve that the moral and intellectual
plane of the assembly has a reason
able chance for improvement. Such
men do not often seek this usually
thankless Job,
A great many people in Atoka
county, and all over this portion of
the State, believe that all members
Of the Legislature should be of the
Tide-gauge, sterling, honest variety
as typified by Mr.. Croft. He has
made a success of his life, many long
years of which have been spent as a
real friend to the. people among
whom he has cast his lot; the school
of experience has taught him many
things about men and their methods
that Il is good for a legislator to
know and bear in mind; his teach
Iings and his preachings have always
been of the kind that point a way to
community and commonwealth bet
terment; ever imbued with the lofty
ideal Of the greatest good to the
greatest number; a stickler for hon
orable dealings among all men, and
an earnest advocate that all public
dealings be with honorable men. "A
man to tie to; a man who will not
throw you down; a man whose heart
is always in the right place, and just
where all people who know him feel
they may always locate it; with a
ready and infectious smile and kind
word not bred by the ambition of
preferment, but inherent in the man.
This is the man who wants to rep
resent Atoka county in the legisla-
ture of the State.
We are aware that it is not custo-
mary to indulge in so full and per-
haps verbose laudation of a candi-
date for office in another county;
but we have no excuse to offer. A
worthy brother of our profession,-
not "in distress"-seeks but q recog-
milton at the hands of his people of
the merit he believes he deserves,
with the single purpose Of increasing
that merit in the estimation of, his
constituency by doing for them many
things Cor helping to do them) which
will rebound to their benefit. '
D. o. Croft was born at very
early and tender age within the rug
ged confines of the old State of Ken
lucky, and grew up in the newspa-
per business in Louisville, under the
able tutelage of MARS Henry" Wat
terson, editor of the Courier-Journal.
During the years that Mr.. Croft was
connected with this publication Hen
ry Watterson was his friend, and
most of the really good things he
knows of the newspaper game Mr.
Croft admits were acquired from his
celebrated friend D. o. is of that
type so common to the old days, and
somewhat rare in these days-the
peculiar product of politically har.
raised political era, in which men
told each other to their faces what
they thought of them; when honor
and riches were not always compan.
ions, public office and respectahility
not always .concommitent. d. O. ha:
mellowed somewhat perhaps in some
of the attributes which his early
newspaper training inculcated, but
he has not forgotten them; the EN-.
bers of all the lessons of his early
newspaper training are sometime:
smOldering. but need only the slight
spark of desire of will to do, to far
them into flame of action
To the people of Atoka county, we
would say, you have a chance to put
in office as representative a man whC