Mexico Missouri message., 1918-07-18


inent lawyer and jurist, delivered
great speech in Mexico Saturday af-
ternoon, supporting x. P. Wiley
for the United States Senate.
After reviewing, with strong en-
stressing the point that we must
win the war, he delved into the
question of why he thought his can
didate should be elected to the Sen
ate from Missouri this fall, speak
in part as follows;
81 have known Mr.. Folk and SEN
ator Wilhey for many years.
know them both to be clean, patri-
otic, able young men, both of them
100 per cent Americans. l think
Missouri is fortunate in being able
to choose between two such men
l had intended to remain neutral in
this fight, but since the absolutely
unfair, unjust attack upon Senator
Wilfiey's Americanism, and, believ-
ing as l do, that the effort to be-
smirch his clean and honorable rec
ord by challenging his patriotism
is deserving of censure, / take
pleasure in supporting him for the
nomination for this high office, and
believe when the people of this
State are fully acquainted with the
vicious, unwarranted attack made
upon him, and upon the false
ground that his Americanism is to
be doubted, that they will rally to
his support and that on August
he shall receive the overwhelming
support of the Democrats of this
State.
Has Been For Folk.
81 have heretofore supported
Gov Folk. In 1910 I took pleasure
in making speeches for him, in hold
ing meetings and in giving out in
terviews for him in Colorado
Springs, in Los Angeles, in San
Francico, in Portland and other cit
les of the West. l have always re-
garded him as a man of conscien-
tious standards, and am amazed be-
yond measure that he would seize
upon sentence in a telegram and
place upon It construction that is
absolutely inconsistent with the full
context and puport Of the telegram.
The sentence In that telegram upon
which he places such weight, to-wit,
that the German and British meth
ods were similar, has reference en-
tirely to the fact that the German
naval decree followed the English
decree closing large areas in the
North Sea to neutral shipping, and
the notice that mined fields had
been placed. To say that this SEN
tence in that telegram excused the
atrocities of Germany in the sinking
of the Lusitaina or in her infamous
crimes committed in Belgium is un-
fair, is unjust and 1t deserves the
righteous condemnation of every
thinking Democrat in the State. of
Missouri.
"The purport of that telegram
was that if the President found he
could keep his country out of war
and at the same time preserve the
honor and dignity of the United
States, that 1t was the hope of the
signers that he would do so. Mr..
Whitley knew, and it is common
knowledge in this country that our
great President is shaping the des-
tiny not only of the United States,
but of the world, without being dis
turbed by the advice either of mem
bers of Congress or of the Cabinet,
and certainly not by the suggestions
of unknown citizens of distant
State, that he was and is following
his own mental God-given processes.
And so 1t seems to me that it is
: rather an insult to the intelligence
of our Missourian for Mr.. Folk to
aLJempJ IO give lmPOltauOS " q I0i
egram of no value, that would be
considered by no 'one and could have
no weight with the President, even
II he heard of it, than the summer
zephyrs that fan the golden grain
in the Missouri wheat fields.
SIS it not almost dishorable
act to select a sentence from such a
telegram and by distorting its
meaning and twisting its construc-
tion endeavor to infiame the people
of Missouri against a clean, honor
able, patriotic citizen? You mark
my words, the Democrats of this
State will resent such an unfair at
tempt to confuse the issues of this