The Springfield herald., 1918-07-12
Martins Cam ,n:gn
Against Gong. Keating

y
a fter John A. Marti i n
made his scathing attack on
Congressman Keating in making
his announcement of his inten-
tion to rnn for congress in this
district. that we thought he had
started off on the wrong foot;
and from the developments in
the case as shown by the cores
pondence between the two gen.
tlemen on the subject, it would
appear that tie former congress-
man from this district is stillput-
ting his trust in that wrong foot
lineup.
1t is not our idea that a candi-
date for nomination will get any,
where by denounciation, and feel
certain that Martin would have
gotten great deal further if he
had left that p .rt of it to his
friends, and simply have an-
nounced his intentions to run,
which is right and privilege ac.
corded by or countr5 to every
American citizeu-and no hard
feelings one way or another.
We mnst say that unless Mar
tin puts up more PLAUSIBLE and
gamer fight as he goes through
the primary than he has so far
in the preliminary bouts, we are
doubling his chances of getting
under the ropes before Heating
gets under them the second time
on his second way around.
It's this way: Immediately
following Martins denounciato-
ry announcement, Keating chal.
lenge1 him to joint debate in
the county seat of each of the
counties in the district, on the
issues between them.
To this Martin replied that the
only issue between them was
Keating's pro -Germanism, and
the only place to debate that is
at Pueblo. There have been
exchanges of teleg grams between
them. but Martin stands pat on
Pueblo anl the pro-German
charges as the only issue.
Undoubtedly, Martin. in retus-
ing to debate outside of Pueblo,
banks on the assistance of the
dailies in his versionofthe charges
made; ard just as undoubtedly is
afraid Of losing that advanta ge
should he debate in each of the
counties elsewhere in the dis
trict.
AS to the issue of disloyalty
and pro-Germanism on which
Martin hangs his fortunes in the
campaign, if their records and
expressions of sentiment
against war with Germany is to
be the sequel as to whether they
are loyal or pro-German, or have
been in the past, Mr.. Martin
would have to indic6 probably all
the American people outside of
military junkers, who, long be-
fore the European war began,
had been trying to graft German
miIitarism onto this country.
Doesn't Mr.. Martin remember
the campaign slogan-"he kept
us out of WARP" and doesn't he
remember that the republicans
came back with Hughes will
also keep us out of war-there
is no more danger of war one
way than the other way?"
And, incidentally, we believe
we would be absolutely safe in
wagering either large or small
fortune ON ohe proposition that
John A. Martin was one of the
deciples who, along with other
good democrats, was going up
and down the land proclaiming
the fact that Wilson kept US
out of war;"
Doesn't Mr.. Martin remember
that President Wilson had to
make a circuit of the central
states to create the necessary
sentiment to prevent the passage
of the bill warning Americans TO
stay off belligerent ships, that
the bill was lost only by a small
majority, and that Champ Clark
and "Uncle Joe" were among
those who voted for it?