Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1920-10-14
Uncle Ted's Bedtime Story
Are Democrats for Sale?

flames while they waited inn
patiently for their Uncle Ted to
finish his dinner and tell them
their usual bed time story.
"Uncle TED, said Jack, before
his uncle had got fairly settled
in his chair. 81 had an argu-
ment with Jimmy Smith this
afternoon. You know he is a
Democrat and all his family are
Democrats. Jimmy says the Re-
publicans are trying to buy the
Presidency for Senator Hard
ing. Now, Uncle Ted, want
you to tell us who has it for
sale, how much it would cost,
and who put up the money to
buy it."
.Well, kiddies,' said Uncle
Ted, at won't take long to ans
wer those questions. Nobody
had the Presidency for sale, and
it cannot be bought from any
man or association of men. That
being the case we need not talk
about how much it would cost,
or who would want to buy it.
The next time you see Jimmy
Smith just tell him the Pres
idency is in the keeping of
about 40,000,000 American vot-
ers. No matter how much
money was collected for the pur-
pose of buying the Presidency
it would not be enough to pur-
chase those votes.
"Of course, what Jimmy
Smith told you is what he has
heard his father say at home.
And his father has been read
ing in his paper of the charges
that Gov. Cox, the man whom
the Democrats are trying to
make President, has been ma
king against the Republicans.
He has said many times that the
Republicans are trying to buy
the Presidency, but | do not
think he is sincere about it. If
he is he has a mighty bad opin-
ion of the honesty of the Amer
lean men and women who will
vote next November, and par
ticularly bad opinion of the
Democratic voters. A Republi-
can needs no bride to induce him
to vote for Senator Harding who
is running against Gov. Cox.
What Gov. Cox says, then, must
mean that he is afraid the Re
publicans will buy the Demo
cratic votes away from him.
Such statement is an insult to
every audience he addresses, and
to the Democratic party as a
whole. 1t is an insinuation
that each member of that party
can be bought away if the price
is high enough.
"At first the Governor SEEM
ed to think that S15,OO0,OOO
would be enough to buy his sup
porters away from, but he has
change of mind, and now he
thinks it would take about $780,
100000. But, Jack, there is
nothing to that line of chatter.
A man or woman is Democrat
today because he or she believes
in the Wilson World Club Plan
and in free trade, not because
they want to be bought by the
Republicans. No man in Amer
lea knows that better than Gov.
Cox, but he also knows that his
supporters are getting scarcer
every day and he is trying to
make the people believe that the
Republicans are doing it with
their money. The fact is the
better class of Democrats are
disguised with Wisconsin and
are leaving Cox on that account,
and that is the reason he is try
ing to turn their attention to
something else. 4F'9
He reminds me of the incom-
petent doctor who was called to
treat a child who had diphtheria
He prescribed a drug that the
mother had never heard of as
being used for that ailment.
She asked him why he gave it.
Well, he said, 4 don't know
.anything about diphtheria, but
that drug will throw the child
into fits and I am strong or
curing fits
Gov. Cox knows he is unable
to win the election on the league
OF nations and free trade, so he
; is trying to throw the country
into fits by his barroom abuse
and mud singing. He is strong
IN those lines and feels quite
sure that if the people will for.
get everything else and devote
themselves to S1lch contest he