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Show P &' "POLITICS." it MUh I1, ls s'x 'clock alul t,,c I'olIs nrc ''''Sr-'j closed. The campaign in many local 'k IH Instances has been sharp and bitter. VBP Acrimonious attacks on the private H character of good citizens have been B freely made. They usually remained h' " He'- unanswered. Men who have won for 't ' K' ' themselves reputations for honorable, "' Bp upright living have been accused of U B dishonesty and little contemptible K tricks that are beneath the notice of "Bs upright men. Real Issues are lost ' IsL sight of, and tho contest descends BP s'mP'v lnt0 a struggle for supremacy i" Kt between two factions. Fortunate K Indeed were It If tho light could lay be- ' " Mm between the two sets of men, bent on Hf ' feeding at tho public crib and Incld- ' hR cntlally tilling an olllcc. ' Hl The lamentable fact ls, however, t... K, that neighborhood quarrels arc frcsh- ! Rl' ened, old wounds opened and new ones i H& made, the cvllcst passions of men's !?!.''' natures appealed to, to make capital EL.;, for one sldo or tho other. When one fcr Mr"" complains of this disheartening state iJ- Hp5" ' ana'rs no ls Inct y t,ic Kr'ln r- t"'sBffi&' Joinder that "It's politics." If the WlWIBe' matter Is pressed homo with the qucs- H" tlon "To w,mt w,n t,lls Icn(1?" t,lc Kj R& answer Is, "Our best men will refuse Wm'f to run for olllcc." Is ""'Mr.'' We tried to get So-and-so to run 4 Bp for representative. You know ho Is KJ, an upright, honorable man, capable of S' lining the olllcc with credit to lilm- ' ' self and district, lie answered "I have tried to live an upright life and '. leave my children tho legacy of an honorable name. I know that the ,x . nomination Is equivalent to election, t I e but to secure the nomination I must I' . .' run tho guantlet of the vilest and lb f' ' most' 'croc'ous nttucks upon my per- k K7 f" sonal Integrity, by men 1 would not J, "' allow entrance to my home. I am an jj fc, ' old man. My grandchildren believe t$ ' Kt U f " ' In me. I would not destroy their H up. v" contldcncc for all tho honors a term Sf In the legislature could confer. I t,i could not llvo down, In the years ;' r ; , naturally allotted to,, me, the doubts i,( R" and misgivings that would rise In t ra When still further urged on his K. duty to tho state ho sadly replied, M ' "Were I younger I might undertake & r It, but not now, not now. There are W" I young men. Elect them." B: J . Tho espouse of this noble man, ff Hu , since laid to rest, has urged me to ask ' mBm. many other men why they did not go BkI' lnt0 l'",lcs- Tne answers arc mater. ' Bf rr,1 other day a little girl came Be from school, crying as if heart- " broken. Amid her sobs she told me '.-j Hp of what she had heard at schoo of Bap the dishonorable traits of a dearly : B? loved and trusted friend. At tlrst i '' ' s1' couI(1 not bollcvo the charges, ,'ft l)ut a,leKed proof was forthcoming to k ' ffl' sustain them. It was the first rude 91' shock to her childish, Implicit conli- &" BK' denco and belief In humanity; yea, In K WjjiMi:.'- all things true and holy and good. It ' BB 1s n l"sKrace niu1 a (1ecP national ca- L ' ! lamlty that these things should be. I? SK' Jt ls sad commentary on the moral f - P condition of a community that will - HR tolerate such ruthless onslaughts on ". BB the character of respected cltl.ens. It B ls a moral canker eating into tho &' 'SflBr hearts and minds of every child and p BlBV adult. For no matter how strongly V Bawl wo Da' aK'nst acceptance of the f. Bv falsities, some tlmo they will return ,', BBK t0 us w'11' stnrt"") force. & bbHI' Lct CVCIy oo anxious for the high- jr . B' est Kood of our pcoplo discountenance IbW such vicious and unwarranted attacks, mBJ else he must face the time when good r nfls mcn wl" rcfllsc t0 enter the political aHp Uelt'' 1''urlllorinorei ,ct there go up (' flsf' 'sncl a v,t'ar0lls protest at coming Jm BP, elections against tho funds and the ''' Shk tx)lltlcal management being placed In p' JBKa' the hands of unscrupulous lenders as lb ' iBI i t0 lnllku thesccharges Impossibility. m'-wJPf- Most of them originate In the bar- W .Bb&v room, whero disreputables congregate W '- Bbk an for,,re ani,minltlo for campaign. ''$-, jHe li tlie disgrace of It, that men of In- Sk'' B. tcgrlty and worth should follow the Er BV' leadings of these charlatans! |