The Okfuskee County News (Okemah, Okla.), Vol. 14, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 6, 1917 Page: 4 of 10
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THE OKFUSKEE
T Y
W
ID1
Reply to Telegram Asking Him
To Represent People of Ok-
lahoma or Resign
In reply to the telegrams sent by
Alger Melton chairman of the dem-
ocratic state committee to United
States Senator T P Gore asking him
to represent the people of Oklahoma
' or resign the senator 1ms sent out the i
following letter: '
Washington D CTAug 23 1917
Hon Alger Melton
Chairman Dem State Com
' Chickasha Okla
My Dear Sir: —
I have the honor to acknowledge
your telegram requesting me to re-
sign or to represent the people of
Oklahoma I shall be very happy to
comply with your request on either
of the conditions stated below' First
allow me to say however that I ac-
knowledge no dictator I obey no boss
The role of a trick mule at a circus
has never appealed to me very forci-
bly and would not even with so amia-
ble a ring master as yourself Many
states have political bosses Many
- states have political machines The
machine system is a bad system It
is one of the worst forms of bad gov-
ernment Oklahoma has set her face
against both I shall not be the first
to acknowledge the pretentions or to
do obeisance to a would-be boss You
will pardon m§ therefore if I de
cline to permit you to dictate my of-
ficial conduct Upon what meat hath
this our Caesar fed that he has grown
so great? Nobody is deceived Your
real motive — I will not say your ul-
terior motive — is perfectly transpar-
ent You remindme of the ostrich
that"hides its head in the sand and
imagines that its whole body is con-
cealed I see the African in the
wood-pile You will not be able to
pull enough wool over the eyes of the
people to keep them from seeing too
For my own part I acknowledge no
master but the people I am their
servant I obey their will when I
know their will '
Before the declaration vof war
wrote many thousand letters down to
Oklahoma inquiring the wishes of my
constituency The answer checked
up more than four to one in favor of
peace and against war These letters
did not go indeed to the favorites
of fare They went to the folks- to
the folks — God bless and God pity
them — whose backs myst bend beneath
the staggering burdens of this war
and whose sons must sleep in nameless
graves beyond the surging sea My
letters upon the subject of conscrip-
tion 'have been more than twenty to
one in favor of my position It is
just possible that the politicians who
have been covering me with their
abuses and vituperations are them-
selves living in a fool’s paradise Of
course these letters and telegrams'
may be misleading" They are the on-
ly lights I have They have never
mislead me Candor compels me to
say however that I would not have
voted for the declaration of war if
every man woman and child in Okla-
homa had requested me to do so In
that event I would have resigned I
would not have had my conscfence sat-
urated with the blood of our boys and
!with the tears of their mothers — not
for "all the offices not for all the
honors in Christendom The last
time the sovereign people of Oklaho-
ma and of the United States spoke
they spoke for peace and not for war
President -Wilson was re-elected on
the plea that he had kept us out of
war Peace-loving women in western
states that are three to one republican
elected him to the presidency They
did so because he had kept their sons
out of the slaughter pens of Europe
Because they believed he would con-
tinue to do so We defeated Hughes
by telling the people that he would
plunge us into an abyss of blood I
feel a little limited responsibility for
I helped win the west for Wilson That
II-
SENATOR GORE
WRITES LETTER
I have purchasers for 40 80
and 160 acre tracts of farm
land—
IMPROVED OR UNIMPROVED
Ifyeu have any real estate you want
to dispose of see me I can sell it for
you QUICK! v
Mil D BOSSEY
REAL ESTATE AND INSURANCE
FARM LANDS FOR SALE!
By the way you have been “think-
ing” of buying a tract of farm land
now haven’t you? Sunpose you
would just sit and tlink and think
and think and contemlat-j- still hes-
itate — to buy that piece of real es-
tate until by gosh it’s too darn late
to get what you want at any ratf —
would you blame yourself— or lament
the fate and just sit right there and
still debate? Would it get you any-
where ? Thinking will'conceive a plan
— action alone can complete the struc-
ture While thinking is an indispen-
sable component part of conduct it it
wholly without value unless accom-
panied by muscular energy Through
deep thinking and hard study Edison
i conceived the idea that the human
voice in all it’s languages and vibra-
tions could be reproduced — laborous
effort was required to prove it
Thinking provoked the attempt which
resulted in the discovery of America
— but thinking alone would have been
unavailing Through thinking the
fertile brain conceived the idea of a
machine that could be made to fly
through the air from which might be
dropped a bomb of destructive capac-
ity sufficient to destroy a whole litter
of pigs — but it took action to construct
the machine prove the theory demon-
strate and establish its efficiency
The writer has been seriously think-
ing about taking a little vacation
touring all the European countries a
side trip through Turkey and coming
out all over Greece The reason why
this deep thinking has not as yet taken
the form of action is because it costs
nothing to “just think about 'it” to
get up and go would call for action
and — more talk
But as I started t say in the out-
set it is this way:
The land owners who are good busi- '
ness men will soon begin to rent their
farms for another year therefore if
you would expect to get possession of
a farm in time for next year’s crop
season it is necessary that -you get
busy and ACT— not just think about
it Whether you buy through me or
the other fellow — buy and buy SOON
There 5s no form of investment
more certain of satisfactory returns
than a Land Investment
I shall be glad of the opportunity to
assist you in locating something to
your liking You understand I make
money by making money for you
and this applies to the buyer and sell-
er alike
' x"
E Guthrie
6
Okemah
is the last popular verdict I stood
upon that verdict I did not repu-
diate it President Wilson has now
inducted us into the bloodiest war in
all human history He himself de-
clared in his Red Cross speech that
we had gone into this war with no
special grievance of our own “An-
J
rarm
A
Oklahoma'
of this republic “Let Oklahoma rule”
is our much vaunted motto '
Perhaps it would be lesse majesty
for me to suggest that if you would I
gels and ministers of grace defend ' prevail upon President Wilson to re-1
us — with no ‘special grievance of sign and ask for a vote of confidence
our own I could not vote to enter I would resign also and ask for a vote
! tbe war with no special grievance of t of confidence But if you will prevail
our own I could not plunge 100000-1 upon senators and congressmen who
i 000 peaceful and contented people in- 1 voted for war and the draft to resign
to a war with no special grievance of and ask for a vote of confidence or if
I our own I could not entail the ex-1 you will pretail upon democratic sen-
penditure of uncounted billiohs with ators and congressmen who voted for
j no special grievance of our own I war and draft to resign and ask for
could not vote to ente a war that' a vote of confidence then I will in
would enfail the sacrifices of mil- 1 order to prove my good faith tender
lions of live with no special grievance jmy resignation and gp to the coun-
' °f our own I could not vote without try with them I have small doubt as
special grievance to set a million of to the verdict The A-ecent congres-
j mothers singing “O where is my boy 'sional election in North Dakota' and
tonight” These mdthers have borne the election in Dayton Ohio on the
brave men “lions’ whelps” who would 14th of this month in my judgment
j seek for death as the bridegroom r fore-shadow the result as infallibly as
seeks his bride whenever convinced the mystic hand at Belshazzar’s feast
I that the soil t!fe liberties or the in- ( However that may be I would obey
i dependence of this republic are im- the edict of my only piaster — the peo-
periled 1 pie It might have been easier to
This democratic administration was drift with the tide the crimson tide
elected to keep the peace not to break but I lutve not felt that I had a right
it Before that imperative mandate to caluculate upon consequences to
was reversed there ought to have been myself Till you arrange the referen-
a refrendum to the sovereign people dum I must continue to discharge my
4 ‘
THINK— THEN
' -
ACT!
GIT-UP-AND-GIT
It isn’t the thinking that makes a man
Successful not a bit (
"The thing that lands him up on top
Is just plain Git-Up-and-Git
x
It isn’t thinking that makes the camel
What he is— it’s HUMP
It isn’t thinking that helps the hunted
Rabbit home — it’s JUMP
It isn’t thinking that gejs the crawling
Turtle any place i -
It’s keeping on a-going-on 1
' And never mind the pace : 1
It isn’t thinking that lifts the mighty
Eagle to the sky —
He’s ’way up there because he loves
To flap hls wings and fly
And what istrue of beast and bird
Is likewise true of YOU ’
It isn’t what you think you arS that
Wins success — it’s what you do
Your brain may be so big it crowds
Your Emersonian pate
But Emerson is not the style
This year — in buying real estate
J
Use all the brains you like but use
The rest of you as well : ' '
Put everything you’ve got into '
Your job and work like— 0 well
You can finish it to 'suit ydurself
Observe the hungry hobolcJKe
Has brains like you and I
He’s living by his wits' but that’s
Not living very high — Larceny
duty as I see it — faithfully to repre-
sent the patriotic citizenship of Okla-
sr
Hi
Jmu
felmw
PM jf
W&
$
ill
lioma I shall continue to vote for
every measure which I think calculat-
ed to make this a short and Aiccessful
war and to speed an early honorable
and lasting peace While I voted
against the press censorship I voted
for the espionage bill 4 regret that
I did so because it has already been
used or abused to establis ha press
censorship and to throttle the freedom
oi speech I sup n ted the aviation
bill carrying $640000000 for the con-
struction of an air fleet I regarded
that as a measure of the first import-
ance to the success of our arms I
voted for the war appropriation bill
for $3400000000 although that
equaled the entire cost of the Civil
War ' I voted for 'the $7000000000
bond bill although that was double
the cost of the Civil War I supported
the loan of three billion to the Allies ’
lecause I thought' that would econ-
omize American bio j 1 and American
ft' f shall vote for the nine billion
recently asked by’ the secretary of the
treasury— near'y three times the to-
rn I cost of the Civil War Although
I v os opposed to the War mid vas op-
posed to the Jiaft I shall vote for all
the money required to carry on the
war vigorously I want to make the
let of our boys :onf r’a1 lc and to
lake thorn a efficient “fighting men ’
s tiossible I shall vo:e for the now
ling i tvj bill aUi-ouih I shall
eiN ‘-I'vor t li v i s upon the
atonies ani pufi i of thVrich and
(protect tbq over-taxed poor ncfinst
‘ii-cual ba lat I am in favor of
drafting cv-ms war profits J shall
'o for i e bill notwiilr-tanuiPK I
:i opposed to tiif: p-c nions invreas-
ir the rate postage on letters from
twy to t ireo ce’i:i levying a tax on
Pcirenger H 1 : w and levying a tax
w fhree pe 'tfut oil freight rates
TJJiese taxes will operate like sand in
bearings of industry and com-
merce "
While the vr is only four month
id 1 while vii h:r o nt fired a shot
we hnve already been asited to provide
some seventeen billion dollars That
in the beginning not the end That
is twice as much as all the gold on
the globe That is much more than
Russia has expended during the war
much more than France has expend-
ed during the war It is more than
Germany has expended during the
war and it is two-thirds as much as
England ' has expended in behalf of
herself and her numerous allies That
is $850 for every family under the
stars and stripes They say indeed
that a part of this will be repaid by
the Allies I foresaw these vast ex-
penditures before the declaration of
war and I thought that the money
could have been more wisely expend-
ed more wisely expended in making
this the fairest habitation ever allotted
to the sons and daughters of men I
foresaw before the war all the terri-
ble toll and debts and bonds and taxes
and tears and blood shed I confess
that it gave me pause that it made
me hesitate to enter this weltering
charnal house wit hno special griev-
ance of our own V '
I did vote to try the volunteer sys-
tem before resorting to conscription
This vote was in accordance with the
most glorious traditions of our repub-
lic For' more than a thousand years
English speaking freemen resisted
compulsory service over the seas In
the war of 1812 a part of the state mi-
litia stood upon its constitutional
right not to be sent beyond the border
of the republic England raised more
than five million men during the pres-
ent war before resorting to the imper-
ative draft 1 voted against the draft
because I was afraid that resorting
to the draft before trying the volun-
teer system would generate an Unde-
sirable psychology in the country If
there were ho other reasons psychol-
ogy is an important resource of war
and it ought not to be disregarded
I did oppose the food control bill
because as it passed the House with-
out referring to the oil provisions it '
would have enslaved the farmer It
is bad i enough -now I secured the
(Continued on Page 10)
0
THE folks at home
want your pho-
tograph in uniform
to be sure1 but they
may need-reminding
that you want photo-
grahs of them as
' well 1 :
If you will do the :
reminding - we will
'make photographs
that will please you
THAT MAN
FARNUM AND -WIFE
OKEMAH
HI
I
r
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The Okfuskee County News (Okemah, Okla.), Vol. 14, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 6, 1917, newspaper, September 6, 1917; Okemah, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1712945/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.