Judgment Day

Missouri's present Legislature, packed with city ward heelers and cracker-box statesmen, has set an all-time record for brazen corruption. Grasping members developed "sandbag" legislation to a fine art, used such bills to shake down businessmen and labor unions for everything from new suits of clothes to folding money. Two Legislators were convicted for accepting bribes; the grand jury which indicted them apologized for not trapping more.

Voters, hopping mad, can hardly wait for the Nov. 3 election to turn the rascals out. But well aware is the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, one of the able press guardians of Missouri morals, that Judgment Day does not fall on Nov. 3. Last week, with a two-page editorial spread, it began a campaign to memorialize two other dates: June 5, last day for candidates to file; Aug. 4, the primary.

Said the Post-Dispatch:

"In politician-ridden Missouri, the public welfare is sacrificed to the personal greed of politicians. . . . Members of the Legislature and other public officials, almost with impunity, may accept bribes. . . . Why? Because a stolid citizenship, submitting unconcernedly to rule by grasping politicians, permits them virtually unhampered control of the primary elections. . . .

"The general election in November may be too late. . . . Party bosses can and usually do dictate the nominations on both the Democratic and Republican tickets. When that proves to be the case, the voters in the election have only the choice between bad Democrats and bad Republicans."

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