<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns:dcterms="http://purl.org/dc/terms/">
<rdf:Description rdf:about="https://digital.centerforknitandcrochet.org/items/show/38017">
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Downs, John E]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Oral history]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Missouri--History, Local]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Missouri--Politics and government]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Oral histories]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Missouri Politics]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Politics]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Political History]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Political Oral History]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[United States]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Missouri]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:title><![CDATA[Saint Joseph (Mo.)]]></dcterms:title>
    <dcterms:subject><![CDATA[John E. Downs]]></dcterms:subject>
    <dcterms:subject><![CDATA[Will Sarvis]]></dcterms:subject>
    <dcterms:creator><![CDATA[http://cdm17228.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/ohc/id/585]]></dcterms:creator>
    <dcterms:source><![CDATA[none]]></dcterms:source>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[ool. They don't teach Civics anymore. This is a republic. You hire somebody to go there because he is better informed than you are and will be better informed, and will vote not -- Jack Kennedy said this, "I'm not a rectal thermometer in the ass of the electorate." That's the way lynchings take place. Sure, often I voted against what was wanted by the public, but my God, I heard the debates. I hope I took a more objective view. I think it was Edmond Burke, the great Englishman, that said, "If I follow the wishes of the herd, then I have been unfaithful to my oath and to you." Oh. And, ‚ÄúThis is a democracy.‚Äù It's a republic, isn't it? WS: Yes. JD: Of course it is, and you're there to listen to the debate and see if you can punch holes in the overreaching by one agency into the public coffers, much as the University of Missouri does. The toughest lobby group is not the labor, though they're tough. The 36 JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis toughest and most unfair lobby groups are the [Missouri] State Teachers Association. They're rugged, boy. And then followed closely by the University of Missouri. They don't care if the kids in the School for the Deaf get anything to eat as long as they get their program. I mean that literally. WS: So you remember Everett Keith, the Executive Secretary of the MSTA? JD: Oh, yes. And I remember Dr. Harding who was the head of the Baptist Association. He called on me one day. They were very bitterly (strongly, I suppose) -- maybe bitter is a better word - - [opposed] to any legislation which tended to modify the use of liquor. And I remember Dr. Harding called on me one day and he said, "Now, Senator, we're going to have to come out against you in the Watch and the Word unless you do so and so." I said, "Now, Dr. Harding, you hear me. If I wouldn't let the Bishop tell me how to vote, I sure as hell am not going to let you tell me how to vote." And, they did come out against me in the Watch and the Word, which I think is the house organ of the Southern Baptists. Yes, I can see what's wrong. I've had alcoholism in my family. The tragedy is unbelievable. Everybody knows. But what gets to me, Will, is this. You hear it said, "In our family, we don't have divorce. In our family, we don't have crime. In our family, we don't have drunken driving. In our family, we don't have mental problems." The hell you don't! [tape meter, 50] But these people trod a path higher than that trodden by the ordinary man, or they say they do. I'm thinking now about the closet drinkers. Hell, the night they passed the DWI JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis 37 Bill in Missouri, we all had a snoot full at the country club and drove in for a night session. Absolutely snockered on that floor. [laughter from both parties] WS: When you look back, of all the legislation you handled, and the stuff you did in the General Assembly, I wonder, is there any single accomplishment you think of as your most proud and / or important? JD: The bills I beat were the most important things, where I stood -- like the Hertz-Avis Bill. Yes. And the punitive mandatory life sentences and all that. What I did was more important in defeating the sudden rages. Locally, I suppose the [Missouri Western State] College, which is so helpful to St. Joe, though it doesn't make a hell a lot of difference in the State of Missouri. The Administrative Procedure Act. The Administrative Procedure Act was drafted by Tom Eagleton, whom I liked very much. Tom and I got along very well. Still do. I'm surprised other states haven't followed suit. We created -- Tom drafted it, and I've forgotten the other guy who did so much work on it. Ronald Reed would remember. He handled the bill in the House. I handled it in the Senate. You have every agency, every organization in the state -- the Real Estate Board, all of the various agencies, the embalmers have a group -- and if you look through the book, you'll see these various groups, commercial and professional groups. And it's a very important position now -- the Administrative Procedure Act. So, if you want to kick a guy out of, say, the embalming profession, you have to appear before that group. You used to just have to appear before the embalmers, or you had to appear before the Real Estate Board. Now, you appear before the Administrative Procedure [group], who has to be a lawyer, 38 JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis and each side has an administrative hearing, no jury. I didn't draft that bill. Tom did. We got it through. I suppose the ratification and acknowledgment of civil rights was an important piece of legislation. Yes, that would be it. And, I don't hear any cheering for that. [laughs] WS: How about on the other side of the coin? Was there something that you most particularly wanted to get done, but were frustrated by your colleagues, in not being able to push it through? JD: I wanted more money for the . . . yes, the school at Boonville.* That's where you send the children. I wanted more money for the school at Boonville. I remember they had a rule that said that no matter what, you had to stay six months in Boonville before you could be sent home. So, what people lost sight of . . . I almost cried. I walked through one day at Boonville, and I saw their jackets hanging on the coat rack. And here were the tiny ones. Those children couldn't have been ten years of age. But they kept them six months anyway. What people lost sight of was the fact that, what is a violation of the generally accepted laws of good conduct in St. Joe and in Worth County or Nodaway County are only the tiniest kind of misdemeanors in St. Louis. But we take the rural kids who have been turning over privies and send them to Boonville where they're in with those tough sons of bitches from St. Louis, and we destroy a lot of boys. We destroy a lot of boys. I wasn't able to get that modified. Yes, that bothered me a little bit. [tape meter, 100] WS: Would you say the [1969-1970] income tax [dispute] was the most controversial fight during your time in the General Assembly? JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis 39 JD: Oh, no. Every fight is controversial. What's the best meal you ever had, Will? No, I think maybe the most angry fights were fights about where I stood against the urging of people to lock everybody up and abolish liquor by the drink. That got a lot of heat on. The people from Springfield, Greene County, that's a very orthodox (if I can use the word) Christian community. Those guys have got to vote that way, even though they privately don't agree. Continually, I'm opposed to increasing the mandatory sentence. That bothers me. You know, ‚ÄúLock more people up.‚Äù So we lock more people up, but we make a mistake. We don't provide a cell for them to be locked in. [parodying:] "Well, we're giving too much money to the penitentiaries." You always can get a laugh out of the press, and they'll always print it if you say, [parodying:] "After all, we're not running a country club." So, those silly bastards in the press say, "Senator Umpty Ump pointed out that ‚Äòwe're not running a country club.‚Äô" So, they don't give them enough to eat. Unbelievable. You don't get a lot of support if you're in favor of prisoners' rights and more parole officers, do you? [parodying:] "Lock 'em up. Throw the key away." And that's the attitude that prevails. WS: Was there any lingering evidence of the pre-merit system, the patronage kind of politics when you first went up there? JD: [laughs] What you'd do, and I remember we did it when Governor Hearnes came in, we had a bunch of pets who were employed. I had some. So, they said -- and the press hit the trap with both feet always -- they said, [parodying:] "We've got to get away with the spoils system. We've got to make this a merit. We've got to have career employees who know they have a job." That's bullshit. What we were doing was picking our pets so 40 JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis they couldn't get fired when the Republicans came in. That's what the merit system is about. It's phony tenure. We'd be much better off if we cleaned it out from the top to the bottom every four years or every change of administration. Otherwise -- I ran into that when I was, I was with the [U.S.] State Department for five years. Those career people know this. [In response to elected officials:] "I was here when you came and I'll be here after you're gone." They ought to be, including the secretaries, wiped out every four years, really. And in the state, the same way. Look at the Department of Revenue. Jesus. The Department of Revenue now are the people who determine whether or not your driver's license will be revoked. Are you familiar with that? WS: No. JD: Oh, it's unbelievable. See, you hit the trap with both feet. The merit system. What crap. WS: Was there a single most-powerful lobby during your period up there that you would identify? JD: Well, I just mentioned them. WS: The teachers? JD: The teachers. WS: Yes. [tape meter, 150] JD: Because they vote and there's a grade school in every ward, isn't here? And a high school in every district. You bet they're tough. The MSTA, the Missouri State Teachers Association. They're rugged. The unions are tough, but not like the teachers. Yes, JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis 41 they're the most -- and you see, you can't be against the teachers, can you? [parodying:] "Senator Sarvis is against the teachers." How do you handle it? A bill gets very popular by name. You've got to get your bill to have a name, not just Senate Bill or House Bill l0l. You have to have the Clean Water Bill. The Clean Water Bill is often a provision for farmers to continue to dump unlimited herbicides and pesticides and destroy the streams. But you call it The Clean Water Bill. So, people say, "Are you for the Clean Water Bill?" "Oh, yes. Hell, I'm for the Clean Water Bill." You're not for the Clean Water Bill. You're for clean water. But they call it The Clean Water Bill. Right north of here, there's a little town called Maitland. One of my clients lives up there. This is in the middle of the weeds. You can't go any farther into the weeds than Maitland because then you're starting on your way out. The water up there is not potable. Why? Because of the pesticides which go into the streams and go into the aquifer. In the middle of the United States, you can't dig a well and have potable water. Now, that's incredible, isn't it? How do we get there? The Farm Bureau and those people. They're catering to the pesticide people. The same thing is true with the river, where they're destroying (this is the national), where they‚Äôre destroying the wetlands. Yes, we're working our way toward the cinder. These are the special interests that are murdering us. "We're feeding you." Yes. WS: That's my next question, about the Missouri Farmers Association. JD: No, you're not talking about the Missouri Farm Association. I think you're talking about the Farm Bureau. WS: Are they more powerful than the MFA, or were powerful? 42 JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis JD: Well, maybe it's nip and tuck, but they're powerful. They kick in money. They know how you're going to vote, and if you don't meet their standards, then they kick in money to the other side. Now, my wife was horrified, but I was invited to appear before the Hallmark [company]. I found it the other day. [begins looking through his papers for the letter of invitation] These were very high priced and important people in Kansas City. WS: The Hallmark Card [Corporation] in Kansas City? [tape meter, 200] JD: Yes, oh yes, but that was just the chairperson. (Let me get my glasses). And they invited me down -- and Senator . . . and Mister . . . to Kansas City to appear before their group. So there they sat, the well washed and the well heeled, interviewing us to see who they would support. Yes, here we are. [finds the document] Hallmark Cards. They're very important. "Dear John, Thank you for agreeing to meet with us . . . so and so. Be held at the Metropolitan Community College. Those attending the candidate screening will be members of HallPac, The Hallmark Political Action Committee and representatives of the Kansas City Area Business. All candidates for District 34 have agreed to attend. The format will be informal,‚Äù and so on. So, I went down there and the longer I sat there, the more troubled I became. What they wanted to do -- they didn't inquire, my record was available to them -- as you indicated, twelve years in the legislature. That's a track record that‚Äôs easy to follow. So, I sat there, and more and more, I saw what they were driving at, even though I knew when I walked in. You know, "Are you willing to raise money via the sales tax?" That's what they want. The income tax, they don't want, and so on. And so after they got JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis 43 through with their interrogation -- I knew when I went down what we were doing. See, the Kansas City business, that's a lot of clout. Insurance is a business. We were sitting there with our best manners groveling for money in front of these people. That's why we were there. We hoped that they would pat us on the head and then kick in. That's why we were there. No one was quite as crude as I am [in describing it as such], but that's the fact. So, they said, "Well, now, we've interrogated you," (they didn't use the word ‚Äòinterrogate.‚Äô Everybody was very polite, except me). And they said, "What problems would you address?" I said, "Well Holt County, Missouri is in my district. There are less than 4,500 people in Holt County. There is a huge dumping ground which is leaking into the Missouri River and into the game preserve up there. [tape meter, 250] And Johnson Controls, the battery makers, fill it.‚Äù I said, ‚ÄúI'm aware of these people. They're the people who had toxic dumps in Florida. Then, they changed their corporate name and came up here. It is inevitable that that waste will find its way into the Missouri River. It already has and it's poisoning the fish. The eagles swoop down and get the fish. It's a very dangerous situation. It's one that I think we can get some legislation to stop, but it's going to have to be a good organization with good lawyers, because the other side has this little gold mine in a community of less than 5,000 people. I'd like to get your views. I belong to the group that is alarmed about this." Not a one of them held up their hand. By that time, as they say in the College of Cardinals, I was pissed. So, I said, "Let me tell you people something. You asked me down here to see whether I came 44 JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis up to your standards. I'll tell you this. You don't come up to mine." And that terminated the meeting. WS: [laughs] I guess so. JD: Donna, that's my spouse. She's a lovely girl. She was horrified. But looking back at it -- I'm talking about it because I was proud of that denunciation. There they sat in Hart Schafner or handmade suits with ties by Sulka, not holding up their hands to even say, "We'll hear some more from you about the -- " It's called the ‚ÄúSchuylkill,‚Äù after the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania. I used to live in PA, too. You remember the Schuylkill? WS: No. JD: It runs through Philadelphia. But that was the Schuylkill Dump, and here they were. And there we sat groveling for money from these miserable bastards. Boy. [end of side 2, tape II]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[tape meter, 289] JD: They don‚Äôt care. They‚Äôre for clearcutting on the slopes, aren‚Äôt they? What do they care? WS: You think there‚Äôs a place for idealism in politics? JD: God help us when it‚Äôs gone completely. You‚Äôve got to have someone (and I mentioned someone), who‚Äôs going to raise their hands and say, ‚ÄúWhoa. Wait a minute.‚Äù You‚Äôre not going to make any money in politics. Tom Eagleton was a man of considerable idealism. And there was room for him, certainly. Ed Long was the lieutenant governor ahead of Tom, I think. I liked Ed. But Ed certainly wasn‚Äôt an idealist. Oh yes, Will. There is a deterioration, I think. I read the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, the weekly JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis 45 edition. And I suffer from some insomnia, so I sometimes watch Charlie Rose. You ever watch him? WS: I don‚Äôt think so. JD: He‚Äôs a most intelligent interviewer. And people are distressed about a deterioration of the moral standards of the United States. A while ago I talked about bad manners. That‚Äôs a form of moral standard deterioration. The ‚Äúscrew you, I got mine‚Äù [mentality]. The failure of the unions to recognize the plight of other people, and to seek only advantage for themselves. Up come the Duke McVeys right in their big white limousines. Yes, there‚Äôs a moral deterioration. Some people say, ‚ÄúWell, we ought to go back to prayer in school.‚Äù Well that‚Äôs an asinine statement. I always say on the prayer in school -- I say, ‚ÄúLook, I want you to imagine this. You and your family are transferred to Salt Lake City, which is a very orderly place. Clean, low crime rate, and dominated by the Mormons. No question about it. But you‚Äôre not a Mormon. You go there, and they require you, when you enter the public schools, to recite from the Book of Mormons. Do you think that‚Äôs right?‚Äù They say, ‚ÄúWell no, I guess not.‚Äù Say, take the other side of the coin. You go down to Louisiana where the counties are called parishes, and the dominant and overwhelming religion there is Roman Catholic. Do you think that if you send Susanna she ought to have to recite the Catholic prayers because the other people do?‚Äù [The reply:] ‚ÄúWell no, I guess not.‚Äù And they‚Äôll say, ‚ÄúWell what about, we provide that she doesn‚Äôt have to recite the prayers. She can stand there and remain silent.‚Äù Well, the Supreme Court handled 46 JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis that. They said, ‚ÄúBy what right do we, by legislative edict, tell a child that she can‚Äôt participate with the other children in what is the dominant religious thing.‚Äù But what I was getting at is, they say, ‚ÄúWell, it was the deterioration of the prayer in public school that caused the deterioration of the standard of morality in the U.S.‚Äù I don‚Äôt think so at all. I think that was a gutsy position for the Supreme Court to take. Also the [moment of silence]. They offer it every year. There‚Äôs always somebody in the House that caters to the retired people by saying, ‚ÄúAnd not only that, we‚Äôre going to have a free fishing license.‚Äù Well, by the Missouri constitution we gave that provision to the Conservation Commission. They determine the open season on mallards and teal, and the number of days you can shoot quail, and the cost of a fishing license. That doesn‚Äôt keep some rube from getting up and offering a free fishing license. Then he says, ‚ÄúI was defeated by the politicians.‚Äù [laughs] Jesus. Well, that‚Äôs . . . WS: I guess, when you were in the Senate, you remember the riots in Kansas City after Martin Luther King was assassinated. JD: One of the few times I‚Äôve been ashamed of myself, was that I didn‚Äôt stand up. I remember Governor Hearnes (we fell out on this one, too) -- he wanted to provide for the unlawful assembly. Said that anytime five people got together, that that could be deemed to be an unlawful assembly. [tape meter, 50] And we could call out the national guard. I remember I gave that one the horse laugh. I said, ‚ÄúI‚Äôve got five brothers. I mean, anytime my brothers and I went downtown that JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis 47 constitutes an unlawful assembly? Jesus. [laughs] When you talk to Bob Young, ask him about Adam Clayton. They had a bill in. Bill Cason was kind of ‚Äúlaw and order‚Äù man]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[much more so than I. ‚ÄúLaw and order‚Äù meaning unreasonable criminal laws. [laughs] And so, they provided that anytime that you could not prove where you obtained a chattel, that it was presumed to have been stolen. And that the burden of proof shifted from the state. The presumption of innocence was obliterated. When they pick you up, like -- I don‚Äôt have any idea where this goddamned watch came from [gestures toward his wristwatch]. And, little Bob Young got up, and his children had been given a black dog by the garbage man. Bob and I were so often together. And of course, he called him [the dog] ‚ÄúAdam Clayton‚Äù after Adam Clayton Powell, the black congressman who [later] got in so much trouble. He said, ‚ÄúYou mean to say that if we can‚Äôt prove where Adam Clayton came from he‚Äôll be presumed to have been stolen?‚Äù And Billy Cason was like, ‚ÄúYeah, that‚Äôs right.‚Äù He said, ‚ÄúWe‚Äôve got to stop the traffic in stolen goods.‚Äù Jesus. That shit would probably pass now. WS: Now this whole move on the governor‚Äôs part on the unlawful assembly. Was that pretty much in response to the so-called ‚Äúturbulent sixties,‚Äù and the rioting and such? JD: Well, Warren was from Mississippi County. That‚Äôs Deep South, boy. And his bachelor‚Äôs degree came from West Point. That is not what I would call a broad educational institution. Yes, I remember. I was there when they had the students from the university rioting about the Vietnamese War, and the draft and everything. I‚Äôm ashamed of myself. I should have spoken out. But I was silent. And, when you‚Äôre silent you have sinned. 48 JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis You‚Äôre wrong. I use that speech [concerning] silence often before juries where the question [concerns a situation] where you should have spoken and you didn‚Äôt. I was present at a lynching here in St. Joseph when I was in high school. Bishop Le Blond, after whom the school is named out here -- boy, he busted our ass on Sunday. He said everybody who was there is guilty of participating in that killing of a human being. And he said, ‚ÄúDon‚Äôt tell me that you absolve yourselves and say, ‚ÄòAll I did was stand and watch.‚Äô‚Äù Boy, he was talking to me that day. And the Bible story about Pontius Pilate. ‚ÄúIn effect,‚Äù the Bishop said, ‚Äúhe stood there and washed his hands, and he said, ‚ÄòI am innocent of the blood of this just man.‚Äô No he wasn‚Äôt. He had a duty.‚Äù And he said, ‚ÄúYou have a duty.‚Äù It‚Äôs been a long time since I heard that speech. But, you bet. The presumption of innocence. Did you see the movie Dead Man Walking? WS: I haven‚Äôt seen it yet. JD: Go see it. It‚Äôs an emotional experience. A good friend of mine in Kansas City, F. Russell Milan, just recently (I‚Äôve got his letters in here someplace) -- they put a man to death with the tube of poison. [tape meter, 100] And he struggled and fought it and didn‚Äôt die for fifteen minutes, or something like that. Horrible. And F. Russell tried to block the continuing executions in Missouri on the grounds that it was cruel and unusual to have -- fifteen minutes is a hell of a long time. And I was going to help him on that, and that [unclear]. The thing that surprises me about our electorate is how they have voted for the gambling halls. That really surprises me. Right down the street here is a gambling boat JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis 49 with the ATM machine in front of it. Their last report showed over the reporting period that they had taken $2,400,000 dollars. Nearly all -- ninety percent -- from the citizens of this community. How the hell can that be right? That‚Äôs money that should have gone for tuition, for books, or vacations, or braces on Susie‚Äôs teeth. And then what happens here, they come in my office, and they‚Äôre in trouble. They‚Äôve lost their wages. But there isn‚Äôt a damn thing I can do about it. I don‚Äôt know what the public wants anymore. You got around to it. We were talking about it a while ago. It is not a popularity contest -- it shouldn‚Äôt be, but it is -- to be in public office. One of the men I admired greatly is a man named Charles Wheeler of Kansas City. He‚Äôs a medical doctor and a lawyer, and he served as mayor of Kansas City. And he‚Äôs a great public servant. I know him now. I heard him speak once. He said, ‚ÄúOur duty,‚Äù meaning public officers, he said, ‚Äúis to educate, is to teach, is to lead.‚Äù There aren‚Äôt enough Charles Wheelers around. A few. WS: While you were in the General Assembly, I‚Äôm sure -- as with any politician --somebody‚Äôs always attacking you. And I just wondered if you ever got tired of having such thick skin and putting up with all that? JD: You don‚Äôt have a thick skin. You bet your ass it hurts when you‚Äôre publicly denounced as a crook. Let‚Äôs see if I can find it. [begins looking through his papers for a newspaper clipping] The St. Joseph paper, in their Sunday edition not long ago, said the following about me. They said, ‚ÄúJohn Downs is a son of a bitch.‚Äù That quote exactly. Their lead editorial writer wrote that. This is the paper that suggested in the past, as I told you, said that when I used my influence to transfer the school [Missouri Western State College] 50 JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis from the hundred and seventeen acres to the 700 acres, suggested that I was a crook, and had a stake in it. Some people believe it. [tape meter, 150] It‚Äôs hard to stand alone, you bet. And it hurts your family. The ass-kissers all cheered. They want to run with the power. And the power is the newspaper. I‚Äôm looking for that ‚Äúson of a bitch‚Äù article. That‚Äôs not it. Oh hell. I‚Äôd like to save that. [remainder of tape involves Downs variously searching through his papers, reading some, and giving others to Sarvis] As fond as I am of my own name, you‚Äôd think I‚Äôd save these things. Oh, here‚Äôs a picture of Governor Hearnes and me]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[that I didn‚Äôt save clippings, but I do occasionally. Actually people save them for me and give them to me. [tape meter, 200] Here was my response [hands Sarvis a copy of a letter]. It was written by Mark Sheehan, who is the chief editorial writer. Here, grab that. That was my response. But I have to find the one where he called me a son of a bitch. Yes, here it is. WS: [reading the article] That‚Äôs pretty amazing. I‚Äôm surprised they‚Äôd print that. JD: Listen to this, about the college site. This is the big editorial: ‚ÄúState Senator Johnny Downs must bear grave responsibility for reopening this whole thing. He himself was one of the leaders for the site. He was a contact man at Jefferson City who made the arrangements for the sale of the property from the state to the college board. Just why the senator happened to change his mind and wonder if another site might be better would be of general interest.‚Äù And then they ran an editorial on the front page of the paper by an engineer who cited the total area of the colleges]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[at Harvard, and Yale, and MIT, and so JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis 51 on, indicating that -- John McCaskey made a powerful presentation the other day in this newspaper on the front page on acreage for campuses of other colleges. [resumes reading editorial] ‚ÄúWell, we can be thankful for one thing, the board of trustees did not close the door. It did not rush through the purchase of another site. Say at Lake Contrary or on lower Belt Highway, or in French Bottoms. We do know that -- ‚Äú so and so. That hurts, boy, when they say that you‚Äôre dealing in property, and that you‚Äôre some kind of a crook. Here, this is one where they tried to fire the president of the college. He wasn‚Äôt all that good, but. Pretty rough, isn‚Äôt it. They were for Mr. [Hilary] Bush as they could have been. [tape meter, 250] When Bush ran against Hearnes. It says, ‚ÄúWe will follow the campaigns of both Mr. Bush and Mr. Hearnes. We prefer that of Mr. Bush. He talked like a statesman. Hearnes talks, well, like, well, let‚Äôs say John Downs. In other words, he talks. He‚Äôs not engaged in malicious mud-slinging. The man Hearnes has talked worse -- ‚Äú and so and so. And then they say, ‚ÄúIf you were to believe John Downs you‚Äôd believe that we‚Äôd one day have a four-year college.‚Äù And look at it out there. Let me give you one more. You should have seen the way they blasted me when I was prosecuting attorney. I didn‚Äôt save that either. Here‚Äôs the one about ‚Äúacreages of other campuses sited,‚Äù and he kept it up week after week. Here, look at what they sited as the proper acreage for colleges. WS: And how much acreage was involved for the [Missouri] Western [State College]? JD: Well, the original site that I picked out before the guys told me how wrong I was, and they told me how wrong I was, was a hundred and seventeen. Well, we‚Äôve got more than 52 JD = John E. Downs]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:date><![CDATA[WS = Will Sarvis that . . . . [finds an article] Yes, it says, ‚ÄúYou would think, from his own talk, that St. Joseph would get a four-year college.‚Äù That‚Äôs the kind of support that I got. You see, I‚Äôm not objective. My mother cried when this shit came out. And my first wife, who was a very sensitive and very nice person, she felt bad. [tape meter, 300] ‚ÄúJust why the senator happened to change his mind . . . ‚Äú [parodying:] ‚ÄúI‚Äôd like to know that, boy.‚Äù But the tragedy is, Will, that people believe [what they read in the newspapers]. And the thing to do is to line up with the power. Get with the power. Hitler would never have gotten anyplace if he hadn‚Äôt had Mr. Goebbels. So the crooks need that. And this newspaper provides it. WS: Well, to tell you the truth, I‚Äôve gotten through all my questions. JD: Let‚Äôs go get a bite to eat. I‚Äôll tell you where we‚Äôll go. WS: I have one problem. JD: Okay. WS: I have an appointment at one o‚Äôclock. JD: Oh well, my God, it‚Äôs twelve-thirty. Where‚Äôre you going? WS: Thirty-third street. I guess I‚Äôve got to get back to the Ramada, though to [get my car]. [end of interview, tape meter, 322]INDEX Administrative Procedure Act (1965), 40, 41 annual sessions, legislative, 6 auto inspection legislation, 17, 18 Bauman, Duncan, 12 Blackwell, Earl R., 14-17, 22, 24 Blair, James T., Jr., 19, 20 Brancato, Jasper M., 10, 11 Bush, Hilary A., 55 Cason, William J., 21, 50, 51 civil libertarianism, 11, 12, 14 civil unrest in Missouri , 50, 51 Dalton, John M., 17, 20 Democratic Party in Missouri , 27, 28 drunk driving legislation, 12 Eagleton, Thomas F., 40, 48 education and politics, 8, 38 Farm Bureau, 44, 45 Graham, Thomas D., 24, 25 Hallmark Card Corporation, 45-47 Hearnes, Warren E., 5, 16, 19, 28, 30, 42, 50, 51, 54, 55 Hogan, Edward J., Jr., 10 income tax 1969-1970 controversy in Missouri, 16, 17, 28, 30 Jones, A. Clifford, 3, 7 Joynt, John W., 14, 15 Keith, Everett, 39 Kinney, Michael, 10 Linehan, Edward T., 4, 8, 9 lobbies and lobbyists, 38, 43 Long, Edward V., 4, 48 McNeal, Theodore D., 4, 5, 8, 21 McVey, Duke, 26, 48 media coverage, 12, 14, 23, 24, 28, 29, 35-37, 53-56 merit system in state government, 42, 43 Milan, F. Russell, 52 Missouri Farmers Association (MFA), 45 Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA), 38, 44 Missouri Western State College, 25, 40, 53, 55, 56 Murphy, Samuel B., 24 organized labor in Missouri politics, 25-27 Public Accommodations Act (1965), 20, 21 reapportionment, 34 Reed, Ronald Jr., 40 religion and politics, 31-33, 39, 42, 49 riots, in Kansas City (1968), 50 Sheehan, Mark, 54 special interests, 6, 7, 40, 44, 45 Spradling, Albert M., Jr., 14, 15, 17 Teasdale, Joseph P., 21 toll road legislation, 19 urban / rural interaction, 8, 33-35 Webbe, Sorkis J., 9, 10 Wheeler, Charles, 53 Young, Robert A., 16, 17, 24, 50]]></dcterms:date>
    <dcterms:relation><![CDATA[Heartland Hub]]></dcterms:relation>
    <dcterms:references><![CDATA[full:001:http://cdm17228.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/ohc/id/585]]></dcterms:references>
</rdf:Description></rdf:RDF>