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About Will Maupin's weekly. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1911-1912 | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1911)
THE L 0 Of course there is no reason why Lincoln should not be left to settle its own local questions without intcreferece on the part of outsiders. It is quite true that Lincoln is the seat of several educational institu tions, and that these institutions are attend ed by young men and young women from all parts of the state. But this is really no particular reason why we whose homes are in Lincoln, and whose taxes support the city government, should not be allowed to settle those little . questions, for ourselves. According to the opinion of Will Maupin's. Weekly our anti-saloon friends and prohi bition friends on the outside have no more warrant for butting in than have our other friends, the breAvers. We say "our friends, the brevers," for Will Maupin's Weekly counts several good friends among those whose business it is to brew beer. But if outside ati-saloonists, and outside liquor interests will just stand to one side for a few weeks, we Lincolnites will settle this ques tion one way or the other. So far as this newspaper is aware no one whose opinion is worthy of consideration favors the open saloon as an institution. As a matter of fact everybody admits that as 'an institution it is a menace to society. It is tolerated merely because there are many who believe its presence and regulation is the best means yet devised of keeping within bounds the traffic in intoxiaction. There arc those who believe that the best method of solving the liquor question is to enact laws prohibiting its manufacture and sale. That would be, provided the enactment of such a law would prevent the manufacture and sale. Fire is one of the worst enemies of society as it is one of the greatest bless ings but we do not prohibit fire ; we merely regulate it. And when we build cities we are not content with enacting ordinances prohibiting conflagrations. We set about building waterworks and organizing fire departments. Of course there are those who are quiV sure that there :s only one side to the liquor question, and equally sure that all who op pose them are "whisky hirelings" and. "brewery tools." These are" so numerous in most communities that it seems impos sible to make rational progress along tern perance lines. ; Will Maupin's Weekly does not belong to that class which believes that the saloon1 question is the paramount question in the present municipal campaign. It is merely an incident, and it should have no bearing whatever on the matter of selecting the men who shall have charge of municipal govern ment during the coming two years. What ever influence this newspaper may have will be used against any candidate for municipal office who is seeking votes on the ground that he is a "dry" candidate or a "wet" can didate. It will be used against any candi date who will not pledge himself to enforce, if elected, whatever excise policy a majority of the voters may decide upon. In the opin ion 6f this newspaper' it is little short of ;idiotic to select officials .for-a city like Lin coln upon the single and narrow question of "wet" or "dry". No man is worthy of municipal honors who will not abide by th? decision of the majority and do his utmost to carry out the policy determined upon by a majority. .... '.' ; The "wet" and "dry v question should be "settled apart from all other questions Our CAL SIT city officials should be selected with the view to their business ability, their integrity, their public spirit and their honesty,,. By "honesty" we do not mean their moral equipment, but their willingness to enforce the will of the majority. In discussing candidates let us bear 'well' in mind the fact that Lincoln is ; operating under the initiative and referendum, .as ap plied to cities.. Any official . who, because of self interest or truckling to coporations," foists upon this city an obnoxious ordinance., or franchise, will find himself unable to make good, for the people will have the. op portunity to foil him. It would be well to keep this fact uppermost in mind, at this time. The first objection that was heard to Mr. Armstrong's candidacy was that he was president of the gas company. It is true that he is. This is not because Mr. Arm strong is' a heavy stockholder in the com pany, nor because he is vitally interested in the business management. It is purely at matter of convenience for the company. The potential head of that company is Mr. Doherty. who is seldom here, and for busi - riess reasons it is necessary to have on of ficial head here Who can sign necessary pa pers and preside at meetings. Because of his business ability, his public spirit and his standing as a business man, Mr. Arm strong was selected for this position hon orary for the most part, and wholly nomi nal. Mr. Armstrong is not a candidate be cause he seeks either the office or the emolu ments thereof. Those who know him and no business man in Lincoln is better known know that it will be a tremendous sacrifice on his part to make the campaign or officiate as mayor if elected. If he were interested in the gas company to the extent that it was the major portion of his business affairs, or so interested in its management that he de voted his time thereto, Will Maupin's Week ly would oppose his election with all its might. Knowing this is not the case, this newspaper will view Mr. Armstrong's can didacy wholly from the point of Instability, his business standing and his views upon those questions that affect the commercial interests of Lincoln. Moral questions as such are not matters of political moment. We do not pass laws for moral effect, but for the protection of society. Alvin H. Armstrong is a successful busi ness man. He is enterprising, full of pub lic spirit, a large property holder and tax payer and in favor of a larger as well as a better Lincoln. He believes that , the ex cise question should be settled on its merits, and men elected because of their fitness and their willingness to enforce policies decided upon by the majority. The editor of Will Maupin's Weekly has known Mr. Arm strong for many years; their business rela tions have been more or less intimate and always peasant. Because of these facts Will Maupin's Weekly knows to its own satisfaction that Mr. Armstrong if elected, will do all that one bigbrainedy business-like man can do to enforce the will of the ma jority regardless of his own personal views. If elected and the city decides upon a "wet" policy,- Mr. Armstrong will rigidly enforce a policy of regulation that will minimifie the influences of the saloon. If the city de cides upon a continuance of the "dry" policy, then Mr. Armstrong will be just as ready and just as earnest in his efforts to make that policy effective. U ATI ON Frankly, Will Maupin's Weekly believes that Don L. Love is a very much misunder stood man. This paper confesses that its opinion of Mr, Love has undergone some radical changes during the past few months. He has been charged with being a fanatic -on the "dry" policy, but this is a mistake. It is true that he has been diligent in his efforts to enforce the "dry" policy, and not always politic, in his utterances on Tthat . question.- But , instead of denouncing Mr. Love for trying to carry out the will of the ' people expressed at the polls, he is rather to be commended highly. Mr. Love is not ' the issue. He stands for a great many things that Will Maupin's Weekly stands for, because he is fundamentally democratc democratic in the broad sense, not the partisan sense. He believes wholeheartedly in the initiative, referendum and recall; he believes in the municipal owership of municipal utilities ; he believes in the es tablishment of a park and boulevard system - ' and better school facilities. His misfortune is his constitutional inability to be a good "mixer" and his proneness to be somewhat pedantic. But he is a student of affairs without knowing men, a scholar without understanding what the average man has to contend with in the strenuous life, and a publicist who has as yet failed to measure some of the social undercurrents that pro duce the eddies and swirls upon the sur face. Of Mr. Love this much must ie said he is a man of unswerving honesty of pur pose, thoroughly in earnest in his efforts to work for the interests of the whole city, and able to devote all of his time and talents to the service of the people. What he might accomplished as mayor if surrounded by less narrowminded advisors, no one can tell, but Will Maupin's Weekly believes that it would have been of far more moment to Lincoln than what he has accomplished un der his official environment. Apart from, his so-called "liberal views" the only objection to Robert Malone has come from. a. class that is much given to the belief that unless a man wears good clothes, talks pure. English and patronizes a mani curing establishment he is unfit for public office. Being edited by a mechanic who has often worn overalls with pride and gone about , with the grime of the-shop upon face and hands, Will Maupin's Weekly has no patience, with the views of this class. Rob ert Malone, handicapped by a lack of school ing, thrown into daily contact with the rougher elements of society, has made good as a business man. He is what he is be cause of his own unaided efforts. Lincoln has plenty of men who would be able to welcome a convention in polished sentences and wear a dress suit at public functions with great eclat. It has fewer men who are acquainted with those things that vitally af fect the citizen and the taxpayer. Robert Malone belongs to the class of fewest num- bers. He knows Lincoln; knows its muni cipal needs ; understands its finances, and is acquainted with the needs of the larger class of its population the men who work for wage. Lincoln, if "Bob" Malone were its mayor, might have occasion to blush because of his uncouthness, but it would not have occasion to blush for any business manage ment of its affairs. And right now a ma jority of us are far more interested in busi ness than we are in the tailor's model or the society swell. . - Thomas Cochran's candidacy is, in the belief of Will Maupin's Weekly, a mistake.