Tins ooiniTEK
IN THE REALM OF
. POLITICS
Every now and then the moribund
civic conscience Is stirred and city pol
ities excites lively Interest. The machine-like
evolutions of the majority
in the city council have excited con
sldcmhlcindiguation and an earnest ef
fort will he put forth hy those who bc
lieve In keeping pure the fountains of
government to put in the council only
those who can he fully trusted. Wheth
er it will amount to anything or not re
mains to he seen. It all depends upon
the depth and fervor of the citizens
hent on reform. Theie are enough of
(hem to overturn all the machinations
of the gangsters and corporation strik
ers, hut they don't take the ahsoihing
anil declining to favor a puhlic oliicer
above the ordinary citizen the inevita
hle result would he that a higher and
better class of citizens would act-opt
ollice. men who would deal fairly with
all corporations and not go around af
terwards callingattention to their serv
ices. This however, would he antici
pating the millenium.
It costs several hundred dollars to
make a light for councilman in a pii
mary contest In any of the big wards.
Tin- ollice itself pays but P'M for two
years' service. If the proper amount
of time is devoted to city business it
is a losing proposition for a man to
H. H. WILSON.
Whose name will he presented to the next state republican state con
vention hy the Lancaster county delegation as its choice for governor.
interest in the game nor devote the
time to it that the other fellows do.
Their success is therefore problematiial.
It can be only temporary for the rea
son that the spasm of civic virtue is
over in a short time, and the citizens
go hack to their sordid occupations
leaving the other fellows plugging
away at lxditics. Keeping steadily at
it will win in any pursuit, and this
lesson was long ago learned hy the pol
iticians. Just now the in-ople appear
to be after a few of the more flagrant
violators of ward sentiment, and it i:
very likely that they will get a few
scalps.
It seems inevitable that so long as
there are public service corporations
amenable to regulation hy the city
council, those corporations will take an
active interest in the election of mem
bers of that body. Good common bus
iness sense, however, ought to suggest
itself to the management of these -or-lorations
that it would he money in
their pockets if they would he willing
to accept the assurance of the public
that they will he treated fairly if they
will only keep their noses out of city
politics and stop trying to put in of
fice men whom they tan deiend uion.
It is quite likely that they will retort
that they cannot expect fair treatment
at the hands of the public otlicers un
less they go into politics and bulwark
themselves against reprisals. This,
however. Is begging the question.
With corporations refusing to act as
bankers for councilnianie candidates
run for the ollice. This condition of
affairs is, in itself, a source of tempta
tion that weak men cannot always re
sist. And yet I anticipate that if a
business man who is a candidate for
council should propose to the gas com
pany, for instance, that if it will sup
port him or at least keep its hands off
the light he will agree to deal justly
with it in all matters of legislation af
fecting its interests, his proposal would
be turned down and the company's as
sistance given to some other man
who would promise to stand by it in
any entanglement it might get into
during his term. Some skeptital peo
ple who are not familiar itli the in
side workings of politics incine to
the belief that there is. in the frequent
reference in this campaign to the gas
company and the railroad companies,
considerable of the cry of "wolf,"
without any wolf in sight. They argue
that the gas company employs so few
men comparatively that those whose
votes they control would not be mm It
of a factor in any ward fight. This is
true, but it is not in direct votes con
trolled that corporations like these find
their power. Where their assistance is
valuable is in furnishing the money
with which a friendly Indian may
make the race at no expense to him
self. Money enables the employment of
men to go around and work up senti
ment for a candidate and against all
others, to whisper things about the
other candidates, to work up plots and
counterplots, to line up workers In
various parls of the ward. In politics
tliis is effective, although it doesn't al
ways win.
The First ward is a railroad ward,
and everybody knows what this means.
.Many of the employes of the roads
live here, and while there is no cor
porate terrorism over them they are
not inclined to use their votes in op
position to any candidate who is con
sidered all right by the political end
of the road. Here the present coun
cilman is a democrat, and the republi
can primary may be a friendly contest
between Harry (5. Abbott and M. D.
Clary. In the Second ward the ma
jority of republican voters are foreign
born. They have not lived in America
long enough to become thoroughly im
bued with individual independence, and
their material interests are more to
litem than their political ones. This
is the one ward where the gas. company
really possesses voting strength and
political power. The other men who
control its politics kindly permit the
gas company to have a free hand in
municipal elections, in return for aid in
county campaigns. Here it does not
seem to he settled who are the real
candidates. The Third was once
kpown as a silk stocking ward. It is
so no longer. The attractiveness of
the south side as a residential center
has drawn away a number of those
who once were potent in politics there.
The better-paid employes of the rail
roads and the students boarding and
lodging houses have occupied tin
houses left vacant in this exodus. The
railroad engineers form a compact force
here, ami it is therefore only natural
that one of their number, George H.
.Moore, is being pushed forward for
the council. Mr. Moore is a giant
physically, very popular among the
railroad men and his activity in the
past and his proven loyalty to his
friends makes his candidacy formid
able. He has an opponent n 1'hris
I'o.ke, landlord of the Grand hotel.
. . .
.- f .-
The real contests of the council
manic campaign are to be found in the
Fourth. Fifth. Sixth and Seventh
wards. Councilman liacon was elect
ed two years ago. He was then re
garded as a conservative citizen, whose
personal affiliations and private lift
were thought to be sufficient bulwark
against the temptations of a council
manic career. It is freely charged
now that he aligned himself with men
whose inteiests are not those of the
ward and that he was too much in
clined to the corporation side of ques
tions when the interests of the people
dictated a contrary course. His op
ponents have been insisting all along
that he would not last as a candidate
until primary day. but he is showing
.-in unwonted energy and tenacity, al
though some of his strength has been
A. HAYDN MYEIt.
A candidate for the republican nomina
tion for water commissioner.
cut into by the C. Y. Smith boom.
The opposition seems just now to be
centering on John S. Bishop, hut there
may be some changes in the line-up
of candidates before voting begins. In
the Fifth, Councilman Frampton, who
is accused of being friendly to the
Traction company because he voted
against lite six for a quarter ordinance,
is having opposition from two sources,
H. C. M. Ilurgess and O. W. Vander
veer. The latter seems to be running
an independent campaign, while Bur
gess is credited with being backed In
part by the gas company. Frampton
has made a good record, however, and
clearly has the inside track.
.' . .
.- -
Councilman Fryer is having his
troubles in the Sixth. He had a hard
time of it to become a councilman, and
his enemies in the Sixth say they will
have his scalp on primary day. Mr.
Fryer was defeated for councilman
several years ago hy E. IS.. Guthrie.
T. F. A. WILLIAMS.
Appointed deputy by Postmaster E. It.
Sizer.
but two years since won out by four
votes over L. J. Dunn, his present op
ponent. Tile complaint against Mr.
Fryer seems to be of the same general
character as that against Mr. Iiat-on
his constitutents didn't think lie would
do it. In other words, that he has
lined up with the wrong crowd and
sought favor in quarters that are ob
noxious. Over in the Seventh II. H.
Meers is making his fifth or sixtli
run for council. This seems to be a
perfect mania with Meyers, although
when he was in the council his course
was not such as to recommend him to
the people generally. He is an em
ploye of the Standard Oil company,
and is chiefly remembered for his ex
ploit in breaking a quorum by rush
ing out of the council and sliding down
the firemen's pole to the rear room
below. It is not unlikely that he will
defeat Lyman, who deserves a better
fate, because he is shrewdly taking ad
vantage of the unpopularity of Mr.
Lyman's stand against a fiat water
rate.
.
C 'C c
The fancied Security in which the
friends of Water Commissioner Tyler
rested was rudely broken the other
lay by the announcement of Haydn
Myer's candidacy. Mr. Myer is a very
popular young republican, as is evi
denced by the large number of signa
tures attached to his petition. Dealing
with water questions has been-his
Iifework so far, and in the matter of
capability he will find no critics. His
supporters are making no fight upon
Mr. Tyler's administration of affairs.
They simply say that Mr. Tyler has
had two terms and that the theory of
rotation in office is a good one and
especially applicable to city depart
ments. It is quite likely that tin
water rate question will cut some fig
ure in this contest. Mr. Tyler stood
pat on the proposition that the rates
should not be changed, notwithstand
ing the fact that every small con
sumer in the city feels that ho has
been and is being discriminated
against in favor of the larger con
sumer. A spirited contest over the
police judgeship is on between Walter
L. Anderson and P. James Cosgrave.
Mr. Cosgrave had the advantage of a
longer start, but both are such popu
lar young men with a wide range ir
acquaintance that it would be difficult
to pick the winner. City Attornev
Strode and City Engineer Campen will
have no opposition, as both are first
termers and among the most efficient
city officers Lincoln has ever had