Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1870-02-24
The Republican.
County Government.

County Govc.nIsent.
n. IGitor:-Will YOU permit me to
say a word or two through the columns
o. Your paper, in reference to the pro
posed change in our county govern
.ncnt. sec that a bill has passed the
Senate, abolshing the Board of Su
pervisols, ana substituting three Com
missioncrS, elected from the county at
large. |, in common with many 9th
erS, claim to have some interest in
changes which affect the welfare oil
the whole State, and strike n blow at
| the foundation of our whole represen
tative system. | have sought to asccr
tain the causes that have produced
this change, and have examined the
reasons adduced in favor of the pro-
posed substitute, and am not little
surprised to find many Of the honor
able gentlemen at Des Moines, (who
are supposed to embody the assembled
wisdom OF the State) laboring TO con.
vince themselves, their constituents
and each other. that a man ought to
be elected from the nation at large or
he must, from the necessities OF the
ease, be sectional in his feelings and
incapable of aught but local legisla-
ton. Now, am not prepared to de-
ny that all OF this may not be true OF
the gentlemen who urged tAis as The
strongest reason why the proposed
change should be made. And ii it is,
it proves, what? Not that the Super
visor system is wrong, but, simply,
that our system Of State legislation is
dog rolling affair." and ought to be
abolished, and twelve commissioners
elected from the State at large.
"Other State officers are elected in
this way and why not legislators"
One of the Solons tells us that no
matter how COOL man might be he
would naturally feel more interest in
his district than in the county at large,
and that, for that reason, the system
ought to be abolished. Does that
gentleman represent certain district?
If SO, that argument would abolish
him and send him home, pierced with
his own weapon. Did the sage of St
Charles reflect that he was represent
ing the interests OF the Cedar, and not
of the Shell Rock, ana that it is pos
sible that the largest part of his con-
stituents may be dissatisfied with some
of his actions, and some of them who
pay two thirds of the whole tax of the
country may be compelled to purchase
their libraries with their own private
means.
That modern Iycurgus, who dis,
covered, by means Of Jacobs ladder,
the iron bridge which has been left as
monument of the wisdom of the SUI
pervisor system, will be fortunate, in
deed, if he shall succeed in leaving as
enduring memorial of his political
existence as an iron bridge. The DIFF
ference between the gentleman and
the Supervisors seems to be this; they
invested their appropriations in iron,
his are bound IN calf. The Hotspur,
who deiicd his peers to show that any
country had ever returned TO the SUI
pervisor system, will perhaps learn
when he has got his eyes open, that it
is impossible to return to any system
till It has been left or abandoned, and
it is barely possible that he and his
constituents may not think alike on the
subject of his being returned.
The foregoing are some of the rca
sons assigned for the desired change
by the champions Of the Commission
cr system, and, in my opinion, if they
are faults they are the faults OF :he
whole representative system and the
Republican form OF government. The
same arguments apply, with ten-told
force, to State and National Leg;sla
tors, that applies to Members of
Boards OF Supervisors. We do not
send men to Washington to represent
New York or South Carolina, but the
interests Of Iowa; while we expect
that on all questions affecting the wei.
fare ct the nation, they will exhibit
their patriotism and devotion by lend
Jag their aid and influence to every
measure that is calculated to promote
the pcrpetulty, the granduer and
! glory Of the whole country. We. at
the same time, expect that they will
guard, with jealous. care, the interests
AMI honor OF our own State and Sc