Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-04-12
LCommunicatedl
The Errors of the People in the Selection
of Officers.

Mr. EDIToR:-Please allow me the
use of your columns for a brief re.
view Of the errors of the people in
selecting their officers; also to offer
some recommendation that | think
shonld be needed
| am not VAN enough to suppose
for one moment that my plan would
be perfect; yet I do believe that
great good would result to the county
if We were moro particular in select
ing our officers, with a view as
to their qualification to perform the
duties assigned them than has been
our common custom. 1t is we'll
known fact that we are governed too
much by personal preferences and
prejudices and location, and
often by hopes Of personal ia
vor. These motives are far too self
ish and should not be INDUCED in by
any people, much less an enlightened
people exercising the right of fran
chise for in our haste to confer
personal favor we have many times
done great public injury, Many
sucL instances can be called TO mind
by the writer, but / forbear mention
ing names, as do not wish to wound
the feelings of any person in partic-
ular-only | add my mite toward a
correction of the evil that has existed
so long and is still increasing.
There are men in every town,
county and State, peculiarly adapted
to every position in life, yet it is a
thing of rare occurrence to find en-
bodied in any one man good qualifi-
cations for any and every position.
The common laborer, the farmer, the
mechanic, the manufacturer, the
lawyer aud physician. to be success
full in their different vocations, must
of necessity be peculiarly qualified
for their different occupations by
nature, and their natural peculiarities
must be improved by education; and
we doubt that there is man living
who possesses all tho natural quail
fications necessary TO succeed in all
these callings. In some be would
excel, in others he must of necessity
maze complete failure. Why will
not the same rule apply to men as
piring to official Positions We
think it will. How many times have
towns suffered by incompetent
Assessors, Clerks, Supervisors &C.;
COUNTIES by incompetent officers who
obtained their places through our
foolish preferences and preiudices,
instead OF through their known quail
ifcations. But | will drop this part
of the subject here and proceed to
give my views at to what | would
consider the proper course in the way
Of selecting officers, and the kind of
men / would select
| would vote only for the man that
| know to be we'll adapted to the
Office he aspires to, or, in the absence
Of personal knowledge of him, he
must be well recommended by reli-
able authority. When so known or
recommended, all personal matters
are waived and / vote cheerfully for
him, though ne should be bitter
enemy, and would recommend that
such person be kept in office so long
as he can serve in such capacity
without injury to himself, paying no
regard TO the idea of rotation in Of
fee, or the more frivolous excuse so
often urged for throwing a good
officer overheard and making doubt
tul selection Of a successor (I mean
the matter of locality). If we will
only drop these silly notions and vote
for men possessing proper qualifica-
tions, our business will be transacted
for US much better, our taxes be light
or, and the whole machinery of town
and county government will work
smoothly. A VOTER.