The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1881-03-10

held yourself in readiness to dash upon
the track at the critical moment, as dark
horse. At such times, when there was
no violent demand for you, the course
was in your opinion ring, and the
winners all ringsters. If you had been
elected to every Office for which you have
been candidate, you would have served
the dear people even little longer than
| have done, wouldn't you? So it is
scarcely worth the while for you and me
to quarrel as to which of us has evinced
the greater willingness to make sacrifices
for the public good. And if, as you sug-
gest, it is now in order for me to retire
from the public gaze, would there be any
gross improperly, think you, in your
making announcement to the admiring
multitude that their candidate you never
more can bel
There is, however, according to you,
another blot on my record, caused by nv
boiling the nominations of my party.
Let us compare notes little on this point.
In 1878, 1 supported Professor Ora
ham, the republican candidate for State
Uperintendeut, against Edward Soaring,
tie Liberal Reform democratic candidate
for the same Office. Mr.. Graham had
done educational work in our county for
some years previously, and was known
to the people of the whole state as o gen.
tleman whose qualifications for the su-
perintendency were of the highest order
Mr.. Soaring was a republican prior to
1S72,-one year before his candidacy,-
and l am not aware that any resident of
this county had ever heard of him until
after his nomination. The Office should
be non-political, and appointive, in my
view. My support was given to the man
whom | believed to be best qualified to
improve our schools, and to supervise the
education of the children of our state.
And have no apology to make, now or
at any other time, to you for my action
in the premises. However, Mr.. Soaring
was elected and proved to be one of the
ablest uperintecdents we have had. If
you know of any other boiling done by
me, just bring forward, not your sus-
picions, but your proofs.
You knew all about this Immediately
after the election of 1878, for my action
was open and avowed. If you believe
that because [ supported q republican
for an educational Office, forfeited my
standing in the democratic party, how
come you four years ago, in convention,
to publicly advise your delegates to vote
for me, in preference to such democrats
as Judge Pierpont, John Franz and A.
Wittmann2 Certainly 1 neither asked
nor expected you to do so. But you
have probably grown to be fairer, more
impartial, and less prejudiced since that
time.
Now for yoar record as democrat.
Have you never been guilty of any way
wardness as a party leader2 Would it be
very wide OF the truth to say that you
have been the most unreasonable boiler
standing within this county to-day?
Trace the lines of your memory back
to the fall of the year 1870, when your
name appeared at the head of the demo-
cratic county ticket as the candidate for
state senator, and you were the accredit-
ed leader of your party in this county.
Joseph w. Toombs and 2. p. Fuessenich
were then the respective nominees of the
democratic and republican parties for the
Office of county clerk, an Office whose in
cumbent has considerable political pat
ronage at his disposal. Mr.. Toombs was
known to be competent and respectable
gentleman, and had filled the place salts
factorily heretofore. He was placed in
nomination by the same convention which
nominated you, and his credentials IS a
democrat of good standing. and his title
to party support, were issued By the same
authority which granted yours. Aside
from that authority, neither of you had
any standing as party candidate; and if
the claim of either to party support was
regular and approved, that of the other
was equally good. Many years before
1870, Mr.. Toomhs had been elected by
the democracy OF this county to the Office
of superintendent of schools. How did
you show your recognition of party au-
thority and your detestation of bolters}
By publishing in your paper an editorial
article wherein you told your readers
that Mr.. Toombs was not democrat,
and if they were to vote for a republican
at all, they might as well vote for Mr..
Fuessenich who was straight-out re-
publican. Your advice seems to have
been followed, for Mr.. Fuessenich was
elected by large majority. You set
yourself above all party authority, and
assumed the power and jurisdiction to
set aside, as null and void, the title which
a regular convention of your own party
had granted. Don't suffer yourself to
lose sight of the fact that you did this at
a time when you led your party and
headed its ticket. What safe leader
and wise counselor the after-olap showed
you to be. Soon after his election, the
man for whom you advised democrats to
vote, fled from this county, an embezzler
of public funds, defaulter iE the sum
of thousands of dollars. And yet you
have the cool impudence to take me to
task for having supported for an educa-
tional office, that of state superintendent,
a republican whose character as an hon
orable gentleman is without stain, and
who then was, and is to-day, ona OF the
foremost educators of our state. How
very proper and becoming it appears in
you to pass sentence upon me for pcliti
cal offences. Verify, my sage and trusty
censor, is it not true. that fellow who
dwelleth IL an abode of very brittle and
transparent substance, should HE him
into his back yard and there hold stern
communion with his conscience, yea.
wrestle nightly with himself in agony
of spirit, before proceeding to shy peb-
bles at the habitation wherein his neigh
Dor abideth in peace2
In 1874, Joseph Villas, who was then
the leading democrat of this county, was
nominated for state senator. The office
is political one, in the fullest sense OF
the term. A United States Senator was
to be elected by the legislature, at its
next session. The democrats had carried
the State by surprising majority in
1873, and had high hopes of electing q
democrat to succeed Senator Carpenter.
Every true democrat in the State did his
utmost to elect representatives of his
party to the Legislature. What did you
do to prove that your democracy was Of
the right quality Why, you labored
night and day, with voice and pen, by
personal appeals and through your news
paper, to defeat Mr.. Villas, the nominee
of your party. And he was defeated
aud with him Mr.. DAIMLER, the democratic