The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1894-10-11
LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE.

To the Citizens of Jan Juan County:
Friends, your Citizens Convention has
placed nv name in nomination for the
office of Representative, and it but right
in accepting the responsibility you place
on my shoulders, that L define my
position on the questions at issue, or at
least give you some idea of what you
should expect if your votes should elect
me as your agent. 1t is simply in the
character of one who is willing to act
as the peoples agent that | accept this
nomination. My ability to serve you
consists rather in my knowing your
needs through being one OF yourselves
than in any power of eloquence or of
great knowledge of law; in short, am
plain, practical farmer, and my inter-
ests are identical with yours, and it
would be impossible for me to betray
you without betraying myself. This
and my nineteen years OF residence
among you, and the name / hope l
only reasons I have for asking my
neighbors to trust their Legislative in
terests to me for the next two years.
This office was unsought and undesired
by me, and this is my first appearance
in life as candidate, and the office ur-
sought | appear untrammelled and un-
fettered by any promises or pledges
whatsoever, except the ore pledge
which gladly offer, to give the same
earnestness of purpose and strict atten-
ton to business in dealing with public
affairs that have given to my private
interests. But friends, this, like most
questions, has two sides to 1t; my duty
1 have tried to define, but you have a
duty to perform also. Our people are
too apt to return to their home affairs
as soon as an election is over and give
public subjects little more thought until
next campaign brings it to mind. This
is not right, and I shall most emphati-
cally object to act as your agent in the
Legislature unless you will on your
part keep in touch with me. [ shall
not allow you to send me to Olympia to
ego it blind" and then be found fault
with for not having carried out the
peoples wishes. The columns of your
county paper are open to you at all
times, and your representative, whoever
he is, will always look to it to keep in
formed regarding the wishes of his con-
stituents, and, if you fail to do your
duty, how can you expect him to do his
Our Peoples Party stands pledged to an
economical administration of affairs in
county, state and nation, and beginning
where charity does, Eat home." be-
lieve that the affairs of our county have
not been administered with that strict
regard to the interests of the overburd-
ened taxpayers that they should have
been, and that a more rigid cutting
down of incidental expenses would be
more in conformity with the way our
people have had to live during the past
few years. / know the opposition will
call this cheese pairing policy, but if it
is not carried out the farmer will soon
have no cheese to pare.
AS to the fees paid to county officials
they are out of all proportion to the
services rendered; as the four or i've
dollars per day received now is equiva-
lent in purchasing power to eight or ten
dollars few years ago, while the farmer
receives, in many cases, less than half
the price he formerly obtained for his
products; while his taxes have more
than doubled in spite of the large in
crease of taxable property and the al
most utter absence of public improve
ments. In matters of state legislation
it is too often thought that the man has
not faithfully served his county who
has not secured the passage of few
special bills or made we'll rounded,