The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1894-10-04
LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE.

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 l 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 l hope l
have earned as an honest man, are the
only reasons / 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 un-
sought l appear untrammelled and I'M
fettered by any promises or pledges
whatsoever, except the one 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
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 1 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, "at home" 1 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 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 five
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 a well rounded,
eloquent speech on the floor, but l be-
lieve that he serves you best who care
fully avoids piling unnecessary laws
OH the already overburdened statute
books Tie conflicting, unconstitu-
tional laws already there give too much
work for our Supreme Court, and the
man who helps to enact only absolutely
necessary laws, and endeavors to secure
speedy adjournment serves you most
faithfully-always excepting where a
principle is involved, for, as our present
laws make it the duty of the legislature
to elect those who shall mould legisla-
ton for the people in the upper house
of Congress, no honest man, acting as
your agent, will allow a poor or bad
man to be chosen in order to break a
deadlock and go home.
The people of Washington are suffer
ing from unconstitutional road laws,
which virtually leaves us without any
legislation on this important subject,
and speedy Strengthening out of the
tangle into which they have been
brought is absolutely essential to the
development of our county.
Our present method Of collecting taxes
annually is an actual hardship to the
tax payer, and the privilege Of paying
quarterly or semi-annually would give
him all the advantages of the Install
ment plan, which puts so many things
within the poor mans reach that other
wise he could never get.
The method of assessing by counties
as practised in our state is one of the
large leaks of the public treasury which
system of township assessing would
largely reduce as well as do away with
/ much of the business of the equalization
boards.
This unprecedented action on the part
of our people, where party lines are
forgotten, is due, believe, not only to
! a desire to free our county affairs from