The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1896-04-18
a LOST OPPORTUNITY.


4 LOST OPPORTUNITY.
Hardly had the Last session of tn
legislature adjourned when the Ore
gonian gave the following advice as Il
the wording of the republican platform
for 1896:
"The logical thing for the next re
publican platform would be resolu
tion indorsing and approving the
earnest and successful efforts of the
late legislature against reduction o
salaries, offices, fees and taxes, an6
| pledging the party to renewed efforts
| in that line.
SIT may we'll be supposed that this
matter will be duly attended to at the
state republican convention, which
will be held in March or April, 1896. a
little over year hence. Ii the plat
form is to accord with the policy and
acts of the recent legislature, it should
read something like this, to-wit:
''The republican party. both from
principle and interest, believes in high
taxation for the benefit of public Of
ficials. 1t pledges itself to stand firmly
against all efforts to reduce the num-
Der of offices. or the salaries, fees and
emOluments thereof. It insists that
officials who have put up mo 1ey for
campaign purposes to secure the sue
cess of their purity and their own cleo
tion, are entitled to recoup from the
taxpayers, and that through their
election moral obligation is created
which forbids offices to be cut off or
salaries or emoTuments to be reduced.
We congratulate the people of the
state on the defeat of the efforts made
10 the legislature of 1895 to cut off
salaries, Offices. emoluments and fees.
and denounce those efforts as the
height of outrage and injustice; and
we approve the large and liberal ex-
penditures for clerks in the legislature,
and point with pride to the numerous
items ard the grand total of the
kOuCt al ttIiOu oiii.
The republican state convention,
however. did not see fit to. follow this
advice of the Oregonian, nor did that
paper see fit 30 refresh their minds on
the subject just prior to the assembling
Of the delegates. Instead of following
the advice of the great oracle of the
party on the question of resrenchment,
the convention made this declarations:
"We pledge the republican party to
rigid economy in the expenditure of
public money, to the reduction Of ex-
ces5ive salaries, and the abolish
ment of the fee system wherever
possible, and of all useless commissions:
and believe that no appropriation
. hould be made to any school or
charitable institution not under the
control of the state; and oppoje the in
bill of items for the ex.
penditure of public money not author
lied by law"
Could the records of the legislative
Vi iO1c Uc oiOi 1eu cuG vi ulSIOTys
this plank in the platform of the re-
publican party could be accepted by
the voters of Oregon as meaning some-
hing, and would be consider d as a
pledge of that party to practice the
strictest economy. But since those !
records are yet fresh in the minds of |
all. as are also the wording of the plat
form of 1894, it would have been more |
pn the part of the trainers |!
Of the platform this year to either have
said nothing about retrenchment, or i
worded their plank on this subject |
after the fashion suggested by the |
Oregonian. Such a wording would
have been more compatible with the
let's of the legislature, and with such
declaration of principles, the voters
would have been assured of the mean
ng, but might have felt the assurance
hat there was possibility of the |
pledge being broken, since so many
ormer pledges have not been kept,
Ind they might have hoped for some
'eal economy being practiced. We
believe the republican party has lost
,olden opportunity of obtaining con-
rol of-the next legislature by not fol-
owing the suggestions of the Oregon
an in this matter. In the light of the
'roken pledges of 1894, voters can
'nly hope that their recent pledges of
will also be broken, and
.oing on the hypothesis that such
are made to be broken, might
ave interpreted d platf irm worded in
ccordance with that submitted by the
'regonian to re,lly mean economy,
nd would therefore have given the
arty making the declarations their
lpport.