Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1898-05-21
POLITICAL DEeENERAcY.
An Open Letter to the Republican Party
of Oregon.

that floats up and down the Thames
with ebb and flood. You get TO know
him by sight, with painful oppres-
sion OF nose. Daily you may see him,
and daily the odor Of him getting
more intolerable." But the worst
cdors become eudurabie by too fire.
quent repetition, the senses become
vitiated, and IN time, what was dis
is borne unnotlced, and in
a manner relished
IL is so with parties and the poll e.
ticiaus who lead them. The malo-
doruus acl ions of the average Office
seeker occasions only temporary ces
sation Of party support. Partisanlsm,
Il blunted seLse of moral principle,
and a servile acquiescence to machine
vaccinations by the smasses, is what
makes a politicians life OF such long
Our time is afflicted
with petty pOliticiansof small calibre,
ahose pertinacity 10 seeking Office IL
fully equaled by the folly of the
voters in supporting them. The of
ice seeker is too often the tool Of the
great corporations, the slave of all
monied Interests. the sdoormat upou
which they wipe their feet. 49,
Here, in Oregon. the Republican
party has got up a false enthusiasm
over one of these yermin, n,pTeylng upon
| gullible public, whose small trick
cry and wire pulling has been a stencil
IN the nostrils of his own party. We
see young men wearing badges and
Shooplng him up, who can give you
no reason for so doing, than, that he
il the Republican nominee for goy-
ernor. A man in whose nomination
hey had no voice, for whom the wires
we're being pulled for the last six
months bJ himself and the machine
o bring about this very string; the
primaries being prepared, delegates
selected, and to men commanding an
influential following, every Office at
the disposal of the governor promised
ten times over. Thus men buy and
sell themselves to get their hands iu
the public trough.
We cannot show this man In his
proper colors because no paper would
publish it. Here we have another safe
guard to the exposure Of corruption
in politics-the newspapers that coulc
virtually extinguish this man, anc
deservedly so, is the very instrument
to elevate him to posi- ticn for which
ne is mentally and morally unfit. But
so high do we Republicans look, that
mental.d l.deficiency.and moral turpitude
count as nothing, so be, 'he is of oul
party and our nominee.
Therefore in order to get hearing
we must confne ourselves to super
fetal review of this mans public
acts.
AS a farmer he has been tinancia
failure. This is not so much to bC
wondered at when we hear him SPEAK
on the money question, or read one Of
his articles In the Oregonian upon the
same subject. 1t was no doubt th'
recognition of himself as a failure
financially, that prompted him Il
write some puerile letters, demon
strating to the dull intellects Of tn,
farmers the enormous advantage o
the railroads to agriculture. HaYinl
written several Of these, he then de
manded his pay-a free pass from TIN
railroad corporation, and received it
He has dead-headed over the railroad
the past fifteen years. This has beel
of great advantage to him in his bust
ness of office seeking.
Not, mind you, for the sake o
holding office for the benefit III
could render his country, but for TIN
ayowed purpose of for "wbat ther,
was in it," This was his unsolicited
declaration in the bosom of his owl
family, whilst glorying in his eleva-
tlon to the speakership. 1t was mad'
in the fullness Of his heart when hC
imag ined every trophy in the areni
of politics within his grasp. Th'
speakership is said to haye beer
payment in full for his vote on thu
Bull Run water bill.
He has stumped the state the pas
fifteen years. Are we to attribute
the knowledge OF his party on thu
money question TO this stumpinl
business. We are sorry to say thai
their financial ideas do not flow in &
pellucid stream. That their champion
and exponent OF the money question
has travelled in unclean ways may
partially account'for this. The golo
Republicans must not consider this q
slur upon their mental capacity. The
fountain. Of their champions inspira'
tion upon finance is the Oregonian
All good Republicans believe in the
oregonian, and it is natural for the
children to follow in the steps Of theiI
parents Yet the Oregonian closed
Its columns on Geer during one OF
his discussions OF money because his
argument was nonsensical. Not very
consistent.
His laborious services, say his coad-
tutors, to the party have not been suf'
fciently remhnerated. Political ac
tivity like his, deserves first place at
the public crib. Yet l knew CT no
service he has rendered the party for
which he was not abundantly recon-
pensed. But it is good policy TO play
nnon the sYmnathies of the peOnle. es.