Omaha daily bee., 1899-03-08

duties as governor without pokins his finger
into every little political contest he may
hear OF in different parts Of the state.
Red oak Express: No doubt the Board Of
Control has made some mistakes IN the first
six months of its existence, II would be
more than human II it had not. Its econ
omcs in a few instances may have been
mlsdreCted, But aside from all this, 1t has
made a great record and has fully JUSTIFIED
the wisdom of its creation, II has saved
the people Of the state nearly 100000 in six
months and 1t is safe to say that the dcTc-
liCtions under its management have been no
greater than under the old system. That
the board will profit by the experience II
gains cannot be doubted and there Is every
reason to hope that 1t will save stil larger
sums for the people In the year to come 1t
is also reasonable to believe that II viii cor
rect any little abuse or false economy that
may necessarily have existed In the expert
mental stages Taken altogether however,
the record of the board has been a great
one and has even surpassed the anticira-
tions of its friends The only dsCordant
notes in the almost universal praise accorded
its work comes from interested parties in
towns where state institutions are located.
But as these institutions belong to the peo-
pie of Iowa, and not to any town or county,
these protests Will cut little figure.
Des Moines News: The election of a
United States senator to succeed Senator
Gear is of interest to the News only as 1t is
of interest to the people of Iowa who are
not politicians, This newspaper does not
presume to enter into the controversy which
is engaging the attention of republican cd
itoTs and party workers. 1t can view the
struggle dispassonately and from the point
of view of an unprejudiced observer, and
that will doubtless be its attitude through
out The Boone News believes that Senator
Gear Is not candidate for re- election. We
think the News is mistaken and that IL Sen
ator Gears health continues good he will
be very much in evidence in the campaign
Other newspapers profess to believe that
Senator Gears age will be a barrier to his
re election The News believes that his age
will operate in his favor. Although Mr.
Cummins is the only pronounced candidate
for the senatorship contestng with the sen
ator for the place it is a we'll known fact
that there are really dozen candidates who
have their eyes on the senatorship. All
these candidates would prefer to see Gear
reelected than that younger man should
secure the plum. They do not want a man
in the prime of life to enter upon n life
lease in the senate. They know this is Sen
ator Gears last chance and believe their
opportunities would be improved by his re-
, election Mr.. Cummins will have strong
personal following and will make gallant
fight for the high honor for which he is well
fitted by his ability and party service. Gov
ernor Shaw. while not candidate is look ed
upon by many as the resduary legatee of
the Gear forces. Still others believe that
Mr.. Hepburn will succeed to Senator Gear S
following, though Mr.. Doliver would doubt
/ less prove the more popular candidate. All
in all if Senator Gear should continue to
exhibit rugged health it may be taken for
granted that he will be the strongest candi-
date in the field.