The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-07-14
UNDER THE K RAY.

The Vote That Elected Mayor Jones
Analysed For Principle.
At the time of the election of Mayor
Jones of Toledo as an independent can
didate over those of the Republican and
Democratic machines together it was
announced that, Notwithstanding the
signal triumph Of this amiable man and
whole souled reformer, the city govern
ment was in possession of the Republic
ans. The dispatches shedding no light
on the point of whether Mayor Jones
ran alone or with a full municipal
ticket, we wrote him direct for infor-
nation, asking if the Republicans elect
ed to the city council We're Republicans
of his stamp or Of the machine order.
Our purpose in doing this was to set
tie the question of whether the very
tiattering vote given Mayor Jones was
as intelligent as sympathetic. We had
our doubts about it, Notwithstanding
the announcement of the good man
himself that 1.-The people had tri-
umphed." We thought we saw in the
situation the evidence of stupidity more
than that of patriotism. And as cor
ganized labor" was represented as hay
ing taken an active part in the cam.
paign we attributed much of the stu
pidity to that source, it being thor
oughly in keeping with its efforts po-
litical in the past.
The following reply from Mr.. Jones
confirms our suspicion of the situation
Dear Sir-I have been unable to discover
any difference in the moral purposes in
spring the Republican and Democratic
parties in this city. Both party ma
chimes are alike. There is no difference
between them, but Republicans and Dem
ocrats alike are all people, and as most
men are disposed to be honest I am
much inclined to hope that our council
will do as much as the law will allow
them in the way of progressive work.
The people need educating. That is in
deed the crying need of the present time.
Yours sincerely,
s. M. JONES.
Although this is meant to be some
what evasive, it isn't so, but a virtual
acknowledgment Of u conception of
the situation being correct. Here, then,
we have a lot of supposed intelligent
American citizens voting for a good
man to do good things and at the same
time voting for a lot of bad men to pre-
vent the good man from doing any
thing. And Mayor Jones received those
thousands of votes from these very in
consistent people not alone because he
was by them considered a "good man."
but because he was known to be a gen.
erous employer. Had he been a mere
workingman laboring for his daily
wage his goodness would have been
overlooked and the machine politicians
would have had their votes rather than
the reformer. And the intelligent work.
ingman reformer knows and acknowl-
edges every word of this allegation to
be the truth.
However, the workingman, organized
or otherwise, is not the only specimen
of American stupidity to be found
among MS. We have his counterpart in
many of our business men. They, too,
will vote for a ''good man," or n
having the reputation of being such,
going even out of their party to do it.
but they will vote for other men at the
same time whose principles are diamet-
rically opposite. and thus have the one
neutralize. the efforts of the other.
1t would be much safer for this class
Of people to stay away from the polls
until they have learned better how ''to
do politics" as Ella Ormsby would say.
They are sadly in need of the ''educa-
ton that our Toledo mayor refers to,
They should understand all that is in
volved in the issues presented to them
for their verdict. They srs the jury
and should hear all the evidence in the
case presented before taking action
thereon; otherwise the ballot in their
hands is as likely to accrue to their
detriment as that Of the razor as a
plaything in the hands of a child. In
fact, that's about what it has been in
American politics for many years. with
the exception. of course, of the few
shrewd ones who run the game" -
Hartford Examiner.
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