Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1900-01-30
Waaasa1a pilot.
TUESDAY, JAN. 80. 1900.
Published weekly and entered at the Post Office
at Wausauas second classmatter.
The movement for a non-partisau

The movement for non-partisan
ticket this spring meets with general
approval. In fact it seems wonderful
we never had such a movement before,
so many of the leaders of the two politi-
cal parties were always in favor of it.
Looking backward, we believe these
men all speak the truth, the trouble
was that the leaders on both sides were
suspicious of the other fellows, and re-
membering the sharp tricks of bitter
political campaigns, each side waited
for the other to start the move, fearing
that move for a partisan ticket
would be taken as sign of lack of con-
fdence in party success.
The only way citizens ticket can
fail this spring is to keep looking to the
rear and trying to show that the other
crowd was to blame for non-success in
by-gone years, thus stirring up partisan
passions, which are the worst feature
of our form of government. Looking
forward, we see the leaders of both
parties, and the business men generally,
heartily IN favor of citizens ticket
and all willing to place themselves on
record to that effect What method
shall we take to put the ticket before
the people The fourishing sister city,
Green Bay, has elected municipal tick
cts in this way for several years. The
general plan of procedure, as nearly as
we can learn, being this: A mass con-
vention is called and five citizens are
elected as a committee, this committee
meets and selects all the officers for the
city and ward tickets and reports back
to the mass convention for their APP
proval.
We believe committee of good
business men and tax payers can put
up better ticket than any caucus for
this reason: They would look at
mans qualifications for the office,
while a caucus only looks at the ques-
ton, 'can this man get votes enough
to beat the nominee of the other party"
On the citizens ticket plan we get a
capable man who can fulfill the duties
of the office. On the caucus plan we
get good tetlow, which is only too often
the worst compliment a man can re-
ceive. In comparing the two methods
we are speaking generally, as we all
know that we can get poor men or
good men by either method. But the
chances for better men on the citizens
ticket plan are self-evident.
One variation from the Green Bay
plan we would suggest is this: Make
the committee to consist of six men in
stead of five, three from each party,
and two of the six to be from the west
side. Our reason for this change is
this, there are men in both parties so
suspicious that thev might refuse to
consider a committee where their op-
ponents had a majority, and we don't
want to give them such an excuse. Of
course a committee of six might get into
dead lock, but six good men, such as
we would expect to have on the COM
mittee, should be broad enough to give
and take, especially with the good spir-
it so manifest this spring.
After the ticket is put up, it may hap
Nl,,A ~ g., ,,.l
offices, in some one or two wards, may
not prove satisfactory to all the voters
of a ward; in that ease there would be
nothing to prevent these dissatisfied
ones from nominating another man by
petition. Such a contingency would
not affect the general success of the
movement.