The Redwood gazette., 1901-12-18

Mrs i. ~. Tompklns and daugh-'
ter were visiting with friends IN
Morgan during the latter part Of
last week.
Schools will close for a two weeks
vacation for the holidays, next Sat
Iurday, and the various teachers
having homes IN other cities will
leave for those places on Saturday.
The winter term will open on Jan.
18th.
/ In a recent number Of the
Pioneer Press it was stated that
there was now no valid reason why
county commissioners could not APP
propriate money from the road and
bridge fund to carry on road and
bridge improvements inside of city
limits. Heretofore, it has always
been contended that such action
could not be taken, notWithstand-
ing the fact that cities are gener-
Tally taxed for those purposes by the
county This city, for number Of
years past, has paid on the average
OF about $3.50 per year into the city
treasury, from which it has never
received cent Of benefit. If the
! Pioneer Press is correct it will be
IN order for Commissioner Cooper
to demand some of these funds
/ for the Improvement Of roads and
bridges in the city limits. The city
does not ask for such funds for it's
streets, ETC., but there are places in
the limits, which are mere roads,
and if after the taxpayers of this
city pay the tax there is no reason
why it should not be expended in
this outlying territory. During the
term that w. E. Baker was county
commissioner that official held up
/ the tax for the reason that it was
held that the city could not derive
any benefit from it.
The last regular meeting of the
Forum was very we'll attended and
/ the interest we'll sustained through
out. A. D. Stewart, the affirmative
speaker on the merits of the new
4 primary election law, surprised the
audience by stopping his presenta-
tiOn soon after taking the floor, his
memory evidently having played him
false for the time IN his extended
experience as public speaker. BY
request Mr.. Schmahl proceeded
!. with his statement of the dement's
Of the law, which may be summar-
lied thus: Capitalization of pOliti-
cal power in the cities and towns
by reason of the certainty of q larger
! percentage Of votes at the primar.
les. the first election occurring or
Sept Ist, when farmers could only
vote at great Inconvenience and
fna1tcial loss It was this consid
Grafton that determined the legisla
ture IN excepting nominations fOl
State officers from the operation OI
the law, but the same objection
must apply to other nominations
wherever there are large towns il
any county. Another objection was
the expense of5wo elections. under
the Australian ballot system, witt
its attendant doubling of expense
to candidates as we'll as to the tax
payer. A poor man could i]l-afforC
to 90 to the large expense Of regis
tering and making thorough canvass
Of a large county, and hence popular
or a wealthy aspirant has an i'm
mense advantages The result was
likely to be the practical disfran
chisement of farmer candidates. A
third danger was the abuse of the
immense power of the press, a com
4 bination Of influential papers in any
district or county, merely from tht
standpoint of advertising, being {
factor that "a [. worthy candidate
might find impossible to overcome
! Unpopular as the implied opposi
tion to the new law was to the audi
! ence, it was attentively listened to
and greeted with applause. Follow
& ing, Mr.. Stewart read his manu-
8 script speech, which was an argu
ment in favor OF the Elargest indi
yidual liberty as opposed to the
dangers of boss rule and caucus
combinations. Mr.. Stewart did no
x -,