The Nome nugget., 1902-04-05
THE DUTY OF THE PEOPLE.


 coming municipal election. These are the ability and honesty of the men who seek to fl positions in the council and school board. If candidate is not pected to deal honestly with the community; if he have not ability to intelligenly discharge public business, he is unfit for the place which he seeks to occupy,
 The NUGGET has been asked why it has not selected candidates for the school board, and place their names at its masthead. The answer is, or will be, obvious to any thinking This is a small town; it is isolated, and people prone to become super. critical. We who here on the ice bould shores of Boring sort of large famiy y; our relations to each other necessarily close. We have many that to make selection as has been suggested and say to the people, these the you should vote for" is not iustfed.by any exigency in this case Most of the men, if not ak that are known candidates for official positions are good men, and we believe that councimen and three school directors can be chosen from the number whc wllt Jo their whole duty by the people. If conditions were other than they are and if any great principle were involved. the NUGGET would feel that its duty lay in making an attempt at least, to advise the people specifically as to the individual merits of the different candidates Such task, however, it declines to assume at the present time,
 / We may be pardoned if we state that this pa per and its editor have always stood for honest and efficient government, whether applied to a com munity, the district the nation. No man who is worthy being called an American citizen should stand for anything else, should man claim credit for personal or political honesty. It vii. be conceded that each and every citizen has an nae,,- able right to his opinions, provided these opinions are not such would be subsersive of good government People in Alaska are looked upon not having that responsibility of ctizenship which enables the best results to be produced. This is an argument urged against us, and may say with good deal of force and truth Either we are responsible American citizens are not. If we are, our influence and NC tea will b. diree.- vcI,d to secure for us responsible men to place in charge of our local affairs. Ii we are men who have come hher not only to better conditions, but to pre- serve our citizenship we'll, will exercise the same care in the discharge of duties as citizens did in the states or territories from whence we came.
 The question before the voters of Nome is, there fore, simple one Do you want an honest almns- tration of municipal affairs not? Whether you have any material interests at stake does not relieve you from doing duty a citizen. You may be only temporary sojourner, but still you are a citizen and owe something to the community in which you live, and that something, in this case, means that you should stand for right principles of govern ment, no matter how. small insignificant that gov ernment should appear to you. 1t is yours as wei. as anothers.
 So, when the electors of Nome next Tuesday go to tue polls to vote for seven councmen to govern the only incorporated community the shores of Boring and for three school directors to manage educa- tonal affairs, if they quietly canvass in their own minds the respective merits of the candidates we feel that majority of good and true will be elected to serve on, either board