The Minneapolis journal., 1903-03-14
A MAN WHO THINKS
Golden Rule Jones Tells How He
Has Figured It
Out.
He Thinks Blind Partizanship the
Greatest Foe to Good
Government.

With the eye of a man who has "done
a heap of thinking the gestures Of a
man who has worked and the voice Of a
man who has convictions, Mayor Sam
Jones. of Toledo, told about municipal gov
ernnent before an Interested audience at
Plymouth church last evening. After his
hearers had harmonized the tweed busi-
ness suit, the anguarity of gesture the
far-away eye and the occasional hesitancy
in selecting word which invariably
| proved exactly the right one, they real
lied that they were listening to a man
| who had made his principles ring true
against the rocks In the pathway Of the
common man. In ten minutes from the
time Mr.. Jones was introduced, those who
heard him realized that his nickname
Golden Rule Jones was not an ironical
brand of hypocrisy nor mark of dis
respect.
Interesting as was his talk at the church
! a short address he made before the Six
| O'Clock Club at an early dinner at the
| commercial Club was even more so, for 1T
had little more of himself in it and was
good epitome Of his career and his
| platform.
From his early boyhood, he said, he had
been taught that there were two perfect
things: The world, perfected by God and
the United States government perfected
| by George Washington. Approxin1ating
these in excellence was the republican
party. Mr.. Jones father used to pray
daily for the Lord to bless it, 49,.
HE never used to say anything about
| the other party" said Toledo's mayor
drily, from which we may infer that he
didn't want the Lord to do a thing to the
democrats
This home taught hide-bound deifca-
tion Of party, Mr.. Jones considered one OF
the points whence many citizens were
started wrong. For himself, he said. he
| had never thought out or Of the politica
party proposition till he was 40 years OF
age. He had come through hard-work-
4 ing boyhood on the lakes and farm, anc
a young manhood In the oil fields as too
dresser. driller and foreman The middle
eighties found him in Ohio and in the
early nineties he had settled in Toledo ant
become an employer The panic of 1S9:
had impressed him with the fact thai
there was an economic maladjust1aent
somewhere. When in 1894 he prepared tt
reopen a dismantled factory and wa:
i sWanped with applications for work, the
Il fact was again impressed upon him. He
wanted to do more for his men than mere
ly pay them wages: Other factories pait
wages and enforced strict rules. He want
ed to do something to remove the condi
tions that caused the famous "army of thu
unemployed" in '94. He would have a rul'
In his factory, too, so he posted the colder
rule-'just to find peace for myself.
Shorter hours, a weekly half-holiday
good wages and wage dividend were ad
ded to his mans privileges from time t.
time. .
Finally, in 1896, conditions in city poll
tics demanded a republican dark hors
for nayoralty candidate. Somebod
named -"Jones." He became candidat
without making a pledge. he was electe
upon no other platform than his know
reord as an employer and he went in t
, do the best he knew how. For appointee
he named men regardless Of politics
"And do you knew he said, ''even afte
= six years.. experience, I can't tell the diff
ference between a republican and a demo
Il crat?' This was a fine scandal in til
party and when he said he would be
{, candidate again to give the people
IL chance to indorse his idea. the republican
II turned him down. He became an inde
l. pendent candidate and in that election
4 $4,000 voted as republicans, 5000 as demo
y Gratis and 10000 as people, He was elect
ed and is now on his third term.
From this sketchy autobiogra ply M
Jones went on to a more extended analy
y sis. He opposed political parties as tent
> ing toward deadening superstition and trs
dtion. The boss? Well, SO long as tt
people neglect their duty as voters, the
must expect the boss to do it for ther
Political parties were mer names to col
Jdle WIFI. 4So party CdlluluStte COulO
II elected without being tied up beyond r
II. lease Parties were responsible for ca,
$, Gus rule which he argued was menace
IT honesty and a wet blanket to since
n craftsmanship. City councils might
$. slaves to the caucus; the United Stat
I'd senate even more abjectly In it's 'powe
in From it all Mr. Jones concluded tn
J. this country was still in it's childhood
ht far as establishing the declaration that
v; men were created free and equal Is co
= cerned. That declartion was a giant stri
tn in advance Of the divine right of kin
r. doctrine. The full possibilities under t
. declaration of freedom and equality we
t. as much or even more ahead of prese