Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-03

espOused the cause OF the poohieE Cun-
didate In preference to all others.
The first reason given is that they
favor Benson because he is in favor OF
equal taxation and because he is not In
favor of giving away valuable fran
chises worth millions of dollars to the
city. That declaration is as deceptive
as II Is attractive. 1t conveys the In
ference that other candidates. notably
Frank e. Moores, are opposed to equal
taxation and in favor Of giving away
franchises worth millions Of dollars. AS
a matter Of fact, Frank e. Moores has
shown a good deal more interest in
equal taxation than Mr.. Benson, who
has taken no part in the tax reform
campaign. He was kept off Of the tax
committee of the exchange because he
was lukewarm. Nobody can give away
franchises, whether valuable or worth
less. Under the present charter the
mayor and council have no power to
grant franchises and no franchise Is
is valid unless the proposition Is first
submitted to the people and ratified by
n majority Of the voters.
For second reason the boomer mani
festo sollcits votes for Benson because
they allege that the man best qualified
should be mayor of Omaha" What
qualifications has Erastus A. Benson
for any public office? In the conduct
Of public affairs, as in business, ex-
perience qualities men. Erastus Ben
son has had no experience whatever in
public Office and in private business he
has been a complete failure.
Thirdly, the manifesto declares that
Benson should be supported because he
is an honest man and a generous man.
Nobody will question Mr.. Benson's gen
erosity, although no evidence of 1t can
be found within the city of Omaha. but
his honesty has been questioned in some
business transactions. For example,
Mr.. Benson was n director of the Ne
braska Savings bank when that concern
collapsed and only very short time
before 1t closed Its doors his bank stock
was offered for sale to ]. J. Smith,
member of the present Board of Educa-
ton. Is 1t possible that Mr. Benson
did not know that the bank was in
solvent and the stock worthless when
he tried to unload it upon an innocent
purchaser? The story of Mr. Benson's
wildcat land speculations In Kansas
also arouses a very grave doubt as to
the honesty Of his methods, but OF
course, as Marc Antony said of Brutus
and Cassius In his grafton on Julius
Caesar, "Brutus is an honorable man."
For the fourth reason why the citi
zens of Omaha are asked to support Mr.
Benson we are told that he has been q
most enthusiastic and public-spirited
citizen, and that he bought land and
built up the hourishing suburb of Ben
son, donated the town hall and made q
large land gift to the Catholic Orphan
age, etc. Crediting Mr.. Benson with a su
perabundance of public spirit and enthu
siasm in booming suburbs and givinl
away town lots to attract purchasers o.
cornfield land plated into blocks
streets and alleys, we fail to see an!
benefit that Omaha has derived by BIZ
operations. The money invested in til,
suburb OF Benson contributes nothinl
toward the expenses Of municipal gov
ernment in Omaha, while Omaha ha
expended hundreds OF thousands of dol
lars for pavements and public road
leading to Benson that would have beel
more advantageously spent on improv
ing property within the city limits o
Omaha. The mere fact that Mr.. Ben
son induced other people to bull
houses in the suburbs on the install
ment plan does not necessarily max
him public benefactor.
Fifth, the citizens of Omaha ar
asked to vote for Benson because "h
! is a man Of the people and a carefu
student Of problems leading to the bel
: terment of the conditions of the worl
ingman" Conceding all that, It is ais
/ true that there are hundreds II nc
: thousands of men in Omaha Just as poi
ular as Mr.. Benson who are studyn
the same problems, but who have nc
I yet been proposed for the mayoralty c
I Omaha. Studying problems is one thin
5 and solving them is another.
S Lastly, we are informed that the sigI
ers Of the manifesto will vote for Era
r tus A. Benson because he already h0
done much for Omaha and will do moi
for Omaha II elected mayor. MOI
t people who are not intimately a
r quainted with Mr.. BensOn's actlviti,
: would want to know just what he III
e done for Omaha before they entruste
( to him the management Of a corporate
Y with more than one hundred million dc
lars worth of property.
The manifesto is deceptive throug
Il out and the assertion that the me
e whose names are attached will all su
a port Benson Is a piece of rank impo
.e ture. At least one OF the men who
IS name has been appended, A. P. Tuke
It declares that he never signed the doc
D. ment and has not given anybody a
n. thority to sign his name. and furthe
more that he will support Frank