The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1904-07-22

sidered as about to place ourselves on
record.
Perhaps you are getting tired of the
story The finish is just simply this.
They passed the word around that
Owosso and the villages had had candi-
dates enough for the Office of sheriff for
a year or two-and the candidates them
selves had had enough. They said that
it was quite time that the residents OF
the rural portions of the county
should be heard from in the matter Of
the nomination for the Office of sheriff.
There was lot of quiet interest taken
in that campaign from that minute
right on until the votes were counted
the next fall. We farmers got together
whole lot better than we do some
times-you know we are the worst lot
on earth outside women's rights or
temperance union convention, to agree
when we ought to-but we did get to-
gether, that is, a lot of us who thought
we knew what we and the rest of the
farmers wanted-and we decided that
George Morrice would just about fill the
bill. You know the rest. A lot of the
farmers of the county who do not get out
for every election, especially if they
have the idea that they are not consider
ed of enough account when the nomina-
tions are being made to be given place
on the ticket, were all out, and the re-
publicans elected their candidate for
sheriff that fall as well as their candi-
dates for the other Offices.
Today you fellows are in about the
same fix. You have got the votes ordi-
narily to elect whomsoever you nomi-
nate but you can't do it without the
farmer vote. Now mind you, I'm not
threatening. l simply say that the best
way in the world to get the farmers in
terest and the farmers vote is to show
in very practical way that you have
the farmers interests yourself at heart.
In my humble opinion you cannot do
this at this time in any better way than
by nominating farmer for sheriff.
You've got at least three farmer candi-
dates to select from besides. There is
George Cook, an old bachelor, but a
farmer through and through and a
hustler too. He would make staving
good sheriff and he has got lot of
friends among the business men of
Owosso and Corunna as we'll as among
the farmers of the county. Then there's
John Boutwell,, of Perry, who has been
elected supervisor for five times, with
increasing majorities each time. Guess
he'd do pretty well too You wouldn't
see democratic sheriff next year if
John Boutwell, is made your candidate.
But, as my fellow farmer, whom re-
ferred to above, remarked, believe
Frank Barnes, of Byron, is the best
candidate of them all for the republi-
cans this fall. I've known him ever
since he was fat faced youngster in
knee pants-and they got out of knee
pants at pretty tender age in those
days-and he's all right in every respect.
He's a farmer from the ground up, and
it's some distance to the top of him
nowadays, too. He's no stripping,
either A man in Sheriff Barnes
clutches would not be likely to even
suggest trying to overcome the officer.
Withal he's as genial and wholesouled a
man as ever wore pair of jeans about
country barnyard and taught calf to
drink from a pail by getting it to suck
his fingers in lieu of its mothers teats,
or had nervous heifer play a lively
tattoo on his milk pail, his stool, his
arms or his ribs-whatever came hand
lest. Yes sir, he's an all round farmer,
and what farmer is not always, an
all round good fellow too, without in
any sense being sport or sacrificing
proper dignity of bearing. He's meyer
asked the party for an Office and today
his farmer friends are asking for him.
I believe he would bring more votes to
the republican county ticket this fall
than any other man you can name. Yes
sir, Frank Barnes, of Byron, is in my
opinion the man you should nominate
next month, and believe you'll see it
for yourselves before next week rolls by.
LISTENER.