Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-03-27
LOCAL POLITICAL EVENTS OF THE DAY.

with the ideas of any party, but were
given as the careful deductions gained
through conversation with men regard
less Of politics. and were the impress
sions of what seemed to be a large
portion of the people at that time AND
as further proof that both in nature
of platform and character of candi
date the popular sentiment was re
! fiected, The Argus received many let
ters from citizens of all political par
ties. which il alluded to at the time
setting forth their unqualified approx
al Of both. Give us such a platform
and such a platform" said one of the
most prominent and influential repub
elected"
/ The people know the circums lance!
attending Mr. Knox's nomination Il
was politics pure and simple anC
mighty tricky politics at that involv
| ing the subordination of the conven
tons choice for mayor TO considera
/ ton of the selfish aspirations of two
candidates for lesser places on the
! ticket. The consequence was that
there was practically no convention
/ And there was of course, no platform
Saturday night meeting of the inter
ests of the ticket so named was
held at Armory hall The only argu.
ment that was offered as to why the
ticket should command votes was
politics. Not a word could be said in
Mr.. Knox's behalf as meeting the re-
quirements of the office for mayor be-
cause he had been tried twice And
the people know the rest.
The democrats too. held conven-
ton. 1t likewise failed to adopt a
platform. but it nominated a ticket.
Mr.. Cavanaugh was the nominee. He
did not seek the nomination, and
hence made no combination with a
view either of circumventing the will
of his party or the rights of the dele
gates. a day or so later he declined
the nomination, but his declination
was rejected. He still insisted that he
was not a candidate, as in the mod
esty of his nature he felt in the party
were others more suited for the office
But the more the representatives of
his party considered the matter. and
Cavanaugh's position the more they
became satisfied that he was the very
man, not only that the party wanted
but that the people wanted and he
was required to remain on the ticket
Finally Yielded.
And so Mr.. Cavanaugh finally yield
ed. The first thing he did was to take
the people absolutely into his conf
dence. He made frank statement of
all the circumstances surrounding his
candidacy. He talked plainly. The
convention from which his nomination
came had adopted no platform so he
wrote one of his own. In it he said:
acknowledge the supremacy of the
law, and in the event of my election
as mayor | will endeavor to execute
it according to my oath of office, bear
ing always in mind that | owe alleg-
lance first to the people, and to all the
people, and that they have not only che
right to expect but to exact absolute
fairness in all that pertains to the
administration of their affairs.
Conservative regard for the rights
OF all, purpose to work in harmony
with the common council, to conduct
the affairs of the city along non-partl-
san lines so far as possible, seeking
on!y to get the best possible for the
whole city, and to extend the scope
Of the public service, should be the
aim of the right thinking mayor, in
my opinion.
In this regard ! am glad to note the
non-partisan tendency that has grown
into the conduct of the fire department.
II would be my idea that this practice
should continue. 1t is my judgment
further, tat this essential branch of
the public service be so improved and
as to bring its advantages
and protection to the most remote por-
tons Of the city. believe in cont;n-
ual development Of the policy of puo-
lie improvements of all kinds. of open
ing every avenue of approach to the
city for the coming Of trade, through
tire removal Of tolls on the Rock river
bridges, the encouragement of ever:
legitimate Ercject that insures inter
rrean roads, and NVithal Of bending eV-
cry effort toward sending the city fur
Their along healthy and s@bstantial
lines. and in accord with business
principles.
Sought Rather ThEn seeking
This is the stand of a man who has
been sought rather than seeking the
office Of mayor OF Rock Island. How
near does he come 10 filling the re-
1uirements of the platform and candi-
late pictured weeks before any con
,ention was called? And how does he
with a candidate who sue
cured his nomination from >conven-
ion. two-thirds OF the delegates to
which had other preferences, and
whose only platform before the PEG
pie. and the one on which he should
stand is his former admin
istrations as mayor of Rock Island.
Then there is a third prominent
candidate for mayor OF Rock
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