The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1905-11-15
REBUKISG POLITICAL BOSSES.

REBUKISG POLITICAL BOSSES.
The result of the recent off.year
ELECTIONS was, in most cases, a re
buke to the political bosses. hide.
pendent voters of each political party
went to the polls in large numbers
and registered their resentment against
machine methods which nominated
candidates who we're believed to be
unfit for public Office. They had been
fooled many times by the boss of their
political organization, and used to
good effect their most valuable YEA
pom of defense-the ballot.
This years revolt against bossism
IL q continuation of the movement
that was in evidence at the general
election of 1904. On that occasion. It
will be remembered. achusetts,
Missouri and Minnesota gave their
electoral votes for Roosevelt, and
elected democratic governors. 1t will
also be recalled that In Wisconsin the
Independent voters rallied to the sup.
port of La Toilette, who vas opposed
by the most powerful element Of his
party, and elected him governor by q
handsome vote. The Independent
voters have q habit of doing these
things occasionally, and these per.
iodical revolts against boss rule teach
the instructive lesson that the people
always are the court of last resort.
Newspapers of different shades of
political belief agree that the indie.
pendent voter got In his work at the
recent elections. The republican In.
ter Mountain, for instance, makes
this comment:
The political boss ia down, even
where he is lot completely out, as q
result of the voting. The electorate
is Enthusiastically aroused to recogni.
ton OF the prevalence of the graft
evil In public affairs and to the init.
mate relations between the dishonest
business and the political boss. The
partisan who will attempt to find
party glory in any of the returns will
have a perplexing and busy time be-.
fore him. Never were party lines
more generally d~isregarded. Never
were party interests more completely
ignored. Boss Murphy for Tammany
has nothing to say. Boss Cox for the
republican machine in Ohio was
pleased to announce his permanent
retirement from active politics before
the votes were all counted. Boss
Durham OF Philadelphia appears to
have been forgotten in the oblivion of
his overwhelming defeat.
In calculating future political events
from the results Of yesterd avs voting,
it will be quite as we'll to keep in mind
that the chief purpose of the voters
was to dispose of old leaders rather
| than to create new ones. Tammany
wins, II at all, by q scratch over q
q new political organization. That
organization and its candidate stand
for revolution in government instead
of reform in administration. In New
York, as in Philadelphia and Penn
sylvauia, or Ohio, or Maryland, the
minority party candidat ties clearly re-
ceived their amazingly large support
largely because of what they opposed
and not in consideration or approval
of what they favored.
The democratic Anaconda Standard
is also Of the opinion that party poll
tics played an insignificant part ir
these elections. 1t says In part:
Viewed in the light of the morning
after, the elections OF yesterday en-
plastic the awakening Of public senti'
ment against graft and political boss
es. In no ''off.year" elections within
u generation has there been the gene
raj interest In the local issues abou'
which the conflicts conferred than ha.
been manifest during the closing week,
of the campaign which led up to yes
terday's balloting. 1t the majority 0
these contests the issue was the reform
of existing evils in the administrative
departments of city and state govern
ment. The result, almost without ex
ception, Is the complete victory of tn,
reform element.
All in all, it is one Of the most sat
isfactory elections in recent years
perhaps the most satisfactory. Part,
politics did not enter largely into tn
contests. The campaign has been
battle for the right and right has won
The outcome is gratifying to tn
friends of good government.
THE GRAZING LAND PROBLEM.