East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1905-11-21
LET US KEEP THE POLITICAL
RASCALS OUT.


We have turned the raseais out.
Now the problem is to keep them out.
Yesterday we were hanging our
heads with a sense of civic shame. To-
day our name Is no longer a reprOach
among the peoples. Yesterday men
spoke of the power of organization,
of the grip Of the gang, and few had
faith that the machine could be dis
lodged that was welding n reign Of
terror in the town. Today that ma
chine Is smashed, Its terror is gone, Its
Samson Is shorn of his locks, and
there IL none to fear him now Yes
terday men spoke in whispers. Today
they are unafraid Yesterday they
seemed paralyzed and helpless. To-
day they are astounded at themselves
and glory In their new-found freedom.
Evil can no longer boast OF It's ma
jorities. A breath of fresh air has
come In to purify the putrid atmos-
phere of oue municipal life and
quicken the pulse of our democracy.
"Oh, the gang has this town sewed
up. You can't> do anything against
it, This was the dreary comment
one heard at every turn. Men said
that the boss was a wonderful organ
izer that his lieutenants were as
clever as they were INSCRIPTIONS, that
the system was perfect and that we
should have to wait until the thieves
fell out or some scandal happened.
Like a House OF Cards.
But we have seen one of the strong
est organizations that was ever built
fall like a house OF cards. We have
seen the organizing ability OF the boss,
and the resourcefulness Of his lieu
tenants, and the frantic efforts OF
thousands of officeholders and their
relatives, and the purchaseahle votes
of the slums. and the influence of big
business men with their pockets fun
of franchises. and subsidJ-bribed
newspapers and corruption funds and
public service corporations-we have
seen all these influences swept away
with the utmost ease, apparently with
no effort at all, by the silent voter at
the polls.
We have learned democracy's great
est lesson. Honest people are always
easily in the majority. If wronFs pre-
vail. it is because the people sleep.
The little finger of the people is
thicker than the loins of the biggest
boss. The shadow of the machine has
passed away. The menacing figure
of the boss has shrunk and dwindled
in q day. Government will return to
the people. Public opinion VIII be-
come a law. Each man may take
hand in making that opinion. Citi-
zens will respond 10 patriotic appeals.
Popular enthusiasms will break out.
The self-respect and Independence OF
manhood viii take the place Of the
cringing, servile, shameless fear of
the boss and his machine.
But how long shall we enjoy this
freedom? Six years ago. the boss
was beaten But 1t was only a spasm
of reform, after which he returned
more powerful than before. VIII this
happen again?
Two Laws Needed.
There is reason to hope that It will
not. The people are wiser now. They
know that the boss is not merely @
forceful personality, who gathers
about himself kindred spirits and
builds a machine by sheer organizing
ability He is not an accidental geni'
us. He is the product Of conditions
Every city has one. He has two
sources Of power. There is the ig
norant and purchaseable vote OF the
slums, and the backing of the fran
chise-seeking corporations.
Abolish all party emblems and pas
a rigid Australian ballot law and th'
slum vote win be practically eliminat
ed. Pass a law attaching n referen
dunn clause to all franchise grants
Then the corporations will accomplish
nothing by controlling councils. Thes'
two laws Will do much to keep tn
rascals out. The next Ohio legisla
ture cannot do less than this.-Her
bert S. Bigelow, Cincinnati. o.