Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1906-07-07


make pecuniary sacrifice to serve In
the municipal offices. then these posi-
tlons will be sought after by our prom-
nent men. as the congressional and
senatorial and gubernatorial cOnYen-
tions now call TO the front almost any
man for whom they indicate Il prefer
ence.
But there is still another reason be
sides honor and fame why our most
prominent citizens should be prevailed
upon to assume the municipal burdens
of official life. If n man will not serve
his city at a financial sacrifice. then in
truth he will not in all probability serve
his city faithfully even If he had to
make no financial sacrifices. The sim
pie fact IS that our country, both in ma
tional and civic life, has never been
able to financially reward It's true
servants adequately. DO you not be
lieve that Webster and Clay and Cal
houn and Washington and Hamilton
and Robert X. Livingston and Judge
Story and Marshall and Samuel j. Ran
dali could have made five, ten-aye,
twenty-timcs more money if they had
never entered public lifef Do you be
lieye that our soldiers who died for
the defense of their native land were
ever adequately paid for spilling their
lifcs blood! The other day | was read
ing an account of the mortality Of the
Fifth New Hampshire infantry at the
battle Of Fredericksburg In one charge
it lost 1856 men out OF muster Of 300.
In that one charge every one of the
color guard was shot dead. Then Cap
tain Perry ran for ward and lifted the
fallen cOlOrs, and he almost instantly
was a corpse. Then another soldier,
Captain Murray, rushed forward and
grasped the flag. and he was shot dead.
Then Captain Moore entered that hail
storm Of bullets for the precious flag.
ana he, too, dropped dead. Then -four
or five private soldiers met a like fate
and bit the blood soaked earth. Then
Lieutenant NcttletOn, just as brave as
the rest, made a dash for the precious
flag and bore it to the rear.
DO you mean TO tell me that those
men financially were adequately paid
for shedding their lifes blood? Why
some Of those men could have been
making their thousands Of dollars al
home if they had not enlisted in the
Union army. Yet some Of those sol
diers for mere pittance of SIG q
month were ready TO lay down thell
lives for their cOuntry's defense. Now
want to ask you this question, Are al
the heroes of this nation dead? Nay
| believe men and women are just as
ready to make sacrifices for their coun
try now in these times Of peace a'
they were in 1861 and 1912 and 10G
And l Furthermore believe that The
most prominent citizens Of our large
cities will serve us in municipal offices
il we only go after them and call them
In these civic problems which we have
TO solve let US divorce municipal nnllI
| ties from uatIOIaI pOhtlcs. 1heh' il
the next place. let us nominate for ou
city officers not the professional Office
seekers. but let us 20 to our best mer
chants and lawyers and physicians ant
say. MEN. come and serve us COM
and make our cities names honoraDl
in the sight of men" And as AMER
cans. north. east, south and west, VII
quickly volunteer their services Il
fines of war. so j believe these prom
nent merchants and lawyers and doc
tors-aye. and ministers-will come L
the rescue Of our cities in times o
peace.
Look to the Conventions.
Rut we must not simply look at on
municipal candidates when we attemp
TO rescue our cities from their presen
political corruption. We must ala
weigh carefully in the balance the me
by whom these candidates are beln
selected. There is not one munlcipa
candidate I'm ten thousand who will al
nounce himself as n candidate for
citv or a county office. as did Williar
Travers Jerome for the district attoi
neyship of New York city. A man a
n candidate for a public office Is II
eyitably the candidate Of certain me
and belongs to the same class. l
true that certain men, like GoyernC
Folk of Missouri, may be better tha
tbe men who nominated them, yet, as
rule. in the political world the Wat'
never rises higher than its sourc
W. a man is nominated by a col
vention for city office he is, as
rule. 10 better and no worse thah u
men who want to elect him 10 th'
office. Therefore if you would tnd OF
the kind Of municipal candidates WI
are running, all you have to do Is to
among the men and find out what XII
of men they are who want that ca
didate elected In other words yC
can nearly always judge a man poll
ically by the company he keeps.
During my ministerial manhood
have been a citizen Of three OF II
greatest cities of the country Phii
delphia. Pittsburg and Chicago ha'
each been my home. | have alwa'
: adhered to this custom to the ielte
When a municipal election was taKll
/ place I used to walk through the low
parts of the city. There l would car
fully scan the faces of the differel
, candidates which the saloon keeper
put up in their windows. You VIII
surprised TO find that in nineteen cas'
out of twenty these faces are alwa.
the same in those saloon window
Then | would always scratch the nam
of the men whose pictures | saw q
saloon keepers wanted. Birds OF
feather nearly always flock together
a candidate for a civic office tran
with the saloon keepers and the dl
9wners and the gamblers and the re
robates you ought to fight him
matter what ticket he may be
b fight him to his political death.
~ stnnd by Your Officers.
! This statement naturally brings