Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1906-06-13

"It was said in this hall the other
evening that had written a letter to
Senator Molesberry saying the common
people did not know enough to vote at
primary. / have wired to see what
l did say and have copy of my let
ter here. referred to my home town
where, when I was a boy, we used to
have town meetings.. About one hun
dred and fifty men would be present and
every man would know every other man.
Under such circumstances we could Sc
lect representative to the legislature.
Every township had town meeting and
they elected the man they wanted be-
cause each man knew every other man.
But you could not run town meeting
that way in New York City, because
there man doesn It know the name of
the fellow in the next house, he knows
nothing about his business, and much
OF the time he does not know where the
candidate lives. l quote from my let
ter: A town meeting in New York City
would not be success. A republic is
constructed upon the theory of repre-
sentatiOn. We do not legislate at the
polls, and we cannot safely nominate
at the polls. We can, however, elect
delegates at the polls who shall in turn
select delegates at the convention to
represent them in state and interstate
conventions and to legislate for them in
state and national legislative bodies. In
that way the people are all heard, and
in each instance the individual acts ad-
visedly. In some states I am told the
name at the head of the list of candi-
dates has never failed to receive a
plurality of the votes. This is natural.
Not one per cent of the voters know
the candidates personally, and they vote
as conveniently as possible. If the
primary law is intended to carry the
government back to the people and
away from the individuals, then it
ought to forbid candidating. If the
people, untrammeled, are to select their
officers, then office seeking should be
forbidden. Give the people chance
Gin debating the primary law last
winter, Senator Saunders said that he
doubted if any of the men present
could name the members of the presi-
ton to the fact that they were fifty
in number, picked for their intelligence,
while the president has chosen nine men
from the United States for his cabinet.
You say said Senator Saunders, that
each individual voter so thoroughly
knows every other man in his state that
he can wisely select candidates. 1 now
want you senators to tell me the names
of the presidents cabinet None of
them could do it. A very high official
at Washington asked visitor from his
state last spring, What has become of
my old friend, so and sof' He an
swered: He is now governor of your
state After had been at Washington
year received letter from cashier
Of a national bank in this state, ad-
dressed: Hon. Leslie M. Shaw, Gov
ernor, Des Moines, Iowa. The letter
said: i wrote you sometime ago for a
notarial commission. Why has it not
arrived9' That cashier of a national
bank did not know that his former gov
ernor had been made secretary of the
treasury and thus had supervision over
the bank of which he was cashier.
asked my private secretary whether the
slam was on me or my successor. He
said: 1T is on your successor, because
the cashier has heard that you were
once governor, and he has not heard Of
your successor (Laughter.)
81 got letter about two years ago,
which read: Hon. John M. Shaw, Sec
rotary of State. Please send me a copy
of the agricultural report. About ninety
days ago I received letter asking for
an appointment in my department. The
writer knew enough about the depart
ment to know what he wanted, but he
addressed the letter to Hon. Dan u Man
ming, Secretary of the Treasury. Daniel
Manning died during Mr.. Cleveland's
administration, but this man Of evident
intelligence had not heard of any
change.
CT am quoted as saying that the peo-
pie do not know enough to select their
representatives. / never said that, on
the contrary they do know enough to
select their representatives through
wisely selected delegates. If were to
mention to you the members Of the
state senate venture to say there isn't
man present except Senator Maytag
or the editor of your paper that would
recognize one-ffth of them as ever hav-
ing been in the senate at all. We are
busy people. While / was governor
senators would come to my Office and /
would ask them: 'How many of the
senators do you knowi'-there were
fifty senators-the answer would be: Il
know half of them, expect I would
ask members of the legislature, How
many members of the legislature do
you know3'-there were one hundred OF
them-the answer would be: suppose
1 know one-fourth Of them.' Will some
one rise in this audience and name the
members of the presidents cabinetf
Anyone in the room. Is it possiblef Is
it possible that the people do not know
the members of the president cabinets
I was in hotel and the head waiter
found out that was secretary of the
treasury. 1t was some months after the
death Of Secretary Hay, but the head
waiter said: win you have so and so,
Mr.. Hayf' That was the only member
of the cabinet Of whom he had ever
heard, and he did not know that he was
dead"