Arizona republican., 1906-04-12
PHoENIx. AR1z.. APRIL I2. 1906.
How the Issue is Presented

There is every reason why the re- and there is none to be urged against its election. All the candidates. H. C. Yaeger for mayor. Shirley Christy and Claude Cisney for councilmen are men against whose integrity and good Judgment nothing can be said. All of them are experienced business men and owners of property in the city. MT. Yaeger has had extensive experience in city government having for several years filled an aldermanic position in the city of St. Louis. A stronger tick ct. We believe could not have been chosen.
 Now for the principles at issue. The subject of municipal ownership has been put forward in both party plat forms There is really no issue there. The city long ago declared in favor of public ownership of water works, 1t voted bonds for their construction, the bonds have been sold. threatened legal entanglements have been removed and the preliminary steps toward the building of the water works have been taken. There is no party factional nor personal opposition to municipal water works There Is nothing to fight about hare.
 The real issue is Shall gambling be abolished in the city of Phoenix" A year ago the democratic party de- clared that it should be. Whatever the people may have thought about it at that time, they were unwilling to trust the democrats with any proposed re- forms and that party was defeated more overwhelmingly than any party had ever been since the first election was held in Phoenix.
 There was no other issue before the voters a year ago and in some quart CTS the defeat of the democrats was interpreted to mean that a very large majority of the people were not in fav- or of the abolition of gambling. In other quarters the defeat of the demo- crats was regarded as evidence of popular distrust of them.
 Assuming the latter view to be the accurate one. there has never been an expression by the voters of Phoenix on the subject of gambling.
 At the democratic convention on Wednesday night the gambling topic was avoided with a caution born Of painful experience. Thus. the party imagines itself to be left in a recep- tive condition for the votes alike of gamblers and anti-gamblers.
 A small element in the republican convention on the same night insisted on putting its candidates upon an anti gambling platform, pledging them, in the event of their election, to enact an ordinance suppressing the practice in Phoenix. We think this was ill., advised since as we have shown, noth- ing was known of the sentiment of any considerable number of voters on the subject.
 A large majority of the convention held this reasonable view of the case and adopted a fair and just plank re- lating to the only issue which has been presented. This plank permits the majority to rule. It pledges its candi- dates in the event of their election, to give the people an opportunity to say whether they want or whether they do not want gambling abolished. The fairness of this proposition must be ad- mitted by both sides to the contro- Versy.
 These are the respective attitudes of both parties before the people. If the republican candidates should be de- feated at the coming election there would be no necessity of presenting the gambling referendum. That mat ter would have been already settled. Every man, whatever he may profess who votes against Yaeger. Christy and Cisney, declares thereby that the time has not yet come to suppress gam bling. and that he desires that the sub ject be regarded as a closed incident.
 It is not conversely true that every man who supports these candidates is necessarily in favor of the abolition of gambling, but that whatever his per sonal views may be- he is in favor of giving the voters of Phoenix the priv ilege of declaring whether or not they want it suppressed.
 The republican party offers the op- portunity for a definite expression: the democratic party asks the voters u cast their votes blindly for the demo cratic candidates