Omaha daily bee., 1906-03-14
BENSON DEALS OUT TAFFY
Lauds His Supporters and Wishes All
Omaha Was Like Them,
BREEN PUTS DAMPER ON FONTANELLEs
Declines to stand on Platform and
warns Candidates for Council
They VIII Have 10 work
for SALARY.

Contrary to its custom the Fontanelle
club threw down the bars last night and
admitted reporters and a few others to
its 50-cent enthusiasm-generator dinner at
O'Brien's cafe. The feasters numbered
something more than 100. Harry c. Bronze
was POSTMASTER. Remembering the COM
plants made by the candidates below city
attorney of shabby treatment at the Creigh-
ton hall meeting the councilmanic slate
was called upon to describe itself first and
Mr.. Benson last. Mr.. Benson said:
have been thinking what magnificent
city we would have IL all the men in the
tonight. II Omaha were populated by men
like these and no one of lesser character
ever inhabited the city and the news should
go ont on the wires tonight and be known
all over the country, think the value Of
every. piece Of property here would be
doubled by tomorrow noon. The value
OF the property would be almost inesti-
mable. You would need no policemen ex--
cept to direct people the way. You would
need no police court nor criminal division
of the district court with its array OF
jurors and witnesses. As / said before the
only thing OF intrinsic value In this world
of ours is men and II should 81 levin TO
defeat / should regard 1t as an honor the
highest in all my life that | had been your
candidate for this high ONCE.
Breen ChiIIa the Bunch.
The clubs candidate for city attorney,
John p. Breen. politely told the organiza-
ton that SO far as he was concerned 1t
might take its platform and use II TO build
fires with; that he thought platforms only
y kind OF gold brick at the best and that
it's a mans character and intellect and
that alone that makes him good or bad
public offlcer. Besides this Mr.. Brecn took
sharp issue with a number of men on the
tiekets wh9 PLEADED that they should ~. not
Is req,tted TO deYot6 all of their Time to
the councilmanic of1ce IL elected. He told
them that the city of Omaha is corpora
ton spending something like $4,000 in
taxes each year and that to execute the
duties OF councilman properly means a
great deal of hard, unremitting labor
coupled with. the expenditure OF time and
study. Said he.
/ have noticed that pretty nearly every
candidate here tonight has taken pains tC
climb up on the Fontanelle platform, until
this instrument seems so we'll loaded thai
doubt IL there is room for me to get on
I'm not very strong ON platforms, anyhow
/ think l have scarcely ever seen one
could not run upon. In the ANAL analysis
think the whole platform business may bt
resolved into the simple declaration OF
'gBe Just and fear not" No platform evel
written can completely cover or meet tht
form or no platform, the man in office viii
find that the best he can do is to NEE
EACH separate problem as IL r1SeS Ialtn
fully, Justly honestly and with sincerity.
Those who speak lightly of the small
amount of time they think It will requir,
from them to handle the duties of council
man do not, / think. realize what thes
duties are. The twelve men who woul'
undertake to administer the affairs of tn
CORPORATION OF Omaha, spending N,250,00
y year of the peoples money, should, II
my Judgment, be prepared TO expend jus
as much time as necessary to admniste
those duties with the same fidelity am
attention TO detail that goes into the sue
cessful conduct of their own private at
FAIRS. One of the greatest drawbacks I
proper counciimanic action that / hav
discovered Is that the incumbents do no
give time enough to their official work I
grasp the details and to understand tn
substance OF the work before them.
Mr. Breen, however, thanked the club 70
its endorsement and said he regarded 1t a
the greatest militant force in politics toda
In Omaha.
Altitude of wOuId-Be COunciImen.
W ". Bingham. oounoilnlanic oandidat
from the Second ward. declared that con
trary 20 the expressed intention of hi
principal competitor TO establish an ono
in the ward n elected that he would d
nothing Of the kind but continue hi
devotion to the commission business as 4
the past. John A. Scott, councilman
candidate from the Fourth ward. said q