Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1906-10-18

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them. The man who works hard
for a chance to get to serve the peo-
pie for nothing gets himself into a
position where the people say, well,
what in thunder does he expect to
get out of it?" That is fatal to the
fine esteem and sense of perfect con-
fdence on the part of his constitu-
ents that should hang about an al
derman's head like a halo.
Still Urges Registration.
The Journal urges everybody to
register. Do not be kept from reg
istering by cumbersome law, or the
fact that any number of voters can
be sworn in on election day by the
gang of ward workers that the ma
chine will have out. Several hum
dred have registered the past week,
and there should be at least three
thousand registrations. The people
should learn to express themselves.
L
store Monday and drew up petitions
and nominated a man in five min
utes and filed his nomination blank,
and started his petitions. Yet it was
a suburban ward where the people
are supposed to have intelligence,
and to know who they want. But
the boss says the people must have
leadership, and so he will give it to
them. At this a young man flew all
to pieces. and said he denied the
right of any downtown managers
to come into his ward and name
candidates. He Is not posted. The
street commissioner cannot even ex-
pend the money collected in the out
lying wards without getting the con-
sent of a downtown boss. I'M
provements in the suburban wards
are positively prohibited.
Tired of Machine Politics.
In the management of the city
government the people are very tired
of the wrangling that grows out of
machine politics.
The Gesner machine, having gone
to pieces, Mr.. Gesner is very busy
engineering a new one. He is slat-
ing candidates of his own choice in
all the wards, and roasting former
associates.
The fact leaks out that many of
the nominations filed are in the
handwrite of another boss, and
there is complaint that citizens are
shy about becoming candidates.
Is 1t any wonder that first-class
business men will not concern them
selves about city politics when dead
beats and men who do not pay their
bills assume to select the men to run
the city?
The people are not registering as
was expected, and many Republicans
are saying they will not go to the
polls at the coming primary. They
are tired of the methods of the ma
chine in trying to get control of the
city government in advance of the
election.
Need Not Swallow the Program.
Men who have nothing at stake
but the game of politics, and who
treat the city government as a huge
joke, are unfit to dictate to the city
council.
But the people are not bound to
swallow the program of few snap
judgment manipulators. 1t is an
nounced that but few have regis
tered, and the time for filing nomi-
nations and that for registration is
up Friday
But that need not deter people
from registering right up to the day
of the primaries, and right up to the
day OF election, as there is no law
applying to the city election.
feople cannot be smut out OF get
ting the best city government they
can under any law. IL is the old
game OF small registration with
the machine directing nominations,
and holding the primary election.
Then nominations will go by de-
fault, the machine will name its
candidates by one plurality. and
elect them that way II any opposition
appears. They will even sit at the
boards OF election and open aud read
the ballots, and run in enough OF
their heelers to carry the election.
Business Men Act.
At meeting of business men
held last night, nearly all OF whom
were In favor OF progressive policies,