Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-10-11
Cities of the State to Profit By
Watching Des Moines Elect
Its Commission
RING POLITICIANS AFTER 1T
Hope to Capture Control Of Commits
sion and Thus Retain Power in City
Affairs-Issues Clearly Defined Be-
tween Various Non-Partisan PoIit-
ical Interests.
ical Interests,
.,pec,al to rimes-Republ,can.

s!pec!al to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Oct. 1.-THE campaign
for the election OF commissioners OF
Des Moines under the new commission
plan of government is just opening in
this city and tho no candidates have
been announced ii is known practically
to certainty that a number of men
will be candidates. Those cities OF
Iowa that have been contemplating
adopting the idea will be able thru the
news that comes out of Des Moines
In the next few months to get a great
deal Of information on the rottenness
of Des Moines politics, both county
and city, and incidentally some infor-
nation on the difficulties attending
putting in commission form Of gov
ernment.
During the campaign for the adop-
common boast of the people fighting
the plan that it was just what the city
street railway wanted because they
could control the commission much
easier than they could the city coun-
Gil The friends of the measure as
serted that by concentrating all the
government functions into the hands
of five men they would be able to elect
better men. The politicians fought
the plan tho asserting continually
that it was just the kind of government
under which to build up ring" poll
tics. Now the campaign is on. The
ring politicians are out for commits
sioners and they have their plans all
laid to capture the new city govern
ment. The good government people
propose to elect none but men as big
and high minded and capable as the
members of the state board of con-
troll.
To rightly understand the situation
it must be remembered that the elec-
ton of commissioners is entirely nom
partisan. There is first primary cleo
ton which is held the second Monday
preceding the general city election.
Candidates who wish their names pre-
sented to the primary must file
statement with the city clerk at least
ten days before the primary and with
the statement must be petition of at
least twenty-five voters asking that
the name be placed on the primary
ballot. OF the candidates for mayor
the two receiving the highest number
of votes, and of the candidates for
councilman or commissioner the eight
receiving the highest number of votes
are considered the nominees and their
names go on the ballot for the elec-
ton at which one is elected mayor
and four are elected commissioners.
The good government" people ex-
pect to unite on one candidate for
mayor and four candidates for COM
missioner and they expect to remain
with these straight thru from begin
ming to end, thru primary and cleo
ton. The good government candidates
are not agreed upon as yet, but they
will be and the forces that were back
of the adoption of the plan of gov
ernment will support them to man
or at least will attempt to get such
support
The plan Of those who have been en-
trusted for some time with the govern
ment of Des Moines, who maintain
that the commission plan of govern
ment makes 1t easy for corruptionists
and who propose to prove this by pro-
ceeding to capture the relgns Of gov
ernment is to unite on three men
They have picked Harsh of the Board
of Public Works and Fraley and Brer-
eton, two aldermen. They believe that
by voting only for three men they will
be sure to elect three. They count
that with all the city hall crowd and
the ward politicians lined up for these
three men they will get that vote solid.
They believe that in addition to their
three men and the five on the good
government ticket there will be many
other candidates in the field; that the
good government vote can not be held
in line and that some Of it is sure to
slop over and vote for the three
picked out by the city hall crowd.
1t can be said that while the good
government people are hopeful and
even confident of electing their five
good men and will when the time
comes open up one of the best organ
lied campaigns the state has ever
known yet there is always an element
of doubt In the first place the present
city government has the reigns of gov
ernment They appoint the Judges of
election who act as the Judges of the
primary. Last spring when the vote
was taken on the adoption of the plan
the Civic League offered several hun
dred dollars in rewards for the convic-
tion of election manipulation. Then
they set man at every precinct who
watched like u hawk. There were sew
eral little attempts to start a chain
vote but the thing was broken up so
quickly that it hardly got started They
will do the same thing at the primary
and election next spring.
In the meantime however. the pres
ent city government is using the city
funds every way possible to hedge for
~ lasai, sril-