Amador ledger., 1907-01-04
Patronage Abuse.

Iuo Olby pdpoESs bhc AHoOAihS AS
publican administration is committed
to a very unwise policy in the dis
tribution of patronage from the very
outset. 1t is intimated that a black
list of republicans who refused to
abide by the choice of the stuffed
Santa Cruz convention in the interest
of Gillett has been prepared from
every county in the state, and that
the names thereon are to be debarIed
from faEors under the Gillett admin
lstration. 1t is said that Amador
eonnty furnishes 100 names of pro-
scribed republicans. If j. N. Gillett
has allowed himself to be inveigIed
into any such scheme, he is a'man OF
much narrower views than we took
him. to be. The pulley does not
accord with his broad utterances from
the Splatform during the campaign.
Less than two-thirds of the repub-
licat1s of the entire state voted for
Gillett. He is minority governor
by over 60,U00 votes. Thousands OF
republican. refused to vote tor any
candidate for governor. Here in
Amador county, which went against
him by 292 with normal republican
majority of 30, there we're four pei
cent of the voters declined to vote for
governor. Out of a total of 2409
votes cast, the number cast for vari-
Gus andidates for governor foot up
2318, or 81 short of the total vote. 1t
is only reasonable to assume that
these we're practically all republican
votes. They could not support the
regular republican nominee, and
would not vote for either of the other
candidates. This being so, the pei
bentage of party votes lost at the head
OF the ticket must have been fully
sTx per cent. Never in the history
of Amador county was there such a
Tremendous detection from the head
OF republican state ticket. Now it
was not because of any objections
personally to the republican guber-
Material nominee. 1t was conceded
by those who could not, and did not
support him, that he possessed the
requisite qualifications for the high
office. Under circumstances untain-
ed with bossism of the rankest kind.
they would have supported him as
cheerfully and earnestly as any other
man that might have been nominated.
Their adverse vote was protest
against corrupt and autocratlc
methods, not against the man. The
office holding and office seeking
brigade dictated the nomination from
selfish and personal motives. A vast
army of republicans, comprising, we
dpnot hesitate to say, thev very best
element of the party, protested against
the tactics of self constituted bosses,
apd cast an adverse party vote from
conscientious and patriotic motives.
Eh6y Believed then, and believe still,
that they were better and truer re-
pubhcans BY registering their protest
ID the way they did for cleaner
methodsin in politics.
As far,as.t the rep ubIicans of this
section who failed to endorse at the
ballot box the doings at Santa Cruz
are concerned, we believe we can
truthfully state that the black list
arrangehent will not.distu1b them in
the least, so3far as their individual
interests are concerned. Men who
vote r2 their, convictions, even against
tFeit party Allegiance, are mot of the
stamp to- be swaSed+ by the shaking
of the "big STICK They are not
members of the pre- counter brigade.
and sthe exclusion act, if a fact
affects them not IN the slightest
degrees But they are concerned
from party and patriotic motives,
in the exhibition of the spirit that
actuates such course. If carried to
execution it means that the Chief
executive of the state affixes his seal
of approvals upon the methods ADOPT
ed to secure his nomination. That Is
the significant part of 1T. Many
were willing to hold him blameless.
to give him the benefit of every
doubt. But they can no longer do so
II he attempts to draw the line of
demarcation between republicans in
the maner suggested. There was
bungling enough at Santa Cruz. IL
was hoped that better counseIs would
prevail; that the policy would be to
neal the wounds thereby created; and
the governor was expected to lead
the way. 10 do otherwise is in our
opinion unwise, tending only to
encourage factionaI stiite in the
ranks. The last campaign was the
most wretchedly mismanaged on the
tlepublican side, that ever befeII the
Sstate; and we still. hope that its
ssunders will not be perpetuated and
.Eepeated by the incoming admins
~tration, TO its own discredit and.
the injury of the party throughout the
state.
"A man with sprained ankle will
use 1rutch, rest the ankle and let 1T
FEet well. man Or woman with an
1oVerworked stomach can't use y
,1csr9tch, but the stomach must have