Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1908-07-09

manipulated so that the ugly word mon
ey' can be eliminated in case OF an CA
nosure. Cash is a hard commodity 10 Jusso',
but shares and stocks can be better eAplalneu
to a Jury. So only the ignorant or most oi"Hen
of the big "~grafters" go after the money IN Ino
form, of TT s hank bills. Records are telltales;
and money taken wrongfully and unaccounteu Ior
often returns to plague the hypothecator WIN d
penitentiary sentence.
Another thing that seems to be overlooked Is
that legislation will not cure grating. lrue'
it can and does punish the individual; out noun
ing but an aroused spirit of higher cltlzensnip VIII
effect a general cure of the evil. II you want 10
know how many people in your city and county
are ont after something for nothing get INTO d
political position which either actually gives you
chances for bestowing favors, or apparently Offers
the opportunity. Ninety-fve per cent. OF the peo-
pe who call on you come for the purpose Oh haV-
ing you do them some favor, either for them-
selves or others; and they are not at all parucu-
lar about how the favor is done, so that II De
done. For myself, [ know l was bombarded oay
and night after | got into office with requests That
ranged all the way from the impudent TO the IL
norant. Requests to aid in the way OF eVaulns
or ignoring city ordinances were matters OF dally
occurrence. And the charming thing ABOUT IL
was that the parties assumed that this was a mat
+er Of course in the routine business of the city
hall II was not merely whats the constitution
between friends?' but whats honesty between
acqualntan2es?
"Skate" No. 1 would introduce Skate" NO. z,
and the latter would unfold a scheme TO pull
Off something in some other department Oh lhe
city hall, which was not only against all canohs
of decency as regarded common honesty, put SO
ridiculously apparent that no one but an lsholahf
ms would concoct such a plan. Now these Things
happened so often that if you got mad at each
occurrence you would be in a state or seml-apo-
nlexv half the time. The only thing to do was 10
cut the interview short by saying u haven't any
thing to do with that department.; II you nave
anv business With that end of the city go there
yourself"
But when you come to pin down any grea'
amount of graft" in most of the city admin1stra
tions' Offices you failed, from the simple reason
that there was comparatively little Of it. Was II
-, because greater publicity and greater vigilance
was being had through a hostile press ana
watchful opposite party? Or was 1t because al
d, Improvement was being made in the character o
- the men elected and appointed? Or was IL DOM
At any rate, there was a steady advance for thu
= better during the cycle of at least eight years 0
u nv experience in politics. Given an able AM
:" vigilant man at the head of a citys affairs, an
9 graft" will be reduced to a minimum during hi
term of Office. Given any other kind of a maj
and once more graft" will lift its hydra hea(
. It is a curious thing about manifestation, that tn
= tendency to make "a little on tie side seems t
he apparent in all administrations, but is eithe
dormant or active as the man at the helm
?, either alert or inattentive. Like yellow fever
= Cuba, it is always present, even II only one cas-
IA of it.
,e The cheap CRATER" when found out, never ha