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

was the work Of political enemies or a uls'
charged employe seeking revenge" A very me
article Of rosy talk was usually INDUCED IN pS
a CRATER who was on the run"
Then, when he was finally indicted, his lawyers
would consent to tell what an outrage 1t was thaI
their client should be so prosecuted. All criminal
proceedings which seek to bring a CRATER 10
"book' are known by his lawyers as "man-hunts'
The big "grafter's' friends flock to the court
room, and quite frequently the utmost courtesy
is extended to him by officials high UP in jail
circles; especially if he be Of the same party DIS
the Jail officials. If he happens to be on the other
side of the political fence, these courtesies are
omitted.
After a big CRATER" is convicted there is the
usual appeal to the higher courts and a lou ol
diminishing to keep him out Of the penitentiary'
but he gets there Just the same. He may, after
serving a year. of his sentence, become so Ill
that he will have to be pardoned. If he mas re-
turned part of the money he stole, this is a chance
not to be overlooked. But If he Is "stiff-necked'
and insists on hanging on to what he got, tne
chances are not so favorable. Only a ridiculously
small percentage of the big "~grafters" nave been
punished. Some of the biggest Of them all have
absorbed their graft legally. But it was graft
nevertheless. On many, the statute of limitations
has run" and prosecution made impossible. But
it is cheering to relate that grating is not quite
so fashionable as it used to be by reason of these
prosecutions; and much as the "reformer" mas
been held up to ridicule, it has been the reformer
and the reform organizations that have made
grating" if not unpopular, at least dangerous
Petty grating can never be wholly stamped
out, as it can be handed around by means o
presents, privileges, etc, in such a way that 1
cannot be traced so as to provide ground fo1
criminal prosecutions.
The technical term graft" while peculiarl!
applied to politics, is not confined to that sphere
only. Business, banking and railroad circles haV'
the disease. In city administrations the spo
where it is liable to make most insidious headwa'
is in city councils. There it may be found eithe
indirectly or directly apparent. And it is there
after all, that it Is most dangerous, because affec1
ing an entire city. If a public official steals fror
his office, it is not such a direct injury to tn
public man as the man who SELLS out" to jam
franchise through a council
And so, in the last analysis, the eyes of the r
formers and the citizens should be fixed steadil
on city councils. The best candidates for aide
men are none too good; the salary should /
such that a man could give all Of his time to tt
work and be we'll and even handsomely paid.
the public expects a man to give $4,000 wort
of time in the city council for 5000 salary, the
= are merely putting a premium on grating"
The day of the brazen CRATER has gone b
. The new regime is making for better things. I'll
D only way that grating can flourish nevada.
! is by having a city administration in full accol
8 with the most influential newspapers of a cit
Il apply the graft legally, pocket the "rake-on
= point to the statutes in such case made and pl
vided," and so far as the public is concerned, q
d the CALLED jade vince"