Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-01-31
THIRTY FOR COMMISSIONERS
More Will Probably Announce Before
EIection-five Seek MayoraIty Hon
ors-Efforts to Secure Representative
Citizens Ticket Fails - Politicians
Mako Trouble.s
Special to T!mes-Ieepublican.

is every indication that not all the
candidates are out yet, and there will
probably be forty for commissioner
and one or two more for mayor. From
this bunch the people Of Des Moines
will select at the coming primaries two
candidates for mayor and eight for
commissioner, and at the election they
will make the final selection for one
mayor and four commissioners.
Out Of the list of candidates there is
one slate Of mayor and four commits
sioners selected by q committee of
citizens, but the fight is not the field
against this slate. The candidates on
the slate are taking their chances
along with the others. The fight to
elect the first council under the new
commission plan is a decidedly inter-
esting one, tho it has come to be pref
ty much of scramble on the part OF
some of the candidates. There is lit
tie doubt at this stage but that real
ly good council will be accepted, but
at the same time those cities Of Iowa
and elsewhere that have been watch
ing the progress of affairs in Des
Moines as q sample OF what they
might expect if they adopt the idea
themselves should be disillusioned.
In the very nature of things there
is little doubt but that if a ticket of
prominent citizens had been selected
early in the campaign, the very weight
of matters would have elected the
ticket for it would have been the tick
ct against the second rate politicians,
such as number of the present aid
ermen. But circumstances and the
overshadowing ambition of some pre-
vented this.
A committee of 800 citizens was got
together by the Commercial club just
before the last session Of the legisla-
tu1e for the purpose of carrying on the
campaign to secure the commission
plan. This committee was made up
with absolute impartiality and all
shades Of politicians and business men
were put on it, 1t was a committee
strictly Of prominent business men
who, were anxious to get relief from
the present conditions of city govern
ment. This committee had weight
enough that it induced the legislature
to enact the law and then had weight
enough with the people that they
adopted the new form of government
at the polls.
There is little doubt but that if this
committee had been called together
early and had given it's unrestrained
choice of candidates the coming pri-
mary and election would have been all
one sided
When it got down to the selection of
the mayor and commissioners politics
of a certain variety began to show its
hand. Des Moines has public service
corporations the same as has every
other large town. If the committee OF
300 business men had gotten together
early, the weight of the committee
would have overridden the corpora
lions. But while the committee of 300
delayed an unauthorized committee OF
fifteen, who were members of the 800,
got together Some of the members
of this committee of fifteen were ig-
norant of the real purpose of the
move and others stood so close to the
corporations in business that their
presence there was easily explained.
The committee of fifteen was unable
to induce five good men to run and
finally after considerable hamnlering on
the part of one Of the newspapers the
matter was left to a referendum vote
of the committee Of 800. This; vote re-
suited in the selection of a pretty good
ticket. There were one or two who
would not serve but the real trouble
with the ticket was that ex-Mayor
John MacVicar got the highest num-
Der of votes. MacVicar is mot salts
factory to the public service corpora
tions His record while mayor shows
that he was continuously for the peo-
pie. He had some stormy times fight
ing the cause Of the people just as
Cummins has had in state affairs and
now the chief complaint found against
him is that things were not all peace
full during his administration.
Instead of accepting the referendum
of the committee Of 800 citizens as
final every effort was made to find
SOulo way VI IlOI dSSCplAiE ~. hSA .
never has been given in the campaign
any excuse or reason for not accepting
that referendum vote but those who
dominated the first committee Of Is
went ahead and had 230 more names
added to the 300 making q committee
Of $50 Then this committee was
called together in a mass convention to
vote again. The first vote Of the COM
mittee of 900 was taken by mail and
there were about IT'S votes cast. When
the vote of the $50 was taken in mass
meeting there were 1872 votes cast on
mayor.
II thru the campaign the claim has
been made that politicians We're not
wanted on the new commission. The
committee of $50 selected one of the
present aldermen for mayor; II. c.
Evans a democratic politician of state
wide prominence, Mr.. Hanna, one of the
library trustees, Mr.. B. S. Walker an
other library trustee and Charles
Worth who has frequently been dele
gate to political conventions and quite
active in politics were selected for
commissioners.
When the city first started out to
get commissioners the sentiment was
for big men. Men such as Hon. Jerry
Sullivan who was democratic candidate
yer with an income of probably $4,000