The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1908-04-15
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
LETTER NO. v.

change Art. VII, Sec. z, of our State
Constitution. The present section
reads as follows: Every person
who by the provisions of this article
shall be entitled to vote at any cleo
ton, shall be eligible to any office
which now is. or hereafter shall be
elective bv the people in the district
wherein he shall have resided thirty
days previous to such election, -ex
cepting as otherwise provided in this
constitution, or the constitution and
laws of the U. S." The following is
the amendment to be inserted where
the dash occurs in the above line
except county superintendent OF
schools, who shall be required to
have educational qualifications to be
determined by the legislature.
Before making any comment OF
our own on the above we will quote
from speech, in Boston. by Gov.
Hughes of New York, in which he
refers to bossism as follows: BE
tween the man who attempts to fool
the people in order to get rich. and
the man who attempts to fool TIE
people in order to get Office; between
him who seeks his personal profit
through an abuse of his trust as a
director, and the man who uses pub
lie office to serve himself or personal
friends, there is nothing to choose.
''The people are tired of bossism; Ct
the use of political machinery to
place men in office for the purpose
of serving special interests; of the
use of public prerogatives for private
gain; and of the prostitution of
grants of power to selfish advan-
tage." Those are fearless, noble
words, to which we gladly say,
Amen. We American citizens are
too much given to brag about our
liberties, while our status before
the law and public business demon
strates that we have not any such
thing as liberty, for no person can
practice law, or medicine either hui
man or veterinary, dentistry and
most other matters. without a sheep
skin from some state committee,
We have to get all our physical sup
plies from boss jobbers, wholesalers
and retailers unions, our intelligence
from the university. which turns out
lawyers, doctors and all other para
phiernalia Of the professions not one
out of five of whom is fit to practice
the professions. yet an individual
must not give his neighbor pres
cription for a sick child, or horse
dose of medicine for collie; etc. but
inquiry is at once made, has he got
a sheepskin? But | know of one
who has educated graduated doctors
in diagnoses and the use of drugs,
lawyers in the knowledge Of consti-
tutional law, preachers inssthe under
standing of the Christian religion
and yet he is not recognized as a
member of the professions. Profess
sional bossism is bit little inferior
to political or material bossism, and
this amendment is intended to give
US another boss, by shutting out all
competition for the office of county
superintendent of schools, all who
do not carry sheepskin from the
university or some central commit
tee. Yet our educational system IS
a disgrace to our educators, if we
may judge from results. The people
of the state should not be called on
to educate people only for good citi-
zenship, and of this our average cit
izen is as ignorant as dog; our
children are taught a lot of fads and
a smattering of literature, when
possibly they could not recite the
multiplication table, or tell you one
single principle contained in. the
national constitution. They can
swing their arms like wind mill
sweeps and recite "The boy stood on
the burning deck" but could not
tell you the few words in the pre-
amble to the national constitution,
words which are the foundation OF
our great republic and the basis OF
federal union. Such education is
like the play of Hamlet with Hamlet
left out. The writer drew a bill and
sent it to a member of the lact loo.