The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1908-01-09
rupted any more than voters.

rupted any more than voters.
20. | approve the publicity plan
This list of questions may seen
long. wanted it to cover every
matter that any person might legit'
imately want to know about. Isup'
posed it was pretty complete at first
with eighteen questions, then | in
serted the seventh to please the Pres
ident and the eighth to show that il
a man is not straight and successful
in his own business he should not be
entrusted with public affairs.
This made an even twenty ques-
tons so if one wishes to size up can
didates by per cents like a teachers
examination or a specimen of corn
or stock at a fair, it will be an easy
matter to compute.
The exact number of questions
is not so important as the principle
of letting all the people have the
needed information to exercise a
sound discression and judgement in
choosing proper men for public
places.
am willing to leave it with the
candidates this year and the legisla-
ture when it meets to say which
questions the people have a right to
require answered, which should be
left voluntary and which should be
modified or omitted.
If a 5000 or 81, 900 school teacher
needs to be examined repeatedly on
education, moral character and apt
ness to teach, why should not a two,
ten or fifty thousand dollar public
official be similarly examined?
If our convention delegates had al
ways spent more time inquiring
about the character and qualifca-
tons of candidates instead of asking
what they had to offer or how many
votes they controlled, we would
have fewer men in high places today
who are public plunderers, land grab
bers, professional gamblers and free
lovers.
y "A
What | contend for and want all
good citizens to work for, are the
principles of publicity, cooperation
and civil supervision in campaign
matters.
hope all Republicans in our state
favor indorsing the Square Deal''
idea and also giving the primary
nominating plan a fair trial before
asking for its repeal.
Now we seem to be entering upon
a fierce fight between two rival fac
lions simply TO get the offices by the
old machine and combination, if not
corrupt. methods with no issue be-
tween them and no regard for the
rights supposed to have been con-
ferred by the primary to the COM
voter
The old faction lost by ignoring
the constitution in denying the peo-
pie the right to vote on the primary
election question, and now the new
administration has again ignored
Sec. 2of Art. ii on taxation, after
solemn warning, and assessed pro-
perry after the same old hit-and-miss
method of from a half to a tenth of
its value, and with numerous entire
omissions. instead of at its true
value, as the governor admitted was
the intention of that section and has
proposed an amendment, which
opens wide the way to legal discrim-
nation.
Just now, too, we are confronted
by the spectacle of a few state
officers and their satellites meeting
in caucus and nominating them
selves for office and the people will
be asked to endorse such action as
an improvement over the plan of
making a ticket by a thousand or
nor duly elected delegates.
Is not the time ripe to adopt a
plan to'defeat ali machines and keep
them defeated? If so organize your
county and the state for the popular
Republicans and make your appeaI
direct to all the people instead of {
few politicians, only. who Away.