Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1908-10-01

a sometimes a ~dyspeptic, but
"A not always. He is also
- sometimes actuated by mo-
4 & n tives entirely im%personal
yy2 and unselfsh. But not al
ways. And reform politics may be
ciassed as Of two kinds the counter
felt variety and the genuine.
Independent, or reform movements
in political campaigns, are intended to
be the breaking away of members Of
the old parties and a consolidation of
these "bolters for the purpose of
].electing a ticket which is supposed to
be better than either of the Old-line
party tickets. Sometimes an indie
pendent movement means this. Some
times ii means that a Democrat or a
Republican who has failed of the regu-
lar party nomination has been per-
suaded to make the race on the
ground that he has been deprived of
the nomination by unfair means. But
the basic element of independent
movements is always a claim toward
Il lettering of conditions, and there
fore arguing a reform, politically.
Then there is usually the Prohibit
ton movement to be reckoned with,
and this is strictly founded on reform
principles, Or there may be an edu-
,cational feature in the campaign
which will prove to carry the balance
of power as to votes. and which may
be adopted in the platform of either
of the parties, with a view to secure
votes for the whole ticket. Politics
is largely a game of eXpedients, and
al the only things that count, in the
last analysis, are the votes, it follows,
therefore, as the night the day, that
votes are the prime necessities, and
any eXpedient to catch votes is consid-
cred justifiablo,
Other phases Of reform politics may
enter particularly into national cam
paigns, and may influence local condi-
tons enough to swing victory to a
side which may be weaker on paper
than its antagonist.
In every large city and noticeably
In my own city, / found two well de-
fined types of the political reformers,
with a smattefing also of what were
known as 'cranks," "dreamers'' and
Missionaries One of the two types
referred to was the h~ard-headed citi-
2en who, regardless of ridicule and dis
enlargement, steadily set himself to
work to better the class Of Off ial
selection, Without caring anything
for party affiliations, he associated
with organizations which went
after weak or unfit candidates, and
supported and encouraged good candi-
dates for all offices, whether state,
county or municipal
This class of men accomplished,
with the aid of decent politicians, a
great deal of good. In the beginning.
like all men actuated by really high
motives, they we're derided and lam
pooned, and their lot, like the police
mans, was not a happy one. But as
time went on they became a force
which had to be reckoned with, even
by the most hardened Of the BOSSES"
SNNSPblI5 Az NAlht may Dt IId55Gu DIS
strictly saloon wards
In the saloon wards, where the al
dermen for instance, were sa1oonkeep.
GERS, or where the saloon influence pre-.
dominated overwhelmingly, the boss.
es' did not mind reform politics any
more than a r%hinoceros would mind
the bite of a mosquito. | never could
understand, knowing the absolute
Yhopelessness of it, why the reformers
would sometimes try to break into
such a ward in IN aldermanic cam
paign. ! remember very we'll the oc-
casion of a gentleman calling on me
and ~endeavorins to enlist my services
as a speaker in a campaign of this
sort.
you know the disgraceful condi-