The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1909-07-16

their peculiar political beliefs, are
men: the candidates on the Demo-
cratic ticket are men, and the candi-
dates on the Republican ticket Will
be men. The remainder of us are
men and women, living under the
same flag, in the same community
and possessed of the same love Of
country and desire for its betterment.
Therefore, let us vote as men, who
have property interests and our own
welfare at stake, and not like a lot
of contract emigrants.
The Republican party will nomi-
nate county candidates tomorrow.
The party. in so far as IL represents
a certain proportion of citizenship,
is under obligation to the citizens to
nominate complete ticket, not
emitting a single office; that the
voters may have an opportunity to
pick their choice from number pre-
scented on election day. Particularly
Is 1t incumbent on that party to pre-
sent a complete ticket to the county
this year.
There is dissatisfaction with exist
ing conditions. and 1t is a question,
whether the nominations at the DEM
ocratic primary last election day
entirely meet the demand for reforms
The people must have an opportunity
to express themselves on that point
next November: but they will not
have the opportunity unless the Re-
publicans offer them an alternative
One need not look far below the
surface Of conditions at the court
house to appreciate the fact that
something is "rotten in Denmark. p"
The county jail contains the county
clerk. alleged to have been stealing
money from the county for ten years.
That he should have done this undis-
covered. his papers being checked
over and approved by the fiscal court
every month, 100 times during that
period, indicates that while he may
have been criminally culpable, a
dozen other officials were guilty OF
worse than negligence. The discov-
cry of his alleged peculatlons is due
TO a change in the state adminlstra-
tion. State Auditors Agent Will
Husbands found them out.
Whether any other than Hiram
Smedley has been guilty of taking
the hard earned money OF the over
burdened taxpayers, who can tell?
Smedley says yes; but the grand
jury's time was not extended 10 In
vestigate his charges, nor have we
any knowledge of special instructions
being given the grand jury to probe
the charge, or of any jealous effort
on the part, of the county's legal Off
GERS to get at the bottom of it.
For proof tnat the county institu-
lions are in a sad condition, we need
only turn to the official report of an
inspector sent here by the state board
of health and the state federation OF
wOmens clubs. Instead of improving
the conditions in the almshouse,
erected at the expense of the taxpay-
ers. the fiscal court adopted resolu-
tions. condemning the one who in
spected the place.
A condemned murderer committed
suicide in the county jail. No one
Excepting those in whose bosoms the
knowledge is locked up. knows who
gave the man the poison. No one
excepting these, will ever know.
At noontide thirteen prisoners. In
cluding a murderer. escaped from
the county jail by cutting their way
out
For the good OF the service, for
the sake of economy, in the interest
OF law and order and decency and
humanity, the public is entitled TO a
complete probing of conditions Does
the ticket presented by the Demo
cratic party offer a chance for re-
form? Or must the county organiza-
ton, which was the domi-
mating force at the Second
district senatorial convention, be
put out for a season. in order to
inaugurate a complete houseclean-
ing? That is a question the voter
must consider between this time and
1 buO tiCNllOu ddNc. ne VIII nave "
decide that for himself.
Certainly, we know we do not want
a drunkard, gambler or drug fend.
in Office any more; because such
habits tempt men to steal. Certainly,
we don't want a man In office, who
already has been blind to corruption
going on around him in the court
house Certainly. we don't want in
Office anyone under political or any
other sort of obligation to the ma
chine, which has been responsible for
crimes already committed in the court
house.
The money of tax payers was used
to erect the finest almshouse build
/ fngs in the state. So far so good :
but II was extravagant to spend so
much with the contractors. and then
not manage the almshouse properly.
The interest on the county funds
has gradually been reduced a frac-
ton of a per cent at a time. The
taxpayers work hard for that money,
and 1t should be made to work hard