The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1909-04-22
'MAHASKA FEDERATION
Directors Report Makes Claim For
Improved Conditions.

In a letter addressed to each OF
their stockholders, which are several
hundred in number, the directors of
the Mahaska County Federation, S.
w. Clark, l. o. Kemble, Chas. Phelps,
A. j. Hunter w. T. Kenble, Frank E.
Baker, Geo. H. Ramsay, /. G. John
son and R. H. Williams, explain what
the Federation" is doing and what
1t has accomplished the past year.
They express qualification over the
results of their efforts, claiming cred
it for political victories in Oskaloosa
and Mahaska county. Their opinion
of their own work is expressed in the
following manner in the letter:
THE primary purpose of our organ
ization was to better moral condi-
lions of this county and city.
GAS directors we studied carefully
conditions that we might know where
best to strike telling blow at evil.
We decided that it was little worth
while to look for crime and prosecute
it till conditions in the county were
changed, and consequently that we
ought to educate the people, espe.
cially the voters, to tneir response.
bility.
''To do this IL was decided to at
tack the evil that would appeal to
the largest number of Interested
people >of the county-the needless
and illegal expenditure Of money by
the Board of Supervisors.
THE directors of this Federation
brought a. suit as taxpayers against
the Board of Supervisors to restrain
them from Illegally paying on money
for treatment of contagious diseases
within the county.
This suit and the newspaper agita-
ton which .ollowed, it is claimed, de-
closely connected with it, (the county
attorney and one supervisory
This put our organization in a
position where the politicians would
not only listen to us but even consult
us before making nominations. When
the time came to make nominations
for city officers this spring they ask
ed what we were going to do, whom
we would stand for and finally the
'NOn-partisan Ticket developed be.
cause some of the leading politicians
admitted they were Afraid 10 nomin-
ate any one for fear the Federation,
would fight him.
I'VE believe that the election of
the nOn-partisan ticket is the great
est step in the line of decency and
law-enforcement that Uskaloosa has
taken for years, and that 1t was only
made possible by the previous work
of the Federation
The Federation had nothing to
do with the nomination of this ticket
bur it Is well known that some of its
officials as citizens were connected
with these nominations and that the
nominations were made with the one
point in view that made this Fedora
ton necessary-to get men who
would enforce law,-knowing that the
Federation would not oppose such a
| set or men.
"In our annual meeting some one
made use of this statement which is
somewhat significant: No man can
be elected to office in Mahaska coun-
ty whom the Federation, opposes,
hereafter
when you consider the conditions
that existed in county and city eight
| months ago and the officers then and
those in Office to-day, we believe you
must feel that the Mahaska County
Federation has done much in the
eight months of it's existence and you
should be proud to have had a part in
bringing about those changes.
I'VE expect to make it point OF
our policy to keep our stockholders
informed as to the WORK of the public
men and candidates so that they may
always have implicit confidence in
whatever information we give out
whether in letter direct to you, or in
the public press.
I'VE now have 14S regular stock
holders with 15,66000 worth of stock.
by order of the Board of Directors,
'R. H. WILLIAMS, Sec'y.