The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1910-09-10
The Handwriting On the Wall

HE late election state and local, shows in what deadly earnest
the people of Nevada are, this fall, to rid the state of machine
politics and corporation rule
The Southern Pacific Nixon machine put up slate candidates in
both parties and in every single case, from the highest state and
federal positions to the very lowest in the county, their candidates
were either defeated or lost their cutcle in squeezing in. All the peo-
pie wanted to know was, who was backing the candidate, and then
they did the rest.
Take the cases of Nicholas, Sweeney and Hubbard of the Demo-
cratic candidates; they were opposing the pronounced anti-Southern
Pacific machine candidates, Dckerson, Pttman and Sprague, and
rightly or wrongly were set down IS being backed by the 'inter-
ests''; witness how they suffered from this fact. Hubbard had the
energetic support of wingfeld and the Consolidated Mines company,
which hurt him all the more.
On the other hand, take the machine candidates for state and
federal nominations in the Republican party, Massey, Douglass and
Brown. Nixon had no opponent, but in the light of events, would
have had a close call had he been opposed by such an antimachine
man as Morehouse, for instance. Massey, in the early days of the
campaign, was hailed by the machine Is "invincible' -as the Moses
who was to lead the state out of the ''quagmire of misrule, = etc.
Well, Nose is having a mighty hard time getting out of the quagmire
himself, the ''od man of the sea- carrying the machine load, is even
yet laundering around in the mud, with mighty slim prospects of
getting to dry ground. And Springmeyer, the "loose screw, = as he
was drisively called; see what a fright he has given the Southern
Pacific machinel Single handed and alone, with the "most popular
man in the Republican party against him, this young David has lead
a winning fight. Any whys Not because of his personal strength
not because of his experience in politics, but because he represented
an idea honesty and independence of boss rule.
Roberts was promised the. machine nomination. but was later
thrown down at the instance of Wingfeld and Nixon, for Douglass;
and see what happened to Douglass The ceiling fell on him.
We need not go into detail as to the local situation. The moral
is too sef-evident. Every candidate on the Democratic ticket support.
ed by the interests > went down to defeat. Not a man was saved
from top to bottom.
What is the meaning of all thisq The answer is but a echo of
what we have often repeated the protest of the people against cor
poration OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES the tyranny of organized greed and
graft.
For the first time in Nevada politics the citizens of this state have
had a chance to make effective their indignant resentment Of enforced
machine rule; and this has been made possible through the urinary
election system. The Republican bosses knew it was all W. with
them when the primary law was enacted. and it will be recauea that
they fought to have the law declared unconstitutional. Under tho old
convention system the bosses had absolute control and forced M Tho
voters the ticket of their making, and while they gagged they had -
take it. But the bosses could not handle the people under the nrmaru
election a S evidenced by the result, and for the first time the neonle
are free to run their own affairs.
ms the people will only cinch the work thew bave inst he
gun. All hell can't prevail against them.