The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1910-04-08
ATTENTION, CITIZENS OF V|N|TA
A TRUMPET CALL TO ACTION
COMMISSION FORM OF GOVERNMENT DEMANDED N OUR CITY


United States Of aagrant misrlls Of I
municipal character was New Yori
City. as Il was misgoyerned sons
twenty-five years ago. Under wha'
was known a. the infamous Tweed
ring municipal corruption reached III
utmost lImits. Az predatory enter
prise It could not be excelled. AMONG
theologians of the period there waa
no doubt but that the Devil himself
must have had hand IN formulating
such an unsxcelied system Of thieYeFy
and rottenness. II dominated the leg
isEatHre Of Eew York state; utilized
the agency Of large wing Of the pro
fessing church 70 assist in the robbery
Of the people; assumed the garb Of
charity IN order to cover up its Inf
quitous practices, and It's ramihca-
tions Of greed were 10 be found in
every grade Of the social. civil and
commercial world. A large portion Of
the press was subsidized by the Judas
Iscariot corporation. Il was the limit
But the day Of judgment came at last.
and Tweed, lineal descendant Of the
Beast that fddied while Rome was
burning. was brought 70 the bar Of
justice, and the rule Of Tammany was
broken for a season. But this Tom
Cat Of Satan had many lives. and the
citizens Of New York failing to per-
petuate the Rule Of Reform, are still
struggling with the problem, although
Tammany VIII never dominate civic
affairs as in the oIden days.
Boston. Philadelphia. st. Louis. Kan
sas City, San Fransico, and at present
Plttsburg, Pa, are in the birth throes
Of civic reform. The latter Is having
a revelation Of the depths TO which
city may descend when under the
power Of partisanship. Truly the po-
lltical bubonic plague Is in poor old
Pittsburg The stencil Of II reaches
10 high heaven The columns Of our
daily press have been full Of the story
Of its municipal corruption. ReyeIa-
tions have been made, and are in the
making, that should cause that citys
patriotic people 70 weep with shame.
The old gcripturaI doctrine Of total
deprayity has it's strongest vindlca-
tlon In these manifestations OF civic
roiteuness. II appears that no mat
ter what the character Of the man
who ID placed in ONCE may be. II be Ia
there as a partisan he becomes cor
rupt or corruptlble. II is evidenced
that the spirit OF the cult Of the gold
en- calf influences him sooner or later,
and he becomes the mere tool Of
class Of men who have long since part
ed company with the good Angel Of
Conscience. Pittsburg's men Of bust
ness. professional men. and, In many
instances. the ministry had no time
to devote TO an honest oversight OF
municipal affairs. UnhIndered the
tentaclee Of the Octapus grew and
reached out, until there was hardly
spot that its foul suckers had not fas-
tened upon, hardly any portion OF so
eiety it had not reached, poisoned, and
bilghted.
but even this old world. grown h0ary
In ita sins and sorrows, when the bur-
den becomes too heavy afouses ltself
and seeks TO shake off the oppressive
weight. For season at least the
good man, the real patriot. awakes
out Of his profound slumber. especial
~ II the evil trenches upon his pocket
book too atrenuously or affects the
good name Of the city in which he
lives. For certain pride inheres
even In worldly mans soul, aud SO |
there comes about at last a revolution.
and ways and means are devised to
get rid Of the ills that afflict.
Des Moines, Iowa. is fine example
of a city that was thus aroused to in
vent method that would put an end |
to municipal greed and grab, Mr. |
Charles Edward Russell In Every. |
body's shows how that city was mis-
managed for long years, no matter
whether the republicans we've in power
or the democrats. He remarks that
For many years they were cursed
with local government usually ex-
travagant and wasteful, sometimes
dishonest, and always grossly incom.
petent and futile. Again and again
good men, feeling the sting OF these
conditions, and upheld by the sympa.
thies of most of the people, set their
hands to the task of improvement.
Without exception their efforts had
one dreary record OF failure. Good
men seemed to become bad when they
took public Office: wise men to turn
foolish; efficient men to become sud
denly incapable, and honesty itself to
be corrupted. Public corporations abb