Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-02-01
YETSER DEFENDS GLDRTCH
Writes to World Herald Concerning
Governors Message.
sAYs RUMORs sUPPORT CHARGEs
Insists that Executive a. Justified In
His Position and Demands
Cleaning Up of the
Third ward.

Third ward.
Taking the cudgels up in support Of the
position OF Governor Aldrich in connection
with election conditions in omaha. John
o. Yeiser has addressed some vigorous lam
guage TO the World Herald in a communi-
cation to #. as follows:
VIII you kindly allow space for a friend
Of yours. in spite Of your course, well
as friend Of the governors, to critcise
your method OF dealing with his message
and at the same time praise the course OF
the governor?
MY criticism Of your method is in ign0r-
ing the real point Of the message which
should and does include a challenge Of
fraudulent registration in such numbers as
defeated shallenberger's nomination for
Dahlman, and in bringing out and en-
phaslzing important details to cover and
befog the real issue. namely a publication
OF elections OF the future.
ITO give you a sample Of occasional
newspaper Juggling with facts to sidetrack
an issue and requiring explanations,
mention the following facts about wards
'As to census reports. you know very
well that ten years ago ward lines were
very different from now. We had nine
wards then, but five years ago there were
/ changes, so that we now have twelve
wards. The Third ward five years ago
had ten voting precincts. but now the
Third has only five. This statement IL
correct. but will draw an explanation from
you.
Everybody knows that there are only
about three dozen resident male free
holders in the Third ward, or not over
seven or eight more than the law requires
for a saloon petition, and that saloons are
required to pay this landed gentry to OBJ
tain signatures
THE majority OF the residents of this
ward is the notorious nonvotlng class and
their consorts. Voters are registered from
junk yards. the police station. eighteen or
twenty in a body from pool halls, from
vacant lots and restaurants They EN-
brace men In the penitentiary OF other
states and from grave yards
TrOOf of the Fraud.
Where offenses are charged In a gen
eral way the guilty are usually the first
to yell prove it, Some things are so
notoriously corrupt that you don't need
proof. Any one can scout around the Dor
ders of the Third ward and look over with
! a field glass and know that there are not
| 600 males over 21 years of age residing in
the Third ward. But the proof of election
frauds will be Acknowledgements
! and unwelcome as II may be. Even at
the last city election there were only about
l 200 votes in the Third ward and every
one knows they run in a big bunch against
Breen.
las to this census report nearly every
body in Omaha has heard the rumor that
there were only SS5 male residents in the
Third ward, where Dahman received
majority OF over 1,70O One Of the fire and
police commissioners told me ne had writ
Il ten or told the governor of this among
other things. Besides nearly any man who
stopped an hour or two in Omaha has
heard II. These conditions certainly Justify
the governor In requesting legislative
action.
Now the governor is not a police court
prosecutor to spend his time prosecuting
petty offenses, nor does he belong to the
judiciary branch. where he hears cases
under the tedious and technical rules Of
law necessary where mans liberty or
property is at stake He is the chief OF the
executive branch. 1t is his duty to do the
big things. Where rumor is prevalent, the
people report to the governor and he as
signs tne investigation to other bodies
Even the judges act upon rumor to call
grand juries. But the trial is on facts. In
harmony with this practice the governor
did right in referring these rumors OF rot
tenness I'm Omaha to the legislature. He
; did right when he said IL our city cannot
put men in such ward TO give honest
election II becomes the duty OF the gov
: ernor to assist in naming a commission.
Position of WOrId-HeraId.
THE World Herald shows keener scent
to pursue Governor Aldrich as IL he were
a pest than it does to drive out the iniqui-
> ties of elections. II overlooks the main
feature OF the governors message, which is
TO prevent election frauds and magnifies
detail.
The World Herald knows the governors
message in the main is true. 1t must
acknowledge It privately in the editorial
room-the people acknowledge Il over the
city and realize the better element would
control under fair elections.
II admire the course of the governor in
not attempting to disgrace a county. like
Adams county Ohio, has been disgraced
by putting a curse of conviction on one
third OF its population. Governor Aldrich
SAYS this practice. winked at I'm the past
, in such way as not TO regard perpetrat-
ors Of such frauds as criminals, must be
: stopped-the public must realize these
things are penitentiary offenses and future
elections become purified.
b "Wtn you not join the governor in this
work? We cannot expect good office and
; good administrations without clean cleo
lions. Decent people are in the majority
here. n the two or three thousand stolen
votes are eliminated in the future.