The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1911-10-19
CONVENTION OF51
Political Patronage I''aS One
Subject Of discussion
MANY ISSUES SAME As NOW
The judiciary and Corporations Came
In For Their Full Share Of Argu-
ment, Criticism and Defense.
BY PROF. c. 3. GAL1REATH,
Former State Librarian.

Former State Librarian.
On the day following the election
of officers and while the appetite for
patronage was still keen, Mr. Sawyer,
an active and somewhat loQuacious
member from Auglaize county, rose
and remarking that public printer
ought to be appointed, declared that
he had no disposition to disguise the
matter and would frankly state that
he presumed from the complexion Of
the convention that Samuel Medary
would be chosen printer" and pro-
ceeded to make a motion to that ef-
feet
The contest over the printing of
the convention consumed much time,
the dominant party under the leader
ship of Mr.. Sawyer, evidently guarding
very closely the interests of Mr..
Medary. The price to be allowed pro-
voked much discussion. Contracts
had been made for the publication of
the proceedings and debates of the
convention in the Ohio Statesman and
the Ohio State Journal The milk in
the cocoahut for Mr.. Medary seemed
to arise from the fact that he had
only to lift his type out of the columns
of the Statesman and run off the pro-
ceedings and debates in book form to
get full pay a second time for his
work. IF Mr. Medary, as is true" de-
clared Mr.. Sawyer, has type set up
for the publication of his paper and
If he can tomorrow use the type for
the publication in book form, it is not
his fault"
The suggestion of some one that
the printing De given to the lowest
responsible bidder aroused the right
eous Indignation Of Mr.. Farr, Me
Diary supporter from Huron county
He said:
"This matter of bidding for work oi
this kind is exceedingly contempt
| ible, and when man makes such a
proposition to me, as printer, | viii
have nothing to do with him
The result, of course, was that sat
isfactory provision was made for Mr.
| Medary.
In the limited scope of this made
quate survey, not even a brief re
view of the debates on the more
| important subjects can be given
| A glance over the proceedings
reveals the progressives and conser
vatives in battle array, and Otter
their arguments read like a trans
cript from the latest issue Of the Con
gressional Record in which similar
principles are discussed In eulogizine
the judicial system of England, {
prominent conservative of the con
vention said:
"The fame of her learned and in
corruptible judges has filed the
world. And why is it? They have
feared no earthly power, but have
been left to poise the scales of justice
with a firm and steady hand LIE
justice be done though the heavens
should fall has been the motto Of he
judges They have been able to dis
pense Justice under the influence O
a conscious security against popular
excitement and royal displeasure."
Continuing, the same speaker said
s 81 believe that the people of thu
state of all parties desire III inde
pendent judiciary and that they re
gard such system as immeasurabl
more important than that the will o
a popular assembly in particular IL
cality or neighborhood, expressed o.
a given day under excitement shoul
be-, carried into the jury box or b
delivered from the bench in the forr
of a solemn judicial determination"
And here is another excerpt fror
the reply of a progressive If tha
day:
Il said it was much to ask our OF
ponents even to vote for the electio
of judges by the people, but was to
much to expect them to go the entir
figure on the subject. l said that tn
election of judges by the people wa
asked for by the people for the pu
pose of bringing within their contrC
more fully that department of ou
government, which alone of all d.
partments of American government
had not felt the chastening and r,
forming hand of American publ
opinion"
Conservative citizens, who al