The Greeley tribune., 1911-12-14
.ults that will be obtained by the
club in the coming years.
PARTISAN POLITICS AND sONiE
OTHER THINGS

1t seems that the land owners III
the irrigation districts are ut ias'
getting their eyes open to the neces'
sity of house cleaning; they realize
that the first step in this direction
(now that they have got their foot
in it by bonding their land) Is as
soon as possible to get directors
who will represent them and not
the promoters. Excellent idea'
These new directors will find that
much harm has been done beyond
retlemption; but there will still he
great opportunities left to inaugu-
rate a policy of economy and elimi-
nation of graft.
Much time is being spent by GER
tain people in trying to figure out
whether the county commissioners
are going to be found guilty or not.
But whether the commissioners
have been guilty of crime, or not,
is not the point. 1t is not import
ant whether their acts amount to
crime, or do not amount to crime.
1t is important, however, that under
the undisputed facts of the mat
ter, and according to the testimony
of the commissioners themselves, an
immense amount of money-an
enormous amount of mOney-iias
been recklessly wasted. The peo-
ple's money, raised by the most
grinding taxation, has been allowed
to slip away without getting an
adequate return therefor. On the
LaSalle bridge alone Sheeley's pro-
fit was $4,000. This is nearly a
dollar for every human being in the
county. Every dollar OF this money
SO wasted was dragged out Of the
soil by men with hard hands and
bent backs. often by women and lit
tie children working in the fields
and going without all Of the luxur-
les OF life and MANY Of the comforts.
Sucls waste Of money Is treason.
And yet l notice some of our
county officers are sneering at the
officers who have wasted this money
wear q very unbecoming attitude Of
hostility to the people they
pretend to serve.
Now who's to blame for all this?
OF course, the wrong.
iOers themselves, but in larger
sense the people themselves, satur-
ated as they are with partisan poll
les, are to blame. Can't the people
If this county see that there Is NO
PARTISAN politics in selection Of men
'Or county offioes-can't they sec
hat there Is no room for partisan
politics in matters purely Of local !
business administration? Ever
since the county was organized po-
iticI gangsters of various degrees
If political ignorance and depravity
lave been nominating this man or |
hat man for Office, and then demo-
rats were told they should vote for
his one because he was on the
ticket, and republicans
we're told that they must vote for
another nominee because he WAS on
The republican ticket.
DO you think the mental attitude
Of . candidate for county Office on
the national question Of ''trust bust
tng'' or tariff revision has any bear
ing on his capacity for making =
good county officer? Not at all. The
selection Of good county officers Is
just . matter Of honesty, common
decency and good horse sense. So
long as tho people of this county
arc SO foolishly partisan that they
will vote for . man for county Office
because he is ON the democratic or
the republican ticket just 30 long
they will be the tools Of . few de-
signing men. Down here in Greeley
we have eliminated partisan poll
tics from city affairs and it works
fine. The next thing to do 10 to
break away In county affairs. A
good time to begin is next fall un-
der the new primary election law.
BY the way, the people are going
to make the nominations next fall.
But a few political low-brows are
going to attempt to force the as
sembly nominees on the people
through the same old political Or
ganizations. Next fall you know
there will be no political conven.
tons. We will have q county as
sembly Of political parties. dele
gates thereto coming from tire diff.
ferent precincts much the same as
on the old convention plan. Names
will he placed before the assembl,
for nomination for the difYeren,
county Offices, but there will be onl,