The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1913-06-06
PROFESSION VS. PERFORMANCE

81 am for a nonpartiZanShip plan
for municipal and county offices along
the lines suggested, and feel it might
even be extended with success to state
affairs"
The foregoing is the admirable SEN
timent expressed by Governor Ernest
Lister in an address recently delivered
at the Green Lake Methodist Episco-
pal church. 1t is consistent with his
oft repeated declaration in favor OF
more efficiency and less partizanship
in state appointments during the cam
paign.
This is fair and pleasing profession,
but how does it square with Governor
Listers performance in the matter of
appointments?
He discharged Carrigan from the
tax commission for acknowledged po-
litical reasons and appointed Jackson
to the vacancy. Jackson was his cam
paign manager in Pierce county.
In like manner he created vacancy
on the industrial insurance commits
sion a great humanitarian and econ
omic experiment that demands the
strictest avoidance of partizanship if
it is to prove successful and beneficial
and appointed Ernest, his campaign
manager in King county.
Daggett was appointed by Lister to
the same commission, and his single
recommendation is that he has long
been a democratic war horse of Spo-
kane and eastern Washington.
Lister appointed Olsen to the Office
of labor commissioner to succeed en-
of
sition for eight years. Olsen was one
of the democratic campaign managers
of Walla Walla county.
The oldest member of the very i'm
portant public service commission in
point of service ind an efficient officer,
was removed by Lister without war
rent to make room for Lewis an active
democratic worker of Spokane. This
is one of the mos. difficult posts to
fill in the state government, and
Lewis qualifications are that he is
a very fair bookkeeper and an eX-
cellent partizan of Lister in the CAM
paign.
Darwin, a newspaper man. was APP
pointed state fish commissioner to
succeed an official who had held the
Office for eight years and know the
work thoroughly, not because Darwin
knows all about fish, but because he
was employed on the Seattle Times,
Col. Blethcns paper, and worked hard
and faithfully for Listers election
Ross was appointed to the board o.
control to succeed E. D. Cowan one
of the ables. men ever in the employ
of the state. Ross has had no eXper-
fence to fit him for the important
nf oil fl,a
big institutions of the state but was
given this important place because he
did effective work in the campaign as
Lister publicity agent.
The governor cannot directly dis
charge or appOint the fire warden, bat
he has the power to name the majority
of the forest fire commission who in
turn names the warden. Lister want
ed to replace Warden Welty with
personal partizan so he demanded the
designations of a majority of the for
est fire commission, appointed agents
of his own in their place and through
them discharged Welty, who has con-
Quoted the department with eXccp-
tiOnal efficiency for eight years, and
named in his place c. W. Ferris, OF
Mt. Vernon, a prominent and active
y,
This was done over the strong pro-
test of State Land Commissioner Saw
idge, ex-ofticio member of the forest
fire commission. who pointed out the
folly of a change at the opening OF the
fire season when reorganization of
the department means the exposure
for weeks of millions of dollars of the
common school and other state grant
q m 10 49,
destruction. But the interests of the
state, no matter how urgent or how
great, are as nothing compared to the
Importance of building and perfecting
personal political machine for the
use OF the governor.
This is all bad enough but the eli
max was reached when Lister ap-
pointed Frank Morse. chief deputy in
the state land office under E. w. Ross
as the republican member of the board
of control. 1t was Listers particular
boast during the campaign that the
only nonpartizan board in the state
was the board of control and that he
was responsible fer It's creation. Frank
Morse once-upon-a-time affiliated with
the republican party, but last year he
deserted and threw himself with al;
the ardor and force he could COM
mand into the democratic ranks and
went down on the firing line fighting
for Lister with even more spirit and |
fervor than any life long democrat in |
the state. The appointment of Morse !
to the board of control is a travesty |
on the letter and spirit of the law, a |
crude, raw joke of ruthless, selfish. |
ambitious and INSCRIPTIONS political
boss.
Can Lister smother ugly facts of |
performance with fair and pleasing