Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1914-10-29
Smith Has Worked Years
For Popular Government
Public Entitled to Know.

II will be glad to tell you anything
you want to know. The public is en-
titled to have the information. |
thoroughly believe that you can trust
the people to make a wise decision If
they are given the facts. We have
demonstrated again and again that
the public will act wisely and for the
best interests of all the people if it
is supplied with full and accurate in
formation. We certainly have demon
strated here in Oregon that popular
government is the very salvation of
our institutions.
Now to your question. was born
August 23, 1864. near Columbus,
Ohio.
When I was 16 I began teaching
school. ! taught school to earn
money to 90 to college. ! wanted to
make my money get me as much edu-
cation as possible, so l wrote to the
various colleges as to rates and picked
out the Northwestern University at
Ada, Ohio, because | could get room
for so cents a week and board for
$3.50 a week. / counted my savings
and divided them by $3.50 a week,
and decided / could get through.
taught summer school each year and
secured my diploma. After some more
teaching to earn money / entered the
University Of Ohio and graduated
with the degree of NJ. D.
Came West i'm 1890.
when | was 26 years old-that
was in 1901 came west. / went
in with DR.. Blalock at Walla Walla.
He established a branch office al
Pendleton and put me in charge. In
1891 DR.. Blalock was elected world s
| to gather exhibits for the state, ia
be sent to Chicago. He turned the
Pendleton office ever to me.
THAT same year. 1891, l was mar
ried, to Miss Lillian Gulliford, whose
people lived near Echo. Her father
served in the Indian war of 1856
with William Blakely.
Being from Ohio, | had absorbed
in the very air as a boy an interest
in politics. / felt l had no right to
complain of bad government if did
nothing to help secure good govern.
ment.
II attended the democratic county
convention. found that in the dem.
ocratic party, as in the republican
party, the people had no real voice
found that the delegates had moth.
| ing to do with it. | found that q
few astute politicians from Salem oI
Portland dropped into town the day
before the convention, called a few
of the leaders together in the back
room of some saloon, or in some law.
yer's office, and fiXed up a slate.
found that IL was all mapped out In
advance who should make the nomi
nations, who should be nominated
who would second the nominations
what resolutions should be passed
and how unruly delegates should be
disciplined and subdued. was
thoroughly disgusted. Popular gov
ernment apparently was a farce.
State Conventions Boss-Ridden.
81 found the state conventions were
as boss-ridden and as corruptly con
trolled as the county conventions.
found the few delegates who protest.
ed in the name lof the people were
laughed at as visionaries and kept of
all committees. They were consid
cred unsafe and told they didn't un
derstand practical politics. became
indignant at the injustice of the
method and its lack of real repre-
sentation. | told the party leaders
It was an outrage. They said would
cool down as ! got older; that botl
parties had to practice practical poll
tics and do questionable things, and
that I mustn't kick over the traces
or ] would have cause to regret 1t
That threat didn't work ds they ex
pected it to. II made me determine
to work for real representation o
the people in the election OF theil
officials. The desire for popular rep
resentation and antagonism of the
old corrupt methods was becoming
more pronounced. The Direct Prl