Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1914-04-13
THE PRESS AND THE CANDI.
DATE.

The changed attitude OF the press
toward office-seekers during the past
few years is marked. Prior to ten
years ago practically every newspaper
in the country was intensely partisan.
II fought for the platform of a party
and for every candidate on it's party |
ticket Ii mattered not if the party, !
for political expediency, had nomi- ,
mated the greatest blatherskite in the
community, the newspaper fought for
him to the last ditch and solemnly
bewailed his defeat if the electorate
exercised good judgment enough to
turn him down. But all that is now
changed. The politicians ran the
party and the party ran the news
paper. The party was used mostly by
the politicians for private ends and
the newspapers were meekly and
honestly engaged in bewildering and
misleading the public. The editors
themselves thought the country
would 90 to the eternal bowwows if
their party was defeated and tried to
convince everybody else of the posi-
BILE calamity in the ascendency of the
opposition. Time passed on; poll
ticians grew fat; taxes rose high, and
the people began to see that political
parties, instead of standing for great
basic principles as they were sup
posed to do, were now changed into
machines through which politicians
were raised to power to help the pol
itician and the machine instead of
administering economical and eff
cient government, as the people, by
prediction pledges, were led to be-
lieve was the coveted object of their
dear old party. When the people first
discovered the fact things at once
began to pop. Weak enough, indeed
at the first but growing ever strong
er, until at last their thought is illus
trated in such laws as the Oregon
corrupt practices act, the direct pri-
mary and the restriction of party ma
chimes by general election law that
makes united party effort at an cleo
tion nil
What the people discovered early
that is. a part OF the people, then
called wild-eyed reformers-the ed
itor discovered later and reluctantly,
because editors of all people were the
blindest partisans, being led most
perfectly and contentedly by the poll
tician, and misleading the people as
we'll as himself. Then he awoke and
the politician began to refer to him
as "muckraker." And so the change
has come about until now practically
every editor knows that the clamor
for office is largely an individual
matter-whether Tom, Dick or Harry
gets the job and the emoluments,
with mighty little care for the people,
or high taxes, or big principles.
And as the editor discovers this he
becomes less Of a partisan and in
dividual advocate and more of a pros
ecutor. He sees there is less impor-
tance attached to the name of the
man or the party and more to the
performances. He is beginning to
demand service, not party regularity,
Col IA
gestion, and he becomes at once a
leader and follower, for the things he
now advocates are what the people
had long demanded.
We consider what We here say
apropos, for at this time there are
eight republican candidates strug-
Cling for the nomination for gov
ernor, and IL matters not a whit to
the people. or the newspapers, which
one OF them wins, but II matters
greatly what kind OF an administra
ton they give when elected. There
fore. unless a candidate is notorious
ly unfit, the newspapers should TAKE
little part in the advocacy OF candi
dates but should rather expose thu
unfit. But. when men are elected L
office and enter upon their duties
the newspapers should at once traii
an eagle eye on them and at the firs
corruption or unwarranted expendi
lures and waste of the people
money. the application of the recal
should be advocated and pressed (
action.