The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1915-02-23
Mayor Kdding and His Duty.

ne SIS" is to transparent and shall
low to receive any endorsement
from the fair-minded citizens OF
Watertown. From the day Mr..
Kading assumed the duties OF chief
executive of the city he has dis
played desire ouly to do what
was right and fair by his constlt-
uency. In his prediction activl-
ties he displayed manhood enough
to stand on a platform for a little
civic righteousness He was will
ling to stand or fall in the battle
of ballots and abide by the decls-
ion and demands of the electorate.
In the event of his election as
mayor, Mr.. Kading promised GER
tain things. The result of that
election, with a large majority tor
the present executive, showed un-
mistakably that the people, In the
majority were with him. What
Mr.. Kading promised, no other as
pirant for the honor had ever in a
half century or more preceding,
dared to advocate and go before
the voters on such a platform.
Be it understood, the Leader has
no chip on its shoulder" but it
believes in fairness and will stand
by any official who has the man
hood to go before the people as
Mr.. Kading did, and what is bet
ter, not forget his prediction
promises which are in many cases
apt to disappear like the mist be-
fore the morning sun. How we'll
Mayor Kading has stood by his
guns is fresh in the memory of the
people of WatertOwn. Yet the
remnants of a dishgured ring would
lay the blame of the present bur
lesque upon the Mayor as though
he had the power to override the
statutes of the state. MIR. Kading
well defined his position on this
score few weeks ago and in a
manner that brings surprise that
any journalist should again ask
the mayor to do the impossible, no
matter how prejudiced or biased he
may be. Yet the public is now
told: MIR. Mayor, it's up to you. :"
The Leader balks on this admoni-
ton, because it is an attempt to
hood-wink the people again and
throw the blame for the present fl
asco upon one who as only per-
formed his official duty. Mayor
Kading has been criticised by a
few because he appointed VIM. G.
Cody Justice of the peace, which
appointment the council refused to
conform. That's rests with the
members. But unlike the mayor,
all but one of the councilmen failed
to give recognition to the fact that
Mr.. Cody's candidacy was endors-
ed by strong petition, signed by
las of the leading business men of
the city. At this late date, we are
told that some of the signers gave
signatures merely to get rid of the
petitioner. This may have all been
true in few or many cases, but
was the mayor and lone alderman
suppose to have been gifted with a
supernatural power and read the
minds of men who were too weak
kneed to tell Mr.. Cody that he
was not their choice? Mr.. kadlng
and the lone alderman did the right
thing under the circumstances and
are to be commended for their rec
ognition of public sentiment
petition they could not conscien-
tiously ignore. 1t was a strong APP
peal for the appointment of Mr..
Cody. Mayor kading, to act in
fairness, did his duty, realizing that
the appointment was for an unex-
pired term and that at the end of
four months, the voters had it in
their power to relegate Mr.. Cody
should he fail to measure to the mark
of judicial dignity. In view of all
this, the unwise declare that Mayor
kading is the one to blame for the
whole thing. If there is any blame
it rests with the men who signed
the Cody petion in order that he
absent himself from their premises.
AS for Mr.. Kading, the Leader
may not be with him, first last and
all the time, but it's with him so