Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1916-09-28
MIR. HARDING'S RECORD

After he had served the state OF
Iowa for ten years, six in the house of
Representatives and four as presiding
officer of the senate, William l.. Har-
ding asked for promotion to the Of
flee of governor. He submitted his
claim to the republican party, which
had nominated him three times for
the legislature and twice for lieuten-
ant governor. His candidacy was sub
mitted at a primary in which every
republican was preivileged tovote and
in which every wouldbe party nomine
for governor was free to become an
entrant. Three of the best republi-
cans in Iowa entered the primary as
competitors of Mr.. Han ding, two with
conspicuous records of legislative
service.
Necessarily Mr.. Harding's principal
assest was his record. For ten years
he had been dealing with the public
affairs of the state-four years in the
most responsible position in the high
est branch of the state Legislature. His
record in the legislature was an open
book. Every newspaper reader who
paid any attention to the work of the
general assembly had opportunity to
read of Mr.. Harding's work-of how
he first rose to be one of the leaders
of the house, and then as a reward of
merit was promoted to a position as
presiding officer of the senate. The
latter honor came to Mr.. Harding as
a vote of confidence from all the
voters of the state after his record of
six years service in the house had
been carefully scanned. Mr.. Harding's
commission as lieutenant governor was
renewed by a handsome popular ma
jority after he had served two years
in that capacity. Thus Mr.. Harding
stood when his claims to the guber-
Material nomination were presented
to the republican of the state in op-
en- compestitate with the clans of
three of Iowa's strongest republicans.
Mr.. Harding polled more than 100
900 votes in the republican primary.
He recorded a plurality of about So
600 over his closest competitor. He
assembled more votes than both of his
principal competitors combined. He
carried eighty-seven of the ninty-four
counties. Those who assert that there
is anything seriously malevolent in
Mr.. Harding's political record are
not minimizing Mr.. Harding. They are
minimizing the best judgement of the
average citizenship of Iowa registered
three times in Woodbury. county and
twice in the state at large prior to the
recent primary. This judgment was
repeated, so far as the republican
party, was concerned, at the primary.
1t was rendered there after Mr.. Hard
ing's record had been subjected to
assault from every one of the political
enemies who are now assailing it
after every one of the arguments now
being used against Mr.. Harding had
been used against him.
One of the two things is certain,
Either William L. Harding has made
a good record in the public service, or
the people of Iowa do not know
good record when it is submitted for
their approval. The small but noisy
band of critics, whose spokesman are
now insisting that Harding is a bad
man-that his influence has been on
the wrong side of things political
that his record is stencil in the nos
trilS of decency-are not in fact dis
counting Mr.. Harding. They are dis
counting the intelligence and COM
mon sense of the tens of thousands
of good citizens-just as good on the
average as Mr.. Harding's critics
who have again and again considered
Mr.. Harding's record and, by their
votes, recorded their approval of it.
There may be a few dczen or a few
hundred of Mr.. Harding's critics. 1t
is hard to tell how many frogs there
are in chorus by tho noise. The
Journal prefers 10 attach Importance
to the expression If the 100000 or
more republican voters who gave
their estimate CT Mr.. Harding and his
record in the recent primary. 1t is
not going to accuse the majority of
the republican party of Iowa of being
made up of either knaves or FOOLS
Sioux City Journal.