Arizona republican., 1916-04-03
Where the People
 May Have Hearing
Politics.

TO the Editor Of The Republlcan.
 Sir:-How often do we hear a man say: 'I don't want anything to do with politics. It is a dirty mess and a decent man cannot afford to al low his name to be used for any political purpose" Why? It is be- cause, MT. or Mrs. Voter, that you neglect in a criminal manner the most important duty you, as citi- zen, are called upon to perform. How do you perform it? The registra- tion books of this state and every subdivision of the state show but lit tie more than two-thirds of those, upon whose shoulders the responsi- bilities of the best government on earth, are placed, even qualify to vote, and of those who register, a very large percentage fail to go to the polls. The result is that we have la government of politicians for poli ticians by politicians. They are the crib feeders, who year after year smrk and smile. trimming their po- litical sails to catch every breeze which will blow them into office. where the picking is good and when I them to obey the scriptural. an in junction to Earn their bread by the sweat of their faces" Try to get a square expression of opinion on any lquestion of real public importance, from one of this class and see haw l adrOitly he will parry the question
 until he can feel of the public pulse
 1 The people of Phoenix today are lsuffering more from politicalitis than lany people I ever knew. Taxes are so high that it is becoming pro-
 cess of slow confiscatiOn and every lyear sees fresh inroads. New com missions. more clerks. more stenog- lficiency. The men who are elected to office are, as a rule. only figure heads. The real duties of official life are done by clerks or appointed deputies. while the real officer plays ipolitics and lays his wires to be re- lelected. Men who couldn't earn g hundred dollars per month on any lprivate job on earth are put into pub lie office and paid several hundred dollars per month to squander tho ipublic funds.
 The question before the people O
 Phoenix today is the Municipal Own 1.-the duty of every voter is to see tt lit that next Tuesdays election shal put in office men who are favorable to that project The citizens of thi!
 city are paying twice as much fo itheir gas and electricity as they Ough to. and are paying it to a bunch O linen who live in New York. and t' make sure that they shall not be mo ilested in their harvest of unfair divi Idends. they are employing a lot o leXperts to create prejudice against thu ipeople doing anything for themselves
 The history of municipally owned
 gas and electric plants. as well a lwater plants, is that they furnisl
 better service for one-haif to two
 thirds the cost. and all the profit go to the people who pay the bill land live where the rates are gather ted. Just bear in mind Mir. Vote lthat corporations have no bodies to b kicked or souls to be damned, ant Ievery dollar they can filch from tn Itax payers is taken with delight. |
 whom they return just as little to tn lpublic as the law and inefficient of lficers will allow. If you are inter tested in your own welfare and ar
 tired of paying vastly too much fo lyour light and gas, and really wan lrelief. just find out who the Gas an' Electric Company is trying to cleo as your Mayor and Commissioners iand then do your duty like men an'
 womcn who have the public welfar
 at heart and go to the polls, earl. on Tuesday next and vote for the mel
 who are being opposed by this cor Iporation. q. w. BARROWS.