Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1916-07-19
GOOD ROADS AND HARDING.

VINO undertook III the recent primary
to manage Cosson's candidacy,
somewhat disastrously, says the Ce-
dar Rapids Republican, has let the
cat out of the bag in the opposition
to Harding and the cat is just what
we thought it was. He says:
By representing the question of
good roads in Iowa, he led the peo-
pie to believe that opposing candi-
dates advocated the bonding of the
state for s100,000,00O and by this
Misrepresentation it is fair to assume
he secured the support of thousands
of the good people of Iowa who would
otherwise have opposed him.
A few ministers of the gospel in
Des Moines have issued an address
blaming Harding for not being right
on the liquor question, in state
where there is nc liquor question at
ALL Those ministers have simply
been misled and they have misjudg-
ed also.
But the Garst statement hits the
essential truth. 1t is the road bond
ing question that is at the bottom of
the matter. Mr.. Garst thinks that
Mr.. Harding misrepresented his op-
ponents on the road issues. He makes
his charge broad enough, but it is not
based upon any facts. Mr.. Harding's
speeches were printed and there is
nothing in them that shows any mis-
representations Mr.. Harding did not
even say that he was opposed to
bonds for good roads, but they must
be bonds voted for by the farmers
who have to pay them off, not voted
for by politicians in Des Moines.
Wasn't that not only honest, but
right also? What is the matter with
that idea?
Mr.. Garst also insults the intelli-
gence of the people of Iowa. He must
think that the voters of Iowa are
children in their understandings. He
thinks all the voters who voted for
Harding were duped because they
didn't follow his (Garst's) advice.
! Is it not a gratuitous insult to the
intelligence of the people of Iowa to
lsay that they are so simple of under
Istanding that one man, speaking in a
flew places could mislead the major
Iity of the republican voters in 81 of
the 80 counties for Harding actually
carried that many of the counties.
What right has Mr.. Garst to assume
that the majority of the republican
voters in 81 counties were geese,
simpletons who not only were deceiv-
ed, but who could be deceived?
By what process of reasoning does
this pompous Mr.. Garst assume that
he knows it all and the majority of
the common people" know nothing
at all?
He might as we'll have called those
100000 voters, constituting major
Iity of all the republican voters in 81
counties, chumps. Harding polled
more votes than the two principal
candidates opposed to him. He car
Iried 81 of the counties against them
both. He carried most of the coun-
ties in their own districts. He car
Iried the county in which CoSson lives.
There must be a reason; there is
a reason. 1t is not because the vot-
ers were chumps, as Garst assumes,
or because they were deceived by
Representations they could be
so deceived in this age of intelligence
they ought to be disfranchised.
But there was reason and there
is reason and we believe the main
treason is the fact that the voters of
the state believe that Mr.. Harding
was nearer to their ideas on this
Iquestion of bonds for good roads.
They have all modified their ideas
Isince Mr.. Harding came to the sur
face and there are none of them now
who are talking so glibly about paw
ing roads and bonding the farms OF
Iowa to furnish the money. Before
that time the whole pack was crazy
on this issue and If they had remain
ed unchecked they would have had
Iowa covered to the neck with debts
and we would have built expensive
roads before we knew what to build
them out of. They would have en-
barked Iowa on an era of unexam-
pied extravaganza and unheard OF
corruption for the promoters would
have been in the saddle.
Harding taught the people common
sense on that issue-and the people
of Iowa approved Of his candidacy be-
cause they saw safety in his poll
cies. Harding believes in good roads
too, the best good roads that are pos
sible without swamping Iowa in debts
and in the corruptions that flow from
the expenditures of millions of dol
lars OF public moneys.
And the people of Iowa, which in
lcludes the farmers are going TO be