Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-03-09
Open Forum
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THE GovERkoRsH1p OF OREGON

al. J. Simpson is a man of BIZ
caliber and in our judgment would
make good in fine shape as governor
He is enterprising magnetic, broad
sympathetic and effieient.-C. c. Chap
man in the Oregon Voter.
The Oregon Voter then proceeds tC
bar Mr.. Simpsons candidacy. He ii
an ideal man to put new life into Ore
gon but he should put on an apron and
eonfine himself to Red Cross and WaI
Thrift Stamp activity, is its main argu
ment.
That is part of the old Oregon-boot
style of politics of knocking in the
head aspirations of men of ability in
stead of welcoming them into the
service of the state. Because Mr.
Simpson does noa belong to a little
Portland coterie of self-expansion and
self-adulation, he is to be side-tracked
as a cipher.
The self-complacency of a state gov
ernment that will allow the sugar beet
industry to fail without a struggle, and
allow the second sugar factory to be
carted off as junk to another state,
could certainly be improved upon.
Governor Withyeombe has made an
excellent war governor He has been
fearless i'll standing up for the rights
of business and industries to be pro.
teeted against 1. W. WS and labor
radicalism.
But the republican party in this
state should bar no brainy man who
has done as much to build up his sec
ton of the state as Mr. Simpson has,
from being candidate.
The Simpsons have been builders in
the larger sense of the word They
have been pioneers in ship-building, in
numbering, in manufacturing, in com
munity building. Thus have been more
than mere parasites on the body
polite.
They have always employed labor on
a large scale and they have treated
that labor right. That nearly 800
laboring men should sign a petition
asking Mr.. Simpson to be candidate
for republicans to consider.
If we are to have a merely clerical
efficiency government let us elect
Mr.. Olcott and be done with it. AS a
matter of fact, Mr.. Olcott's office
practically transacts the business Of
the state. With the attorney general
and the department of public instruc~
ton, she department of state, under
the administration of a man of Mr..
Oleott's ability, could run the state
Of Oregon. We could dispense with the
governors IS office, state treasurer and
a dozen ether state officials and save
the state hundreds of thousands an
nually.
But when we are speaking of men
who do things we cannot brush ASIDE
a man like L. J. Simpson As an actual
DOer-of II f-Things-valuable to a COM
monwealth he is the biggest young
business man in the state and the
state should be proud to have such
man for governor.
Idaho, Utah, Washington, Montana,
have elected business men for gov
ernors and they are not suffering for
it.
Purely from an industrial develop
ment standpoint, and that is what we
assume the journal stands for and what
the ''Voter' ought to stand for
primarily, we do not believe L. J.
Simpson, if he were governor, would
allow big industry to be removed
without an effort made to keep it..
A large number of good citizens place
business and industries before politics
as a patriotic duty. If we are to keep.
wood shipbuilding after the war we
will haze to make fight. The dis
mantling and moving away of the
second sugar factory from this state
has probably lost Oregon that industry
forever. Who is to blame2
Mr. Simpson viii not allow the
mere political pasquinade of C. c..
ChaRman to brush him aside in the
race for governor. He is made of bet
ter fighting material than that. The
State of Oregon needs such men as
never before. And what has become of
Governor Withyeombe's Is declaration
that he would be satisfied to be gov
ernor one term to roundout his public
career with that dignity?
REP UBLICAN.