Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-07-24
~ adklal,77 eazlagzG
r. Qua pulpits work clothes Each of us live
| kind of q day.
THE CANDIDATE: A PARABLE

Mr.. John Doe had always been pretty good citizen
While mere youth ne had called papers to support ms
widowed mother He had earned his way through
high school and college, Later he had married and gone
into business for himself He had organized several COM
panies and had been successful with each OF them lie
been invited too become of the directors of an
orphans home and growing interested IN the work. had
devoted and of time to it. At forty he had
built up enviable reputation He known every
where executive OF first rank and man OF the high
est integrity His admirers felt, and quite rightly that
he be ideal candidate for public office They In
sisted putting up his
Mr.. Doe was not particularly anxious to hold public
office He demurred Ills admirers appealed to his
of duty and ultimately won't from him reluctant consent
Then the fun began.
Within week Mr. Doe began to hear that he was
crook, robber of widows children, Wall Street
hireng sharpster rascal Then the charges
more specific WINE one of the directors of the orphans
home he had, it declared, contract with
of his own companies and had maze for himself half
million dollars profit Mr.. doe, at first unable to
understand from what pource lncomprehensibe
story had Finally he remembered certain episode
in his past Years he had discovered that the
age without electric lights In his zeal to
nng for the boys he had offered to funisn it electricity
from of his power companies without cost. He
had had any desire to his charity and had
said little to anyone about what he had done.
His political enemies were now making capital of
the secrecy with which the aea had been slipped
Mr.. Doe issued statement setting forth the facts but
the only reply was loud and derisive laughter.
Shall we elect to office tnis corrupt wolf in sleeps
clothing the orators the opposite camp began to
Here is speciaIizes robbing orphans. He
stands lower plane, even tnan the professional
thief He's monster, Whited sepulchre hypocrite.
He has the appear before you candidate
for public office. FeoW-crtizens do your duty. When
YOU 90 to the polls see to it that YOU administer to him
the rebuke That his brazen mpudence merits Show him
that when you vote you vote only honest and
for scoundrels.''
Mr.. Doe found himself involved in painful situation
While he had never cared about advertising his many de-
cent acts he had always been somewhat sensitive about
his reputation. He did not enjoy hearing himself denounc
ed moral eper and brigand and cut-throat and
pirate Worse STILL he discovered that few people could
be induced to listen to the real facts of the commonly
cited by his opponents In the bulk the people not
greatly interested in what going Yet thousands
Of individuals who before had always vaguely associated
his with something distinguished and honorable
associatng it with something disreputabe and
ndefensble. Ultimately he had to libel suit
and long after the election had been lost gained slender
satisfaction in indicating himself But by this time no
body cared about the sue and little attention paid
it. The damage done Mr. Does good name not to be
repaired.
It has frequently been said that the successful man
refuses to be candidate for public office chiefly because
he can make more money by combining himself to his
affarsin other words because he is venal When this
said however the foregoing parable should be kept
mind 1t is entirely possible that the in question
merely has sensitiveness about his good name