Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1925-10-15
THE PEOPLE VS.. THE MACHINE
McGonnelsville, Ohio,
October IL, 1925.

i
October 12, 1925.
My Dear Mr.. Editor:
We wish to reminisce little upon
the school question. Two years ago
the election was close and many think
if the machine" had not gotten the
breaks" and especially the final
the roads very bad fer machines in
many places that the result perhaps
might have been different. But we
took our medicine in good part with
no crouch, because the PEOPLE had
a reasonably good opportunity to pass
upon the question: =:
Things moved along quietly in some
places, not so quietly in some others,
with a growing realization on the
part of ALL that the law is. far from
what it ought to be. We elect five of
our best men to handle the school
matters in our township. They are in
terested- They know the wants and
needs of the township-have looked
at the question from all, angles and
have the question decided unanimous
ly. Along comes a man from Column
bus, with very little knowledge of the
situation but he is part OF the ma
chine with perhaps some information
from the local cogs, and reyerses the
board. After some little show of oppo-
sition on the part ct the five men
composing the board, he informs them
they will get no money Estate aid) for
that school or for the other schools of
the township if his decision is not car
ried out.
| How long can seif-respecting men
| submit to such ignorant dictation as
| that?
They close one school in Meigsville
on a good pike and ask ten children
and the driver to ride in Ford tour
ing car. They close one in Bristol that
has not rod of improved road over
which to transport the pupils. When
two members of the Bristol board go
to Columbus and ask for the school
to continue, Mr.. Reigel tells them the
school is closed upon. the recommen-
dation of the deputy, Mr.. Morris, and
Mr.. Davis, county superintendent.
When the two members come back,
Mr.. Davis denies he recommended the
closing, and there you are. Such a
monstrosity of law was never known
upon the statutes of any state before
this one. Mr.. Reigel says, "You do So
and-so and / will apply the law as
you wish; if not, you will not get any
thing you wish"
Such things as have mentioned go
ing on all over the county during the
last two years has SO changed popu-
lar feeling upon the law that when 1t
came time to make nominations this
fall for County SCHOOL, Board the ma
chine had become alarmed and felt
that if the PEOPLE got "A fair chance
at them they stood no show. There
fore they laid their plans for a diff
ferent campaign By scrutinizing the
petitions filed by the PEOPLES can
didates they found some defects in one
filed for Mr.. S. A. Cordray and af-
ter some brilliant detective work by
Prof. J. S. Taylor, aided by Co. Supt.
Davis and DIR. Humphrey, the petition
was rejected by the board of elections.
Another petition was filed for Mr..
Cordray under a section that seemed.
to offer an opportunity Of correcting
the error found in the original petitiorf
but that was also rejected by the
Board of Elections. M
Co. Supt. Davis filed remon-
STRANGE against the last petition filed
for Mr.. Cordray. Supt. Davis seems
to have been the only man in, the
county sufficiently interested to make
that final attempt to shut out one of
the peoples candidates and leave but
two candidates, Mr.. <. r. 0gaevee and
Mr.. d. M. Abel, to hold aloft the
standard of the people.
& In this emergency we intend to
adopt Lawrence's command to his men
as our motto: "Don't give UP sthe