Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 252, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 October 1914 — Democrat Supports Policy, of Continuing Hoover in Office. [ARTICLE]

Democrat Supports Policy, of Continuing Hoover in Office.

The Jasper County Democrat, which is democrat in name only except when it comes to the support of some local candidate in which the editor feels a personal interest, contains an- endorsement of the candidacy of Sheriff Hoover fpp-county treasurer. The article leads off by saying that some republicans have been trying to jnfliignce votes against Mr. Hoover bn the grounds that he has already had two terms as county sheriff.

The Democrat should not have said Jthat some republicans are saying this, hut that a big lot of honest democrats are saying it and that they are the ones who are offering the chief objection to the idea that Bill Hoover is the only man -in the party popular enough to get the votes. It is not republicans who have so much objection to perpetuating a man in county office, but there were some mighty good democrats, well qualified men, who would have liked the democratic nomination for county treasurer and who do riot think it should have gone to Sheriff Hoover, who was then and is- still serving a second term as sheriff. Felix Erwin, of Fair Oaks, was a candidate, and he had many friends, hut Sheriff! Hoover, whom The Democrat says was not seeking the office, was right out after the nomination and he got it in a warm contest, and it did hot leave a very good taste in the mouths of those .who believe that two terms of county office are all that one man should have. There was another thing occurred at the democratic convention that did not set very well with the democrats or many of them. Npminstions had been called for sheriff. It was well understood that Sheriff Hoover had planned to give this nomination to Joe Davisson, but Remington delegates came over with a candidate of their own and they placed his name before the convention. Chairman Strong waited a reasonable time -and then asked if there were other nominations. There was no reply. Mr. Strong announced, “If there are no other nomination I will have to declare the—” and he had expected to say “nominations closed”, thereby giving the nomination to the Carpenter township man, but Sheriff Hoover, who had already been nominated for treasurer, committed an act that for breach of convention etiquette has anything beaten we ever heard of. .He jumped to his feet and nominated Mr. Davisson and the convention thought that Bill ought to understand all the planned arrangements for the ticket and proceeded to nominate his candidate, setting the Carpenter township man down with a huge bump.

Now, let us see, about this two term business.

There has, we believe, never been a time in thirty years, probably longer, where any man has ever served two terms, long or shoTt, in county office, and then come out for another office. It would have been just as reasonable for (Mr. Hoover to have asked for another term or two as sheriff. It would have been just as proper for A. A. Fell to have asked for another term of the treasurer’s office. The fact is thaf two terras of county' office is all that is contemplated by law and precedent and the shifting from one office to another does not alter the case a bit. ! *

We want to say that Sheriff Hoover is a first-class fellow and that we claim his friendship, but that doe 6 not alter the case at issue a particle. He should not be eletced treasurer for the, special reason that he has or soon will have served two full terms as county sheriff and voters generally do not believe in the idea of running a candidate for office simply because he has demonstrat-

ed that he is a good campaigner. ‘ As Sheriff (Mr. Hoover has made a fair official. He has drawn the pay and that constitutes a big end of the job. H 6 has devoted most of his time to being the agent for Ford automobiles, and it is probable that he will continue this agency If elected county treasurer, whete a qualified clerk and bookkeeper will find plenty of work from 8 o’clock, in the morning until 5 o’clock in, the evening. If William I. Hoover * is elected treasurer he will farm the office out to some one else, simply enjoying the emoluments of the offiee through ■the indulgence of voters while some other person does the work. We do not believe there is an excuse for supporting Mr. Hoover for this office. It establishes a bad precedent and Mr. Hoover embodies no qualities of special fitness for th clerical position he seeks. There is no parallel in the case of his opponent, Charles V. May, of Carpenter -township. (Mr. May is serving as township trustee, a small office With fi small salary. Promotion's from this office to a county office have been frequent occurrences and are a recognition -of faithful and qualified service, Mr. May has made an trustee. He is a careful business man, has practiced business economy coupled with a desire to give his township a progressive administration and the result Is pleasing to the Carpenter township taxpayers. There Is no parallel with respect to the office of circuit judge. It has always been the practice for judicial officers to be retained in office so long as they deserved the confidence of their constituency and no less a worthy exponent of life tenure for jurists than President Wilson is cited to the voters. Judge Hanley has never been moved by political, social or business associations in his twelve years as judge, and he holds the firm confidence of every man and woman in Newton and Jasper counties. He has jutft the qualities essential in a ju r i»t, a determination to arrive at the true merits of every case and to give to every seeker, at Jhis bar of justice a square deal. The thirtieth judicial circuit having learned this during the past twelve years will not permit the foolish argument of Editor Babcock to dissuade them from supporting Judge Hanley ndw, and there are doubtless hundreds of democrats in Jasper county who do their thinking for themselves and who will support Judge Hanley because the office of judge has not been prostituted to meet political ends, and who wifi vote against Bill Hoover for the good reason that he has had two terms of an office that has a legal light of two terms and who regard hik action in becoming a candidate for another office as nothing short of greed, for not only did he get the nomination for that office for himself but *he picked a candidate to succeed him as sheriff and employed machine politics to get him nominated. > If there is a candidate on any ticket who this year so little deserves election as does William I. Hoover, we have been unable to pick him out. Don’t you think so, voters?