Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 November 1898 — GEORGE O. STEMBEL. [ARTICLE]

GEORGE O. STEMBEL.

There will now lie a surcease in “prosperity” editoralizing in some of the organs. And the “statistician” (30 years in office) gets another four years lease at the court house. And now the stay-at-homes are busy kicking themselves and saying “If we had only known?” The ringsters left no stone unturned in their frantic efforts to retain their hold on the public crib. Those “dismissed” and “continued” court house bills can now be taken up and finally passed upon. Jasper county endorsed the “splendid administration” of Win. McKinley and Abraham Halleck last Tuesday. Will the Rensselaer Republican now acknowledge that it was (intentionally),. mistaken about Starke county being democratic? The ringsters were given a mighty scare on the whole ticket,: and can get but little satisfaction out of the slim majorities secured. With a republican majority of 479 on the state ticket how small must the ringsters feel over the meager vote accorded their county candidates. The Democrat will continue its battle for lower taxes and more economical county government until the Jasper county ring is wiped completely out of existence. If Abe Halleck does not have commissioners’ court in session 365 days in the year, he will fall short of the expectation of the people of this county. The county and contents thereof are his. Wherever The Democrat had its largest circulation there was made the greatest gains on the whole county ticket. It is to be regretted that its truths could not have been read by every taxpayer in the county. The Journal thinks democracy can’t win in Jasper qounty in an honest and truthfully conducted campaign. Well, perhaps not, but we prefer defeat to the lying, inaliscious and bull-dozing tactics of our opponents. Every candidate on the democratic county ticket/ considering the obstacles to be overcome, made a splendid race, but the hardest work they had ever done on the part of every ringster and an unlimited “bar’l,” let the republican candidates in by a scratch. With good weather last Tuesday nearly the entire local democratic ticket would have been elected by good majorities. Its greatest strength lay in the country districts, and the extremely bad weather kept many who lived at a distance away from the polls altogether. • Be a man for once, Bro. Marshall, and acknowledge that you know every statement made by The Democrat about mismanagement of county affairs was substantially true in every particular, and that yon disputed them simply because you wanted to see your “party friends” continue their raids on the county treasury.

That there are many republicans who are thoroughly disatisfied with the situation as it now exists in this county can not be disputed by any one who has looked over the returns of the election held last Tuesday. And to those selfsame republicans, who, in the face of prejudice so powerful as to deter many men from voting heretofore for any candidate labeled democrat, however good, however honest, however capable he might be, for the office to which he aspired, all praise is due; and The Democrat hereby extends to them the right hand of fellowship in this fight for better county government, in this fight for lower cost in county government, in this fight to lower, and reduce local taxation. ’Tis true they have but performed a duty that they owed to themselves and their neighbors, to themselves and their families in voting for men to fill offices whom they considered more worthy, and more capable of disdischarging the duties thereof than those presented by the republican party. But so strong has been the yoke of party slavery in the past that but few men have had the courage to brave party discipline by voting in opposition to convention nominees. Let ushope that this time has [passed, and the dawn of abetter day has come, when in local affairs at least, no party will dare present candidates for the sufferages of the people, wholly unfit to perform the duties of the office to which he aspires, when no voter,—be he republican or democrat —but who dares to rebuke his party, by voting and working against candidates presented for his suffrages that are wholy unfit to fill the position to which he aspires. The history of this county shows conclusively that in no other way can this sorely needed reform be brought about. But there are other elections and the good work just begun can be carried on until the fight is won and every incompetent and every scoundrel is turned down and a good man elected to fill his place. And those five kegs of beer sent by the republicans to a couple of out townships, how many votes did they influence? Well, Clarkey will continue to pull at the public teat, but his dream of becoming the “official organ” will no doubt prove only a dream. The Democrat is still ready to prove by the county records themselves the truth of every statement made of county affairs in its colums during the campaign just closed. ==================== No better county ticket was ever placed in the field that that presented by the democrats in the campaign just closed, and every true friend of honor, morality and an honest and economical administration of county affairs will sincerely regret their defeat. In White county the entire democratic ticket was elected with the exception of recorder and coroner last Tuesday, by majorities ranging from 24 to 465, the latter majority secured by S. L. Callaway, the candidate for clerk. F. B. Humston, the present incumbent, who was a candidate for re-election, gained some unenviable notoriety about a year ago by his connection with a rather gay female of Monticello, the couple being caught redhanded at a Chicago hotel. The good people of White county showed their disproval of such acts on the part of a county official by snowing

Humston under by a big majority. Would that it were thus in other counties. The county went about 100 democratic on the state ticket.

George O. Stembel stands to-day the first man in the democratic party of Jasper county. His canvass shows the respect in which he is held by the people who know him. It was with much reluctancy he accepted the nomination. In a county of over four hundred republican majority and with seemingly the most popular candidate of the opposition, there was at first but little encouragement for George Stembel to run for auditor. But soon it developed that Bbacock’s popularity and the real man himself had been overestimated, so Stembel set to work to win against all odds. Wherever he went his manly bearing and gentlemanly deportment won him friends. He proved himself to be the best organizer, the schrewdest campaigner that ever fought in the ranks of Jasper county democracy. George Stembel has more of which to be proud than any other candidate, either elected or defeated. The honorable and successful campaign he has made entitles him to a place on the next democratic state ticket and to that end his friends will this day begin to labor. XX