Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 October 1908 — HOUSE CLEANING THAT CLEANS, IS NEEDED. [ARTICLE]

HOUSE CLEANING THAT CLEANS, IS NEEDED.

Andrew Carnegie, the several hundred steel mllllonlare, came out Wednesday in an interview and “showed” why Taft should be elected, and yesterday’s Chicago Inter-Ocean, the “only republican newspaper in Chicago,” says: “Rockefeller comes out strong for Taft. Standard Oil magnate says Taft is the man." The moral contained in this is to plain to need pointing out.

See here, Mr. Voter, if you have wad the papers for the past dozen years you know that James E. Watson, the republican candidate for governor, is a portege of old Joe Cannon, who has stood in the way •f every real reform measure that has been Introduced in Congress for a long time. He was called the “whip” of the House. That is, he was used to round up recalcitrant republican congressmen who balked at any part of old Joe’s program. He voted for the ship-sub-sidy steal, a measure Intended to take of millions of dollars out of the pockets of the people and create more trust millionaires, a measure that nine-tenths es the republicans of the whole country were against, and his whole record in congress has been against the people and in favor of the special interests. What have you to expect from the administration of such a man if you elect him governor next Tuesday? Consider this and then vote as your better judgment tells you you should, for honest “Tom” Marshall.

The Rensselaer Republican quotes from The Democrat of last February a brief sentence regarding the "excellent administration of county affairs we are now having.” The Democrat said then and repeats now a fact which is generally known to everyone in the county, that we have the best and cleanest lot of county officials we have ever had, in our acquaintance, at least. But, this does not by any means signify that It is’now perfect. The old regime was so infernally rotten that It could not well have become worse, and thanks to The Democrat and the aroused people of the county whicn its exposures brought to some realization of the real conditions, in a measure there has been

an Improvement. Just what lies back of all this, fiowever, just what an examination of the public records would reveal, the public is in ignorance of so long as It continues the same old partyj 'Officials in power. If things be ever; so rotten the honest official of that party who succeeds a less honest one will not dare give it up, for it ’'would hurt the party.” The improvements which we have witnessed in the personnel of the county officers, too, has not been brought about through any efforts of the republican machine but in spite of it. And the old machine manager, Abe Halleck is still in control, the present republican county ehairman being a subserveent tool of Halleck’s, and Halleck himself, after twelve years of feeding at the public crib, is today a greater power as county attorney—to which be elected himself when he saw that he could no longer he elected county commissioner—than he even was before. When his hold on the public teat is loosened real reform will indeed have started in, and not until then. Next Tuesday the taxpayers of Jasper county will have an opportunity to break this hold. Will they do It?