Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 January 1906 — A CIVIC WARNING [ARTICLE]

A CIVIC WARNING

’ * ' * 1 Governor Hanly Sounds a Note to , Which unpeople May Well. K 6iv Heed. RASCALITY ITM PUBLIC OFFICE The Tendency of the Times, Says Indiana's Virile Governor, Seems to • ••-t.-Have Bred a Desire for Peculation; 1 t • , for Plunder and for Graft, Both in Public and in Private Life The Crying Need of-the Time Is to Corj rect Such Evils arid the,Burden Lieaj --_i v _ ’ ■ l Upon a Righteous Civic Sense to Overcome This Apparent Tendency; At the recent love feast of the Republican party in Indiana, held at the Claypool Hotel, Indianapolis, Governor J. Frank Hanly sounded a warning and struck, a trumpet note calling the dominant party in Indiana to heed the demand of an awakened public con- ! science for only the best in govern--1 ment. That the recent disclosures in connection with the conduct of certain state offices offered the cue for this notable rallying cry Is undoubted, and all within the sound of the earnest chief executive’s voice recognized the intense conviction that actuated h;9 utterances. ' The attention that was given the governor's address in that typically representative meeting of the Republicans of Indiana was clear evidence that to the governor the party looked for an authoritative giving out in connection with certain recent matters of intimate state interest. His utterances on the subject of rascality in public office were .especially marked, and at the close of his remarkable address the great crowd literally rose at him, sustaining his expressed convictions on civic questions with the united applause of a party stirred to the depths. Governor Hanly spoke as follow's; For almost half a century the Republican party has been to the American people the most efficient means within their reach through which to express their convictions upon political questions, or to achieve resqjts in governmental affairs. They have used It as an instrument to accomplish great things in behalf of free institutions, in the development of the resources and of the commerce of the country, and in the" upbuilding of its citizenship. Through it their ideals have been realized and their hopes fulfilled. Its platforms have expressed their thought more nearly than the utterances of any other political party, and its deeds more nearly squared themselves with their purposes and their aspirations. Yesterday's Ideals Too Low for Today Thus much may be fairly said, and in the saying Of It and in the knowledge of its truthfulness when said, we may justly find cause for pride, for gratification and for congratulation. It may even be said that what it ha& been in the past is an earnest of what it Is be In the future. But we live in h progressive age. History fs being rapidly written. Conception of public obligation and of civic duty is constantly changing for lbs better. The Ideals of yesterday are too h>w for the Ideals of today. That the Republican party has done well in the past is not enough. It must do well in the present. The fact that our fathers did well in the past will be no defense for our failure now. Today, this hour, is being presented to us a supreme test of our right to continue to administer the government of the state and of the nation. By the results of that test 'we will stand or fall. By them we will deserve to stand or fall, according as they shall be. Present Power for People’s Welfare. If we fall we may not plead the glories of the past in extenuation. The greatness of other days will but emphasize the weakness of today and augment the shame of our failure. We I have no right to expect a further grant i of power from the people, except we use our present power for the welfare j of the people, and for their welfare now. During the last few years the times ; themselves seem to have been soms- [ what out of joint, and to have bred a desire for peculation, for plunder aad ; for graft, not In public life and In official place alone, but in the professions and In the business of the country as well. Industrial enterprise*, financial Institutions and the great innt School children 25 cts. Holders of season tickets have seats reserved. Season tickets now on sale at the Library and all the drug stores, They may also be obtained from members of the Library Hoard,

fled with wrmgflofng. Dlssatlsfaetios' witk' *ln la the Laginning of repH&L ance, aad repentanco Is the beginning of reformation. That tome of ttfo representatives of our party should have become in*, ooulsted with the virus which affilct3 the times will not forfeit our right to administer the government eithief the state cr of the nation. If w§ do but possess the strength, the' moral fiber and the courage.to dispossess them of the commissions they have dishonored, The spectacle of a party beset by faithless servants is neither** new nor an unusual spectacle. But the spectacle of a party possessing both the courage and tRc ability to purga itself of faithlesg servants and to correct the wrongs they have; done the .public is both new and unusual, / That the Republican party has done and !s_ doing .botTf is the nation and in the the task, it wilL have, earned the pußllC gratinide hud a continuance of the public confidence, and will have given fresh and cogent evidence of Its right to govern. “Our Rascal” No Longer Tolerated. The time was when a man could be a rascal in p”hlic office if he were only “our rnsonl." Being “onr rascal;’ his errors were concealed, his crimes kept secf°t. or, if known, condoned. But that was the time of Gorman and Quay. Happily for the country, a better day has dawned, and I hope the day has tvholiy passed when the Republican party will either conceal or condone the wrongful acts of its own representatives. If a man betrays his trust, let him that moment cease to be ours, cease to stand for us, and Jet us cease to stand for him. —-

In this regard we are being challenged as never before in the history of the party. -The challenge comes to us from the people themselves, and their challenge must always be met. There must be no turning back; there must be no halting; there must be no wavering. It may be that crime and the betrayal of public trust have not increased or multiplied as greatly as we are prone to think. Exposures Due to Public iJonsclerice. I think perhaps that recent exposures are. due In part to an awakened public conscience, to new civic ideal 3, and to a new and higher conception of public duty and obligation. If I am correct in this and the Republican party, either of the state or of the nation, desires a continuance of its commission to administer government, it must present to the people now, as in the past, the most effective means by which they may accomplish their purpose and realize their aspirations. Anything short of this means abdication by us. The issue is sharply drawn. It is upon us. We eannot •scape it. You are the representatives of party of Indiana. It is your party. You are the jury. It Is for you to decide.