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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 1911)
fi4i44Pl,4Ni4wWi94H'MfflA0P'4 (ritjjt7pF' taBl - -- ' J A. ' vr np?rvi""w,sw,'w "ef V . T '!? l&yr-' f- i I V v 'V SECOND SECTION Medford Mail Tribune SECOND SECTION FOHTy-MKST YEAR. MIDDffOllD OUKGON, flATritlMV, SEPTEMBER 2, 1011. No. 140. WEST MOST DEMOCRATIC OF GOVERNORS (II)' llurton J. Ilumlrlflk In Boptoni' bur McOluro'u.) The now nplrlt Hint Iimm como over llio piillllcul 1 1 fit of Oregon In Urn hint tun ymirti linn foiiml Itti mont up PI Oprlll t O IM'I'MOIIUl expronulon III tho present governor, OHwnlil Went. With mil the Nttvurnl "crank" Idciin which hnvo trim (formed Oiokoii Into young mid inllltiinl democracy, n innii of Mr. WeHl'n oxporlem-u mid iititud I tit: could nuvur hnvo rbion to tho governorship. Mho tho Oregon do morrncy itnulf, Onwnlil West In young, loumgooun mid energetic; ho him jiiMt turned hlu !I7th year, mid linn but tled IiIh wny Into tho Mnto rnpllol iiKiilinit tho ronililiK'il cforlu of hoth or tho old polltlcul miichluen. Fif teen yenrn mjo Oovurnor Went wnn drlvltiK ii butcher wiikoii In I'ortlund; ton yearn ugo ho wns earning u incid ent llvhu: a paying titllor In n Huluir. ImtiU only hIouo'h throw nwny from tho building whoro ho In now pri'xIilliiK an governor. In uplto of hU now dignity, Ml. Went Mill looks thlH part. A tall, nlondor, boyish fig ure, dressed In u hluo nergo tin It, with n mirk null, n nlrnw lint, tnn nhoen nod n ri'd necktie. If OhwiiIiI Went should suddenly lenve tho oxo cutlvo ulmmhor mid resume hln old poHltlon In tho brnnn rnKo of l.ndd & Hush's hunk, ho would mill aeutii to ho perfectly In rhnractor. "(K' Wi't, .Iffinonlnn. A product of tho Omocrntlu move muni, tho governor hnnWrnnged all tho dittnlla or bin offlrfnl life In uc rordunro with tho democratic spirit. Novnr, ulnco Thoinnn Joffurnon hitch oil hln own homo before tho cnpltol nt Washington nud Audrow Jncknon permitted tho rnhhlo to rldo rough hod ovur tho White House ground nnd to nt.ind with linbunlled nhoen upon tho delicate fumlturo of tho hluu room, bus America produced no co n Minim n to n domocrnt, Thoro nro no flunkies, no gold-braided attend mitM, nny whoro within hulling din tnuco of tlio governor's room. Jut hoforn hln InniiKurntlon innt January iltn lolliiuly ntijrfd ndjotnnt gen oral, In accord unco with cuntutn, ap peared before hi excellency nnd an nounced that ho wan 'ready to escort him to tho oennto chamber. "Oh, go hoy yourself a drink nud comcup," tho youthful governor retorted, and went In, uuncrouipnnlud, to tako IiIh oath or offlco. In nil hln official ro lutlonn, Governor Vol llkowlno ninkoH u vlrtuo of iKuorliiK coromony, Ho wan tho'pooplo'n candldato, and ho ha hecotno tho pooplo'n Kovornor. Iteportorn, fnrniern. worklnismun, walk Into tho preionco ittiauuouuced, and nit down nnd iIIhcuhh hunlncHH without ovon tho formnllty of roinov In K tholr hatii. Tho Kovornor wnlkn IhroiiKh tho atrootn of Hiilcm with hln liaiutH In IiIh pockoln, noddliiK i'lht nud left to nearly everybody ho liiiHitN, "Hollo, Jim," "How uro you, Hilly?" "Ilow'a tho nod wlfo, Joo?" ho kuowH thorn nil by their flrnl name, nnd han no Initmato ucojinln tnuco with their family hUtorx, Few pooilo ndilrenn Mr. Went an "(luv ipir"; ovorywhero thoy hull him nn "On", or "Onnlo." In hln doinontlc llfo, nlno, Mr, Went In un of the common pooplo, Ho liven In n hIx room cottuKo, a neat, plainly furnlnh ed houno ouch un any pronperoun mo chaulo inlKht hnvo, Hero thoro are no ImmKuratlon hnlln, no ntoto dltinorn, only tho ovory-day (Ifo of tho modent cltlxen. Tho Kovornor keopn no nerv iiiiIh; IiIh wlfo, an Intorentltii; and In tulllKont youiiK woman, doen "hor own work." It In tho now political order In Ore Kon thnl In renpoHilblo fur 0wnld Went. Ho In tho nutcomo of the Inl tlathe, and roferoudum, tho recall, (ho direct primary, tho corrupt prac tices net. nnd tho other popular meun uron. With n few othor lendorn, ho roprenentH tho ntriiKKlo thnl linn been KoIiik on for olKht yenrn between the old political machluuH nud tho rnuk and fllu; und hln election lant fall nlR- nallxed tho culmluatlUK triumph of I tin popular cnuno. With hln nccen- nlon to tho governorship ti.o old pu- lltlcal mnchlno nnd tho old political leader panned Into history. When tho Inltlnttvo and re fore ml u in wnu ndopted In 1(02 tho republican mnchlno absolutely controlled tho ntnlo. In 1001 II Html John II. Mitchell to tho United HtntcM nonnto for tho fourth time, nnd In 1003 It elected an Mit chell. n collenKUo Chnrlen W. Fulton, n mnn dlithiRiilnhod for nothliiR ex cept expert polltlcul manipulation. It controlled tho Kovernorihlp, with nil Itn attendant power, and tho mayoral ty of Portland. On every hand, In deed, tho republican orKnnliutlon hold Oregon In iu Krnnp. Tho real capita of tho ntnto wan tho city of Portland. Hero woro located tho public-utility and frnnchlite corporation, tho trnna continental rallroadn, tho "firm rutnl lien," which for yearn had unurped the functloun af tho lcKlnlaturo. Tho kind of Kovornmunt with which tho republican mnchlno wan idoutlflod wns concretely Illustrated In tho mu nicipal admlnlfitrntlon of Portland. Kveu un tho Pacific connt, Portlnud enjoyed it peculiar fatno an n wide open town. Tho mnchlno, by n rogulnr nyntem of monthly flnen, hnd practi cally licensed Rambling and proutl- tutloti, and undor thin ayntom of offi cial oncouraKoment tho city had bo coiijo n popular hondquartorn for nil tho vldoun charactern lit tho I'aclfla uorthwent, Kledlonn of Unlteil HtnOn Kenntorn (Jniit HKrtliiR KventH. An In nlwnyn tho cano, huwover, tho kvyntono of republican polltlcn wan tho United Htatun HenatorHhlp. Tho refurmorH bijlloved that if thoy could tako nwny from tho old corrupt load em thlrf, tho rlchoHt prlzo of all, tho way to it Kcuernl political cleanup would bo compnrnllvcly clear. For 40 yenrn tho flurccnt political Mnttlen in Oregon had nlwnyn raged uVer thin commaudliiK office, Tho actual ncenen attuudluK tho elections hud morn In common with n homo rnco or a cock flKht than a dlRiilfled leRlnlativo pro cecdlnK' Th people of OrcRuu hnvo nlwnyn lovod excltemont and adven tur. For yearn the choice of a Unit ed Blntcn ncnator had been tho mont popular nportliiR ovont In n great po ker playing state. Tlio richest nnd mont powerful inon In tho ntate hnd alwayn Intrigued ami plotted nud nold themnelven for thin political prlxo. In "nountorlnl yearn" tho leRlnlaluro vir tually abdicated Itn loglnlntvo func tion. Thoao prolonged "hold-upn" which hnvo recently no ncandullxed public opinion In Now York, Illinois and othor ntatcn woro tho regular program. Tho content was nlwnyn pro tracted through tho 40 dnys' hobbIou; law-making prnctlcnlly conned; nud deals, bribery, broken plcdgcn, de bauchery nnd riot woro tho common places of tho occasion. Almost no election took place until the closing bourn of tho cloning day of each sos- nlon tho itovornl factions toro at one anolhor'n throats until, at tho last moment, nomo hastily patched up truco finally resulted In n choice.- Thoro was no mystery concerning tho basis of these ngrcomoiits." Tho of flco Is put up ut hurgaln nud sale," said tho 8nlotn Capital Journal, "raffled off to tho highest bidder, tho greatest corrtiptloiilnt. This has boon tho.rulo, not tho exception. Nine tlmofl out of ten, money and patron ago have carried tho day." It wnslho ptirposo of tho now di rect primary law to end abuses of this kind. That law abolished tho old political conventions indeed, made these gatherings absolutely II logal. It also took tho election of United States senators out of tho hands of tho legislature nnd placed It In tho hands of tho people. Tho votors woro to have precisely the samo direct power over tho choice of United States sonators that thoy hnvo always hud over tho election of Oswald West - " - . iiihiim I. I.I I --! I " ' iKXK'PwBSBBBHBlBBHBSHBW'BlSHHB'BBBHBULf H BBBBBBBBBBBHSJSkBnBpBBBBHBBBBBBBBBBUSIHpJSBBBBBBSB j- BBBBBBBK PfK 'aSHHsSkfiRU MSwfcS i '( I" PSS BKKIBB Kb& -" -"i'rTTVMBBBl ssLLLLLLLLsBKiiLLLLmv'rvM BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBbIbBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBbBHBBBh governors and congresumen. They wero to do It iu Ctwoiitlally tho sdmo way. Kach'political party whb to nomlnnto, at Its party primary, Its candidate for tho United States, At tho gcnornl election theso nomina tions ' woro to gu upon tho regular ballot, und fromthem tho, voters were to makiT their choice " Kvldcntly the self-appointed as sembly (held in 1910) regarded it seir as the republican party. But there wero forces nt ork which it little comprehended. Tho assembly ad journed Joyously, organized Itself Into n parade, nnd moved with red flro nnd brass bands noisily down tho main streets of Portland. Ono of the most Interested spectators was n tall, boyish flguro, leaning In tho dark ness against u telegraph pole. This was Oswald West. Mr. West had had some experience in public llfo. lie had boon brought up In Salem, the statu capital, and. as already noted, had for several years acted as a teller In un.- leading Salem bank. Hero 'Mr. West had had unusual op portunities for the study .of practical politics. Many times ns an official duly he had had to pay out large rolls In, greenbacks to men whom he recognized as legislative lobbyists Afterward members of the legislature would como into his bank and de posit to their credit theso same greenbacks. Often these samo leg islators would not hesitate to tell the paying teller how they had obtained them. West had afterward moved to Astoria, taken a part in politics, and attracted tho favorable attention of Governor Chamberlain, who selected him to clean up tho state land of fice, which for many yearn had been a scandal. West did tho work so ex peditiously and acceptably that Cham berlain promoted him to a railroad cominlsslonershlp. A remarkable Improvement In tho transportation facilities of Oregon followed; now trackn wero luld, now stations built, and Important readjustments in rates were made. By the fall of 1010, thorefore, Oswald West wns generally looked upon as a young man with an Important political future. He him self thought that perhaps nomo tlmo, many yearn hence, he might aspire to tho governorship; that an opportu nity might be Immediately forth coming, however, hard hardly oc curred to him. And yet, as ho watched this noisy crowd of old political rlngsters marching triumphantly through the streets of Portland, already well launched In their attempts to regain their old power and undo the work of eight years, the idea occurred to West, Why not now? Probably no similarly favorable opportunity would ever again present Itself. All that night West could not sleep, for he was busy formulating his plans. The next morning ho walked up to the secretary of state clerk's offlco In Salem, and filed his Intention or be coming a candidate for the demo cratic nomination. Here certainly was a phenomenon peculiar to Oregon. A young man under forty, without money or In fluential friends, with no political machine, a democrat in an over whelmingly republican state, was quietly determining to win for him self the offlce'Tjf governor. The fact that West was widely known In the rural sections helped him greatly. For many years he had been a sheepherder and a cattle driver, and bad penetrated every section of the state. As a land agent and railroad commissioner he bad likewise traveled all over Oregon, ev erywhere making friends. A Hand-SrmfcJng Campaign West had little difficulty In win ning, at the primaries, for no candi date of the slightest strength ap posed, htm. At the republican pri maries, feowerman, the assembly's recommendation," was also success ful. The Issues were now sharply drawn. West adopted as his plat form the "Oregon system." while Bowerman was clearly In tho field to destroy all tho reform measures, Both candidates made an energetic personal canvass, though their meth ods differed considerably. When the time came for balloting. nearly every voter In Oregon had at least a hand-shaking acquaintance with "Os" West. But there was far more to the campaign than this. The state was aroused aa It never had tbeen before In tho minds of tho Oregon farmer and workingman, tho political salvation of Oregon do pended on tho result of this election. In order to save tho Initiative and referendum, tho direct primary, the recall, tho corrupt practices net and "Statement No. 1," tho republican voters, undor tho leadership of Jon athan Bournn, who enmo out strong ly for tho democratic! candldato, broko ovor all party lines, sont hack onco moro Into retirement all tho old bosses, big and little, and elected Os wald West governor. A few weeks boforo tho election was hold Harvey W. Scott died, and with his death tho old regime in Oregon camo to aa end. Theso several Instances show how tho Oregon democracy, working un der tho direct primary, now aelectn Its candidates for public offlco. It chooses all its elective officials In this way not only Its United Stale senators and Its governor, but Us congressmen, Its legislators, ltd Judges, Its mayors, and lta officials of local administration. One result is sufficiently clear: tho pcoplo havo absolutely destroyed tho old political machine. To what extent, however. has tio popular method Improved tho character and efficiency of Oregon's public men? On this point there ia no occasion for unbounded enthusi asm. Pol't leal conditions In Oregon are still far from Ideal. The great disappointment of the Oregon experi ment has been Its failure to develop any real, aggressive, disinterested political leadership. Any ono who believes that tho direct primary, in Itself, will bring out tho best men aa candidates for public office, will ex perience a rude Bhock when he stud Ics the situation in Oregon. Oregon's two congressmen are certainly un worthy representatives of this ener getic and intelligent state. The men elected to the legislature last fall, all candidates under the direct primary,' are likewise a rather Interior lot, Os wald West, as governor, has so far made a good record, but several ot his appointments show that he I by; no means averse to using the publlo offices to reward those who have as sisted in his election. Whatever faults wo may find in Oregon's pub lic men, however, tho fact remains that, for the most part, they are of a higher caliber than any the state has ever had before. Ignorant, undisci plined and narrow-minded as In many Instances they may be, they are still, with perhaps a very few ex ceptions, honest mon, . In many ways, Indeed, Oregon Is still politically In (Continued oa d&m 8.) ii -i'' ' " Transforming an Ugly House j4 - 'O.' : T- " iSta-C INTO A BEAUTIFUL ONE IS NOT EITHER DIF ICULT OR EXPENSIVE. SEE OUR FANCY GABLES, CORNICES, ARTISTIC WINDOW SASHES, AND OTHER MILL WORK FOR BOTH THE INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR. A LITTLE LABOR WILL MAKE YOURS THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL, IF YOU BUY YOUR MILL WORK HERE. , Ml? E5s3' m&i'YYsmni. sZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Hlr MEDFORD SASH & DOOR COMPANY WSS' r " ' BWBBBMBBMBMBMMBWMBBl . t J M m I .j i W" i" v V ' 7