Show I CONGRESSIONAL CONTESTS i One would imagine that the only contest con-test threatened upon the assembling of the next congress is thai in which Utah is chiefly interested Several are c threatened Southern Republicans always ways manage t scare up a fight whenever fl when-ever the majority in congress suits their convenience and it is from that L section that three or four contestant are liable to appear in March I Contests have been handled in such a partisan way that they are gradually falling into disfavor Yet there are those so it would appear who still look upon a congressional seat a a L reward for any sort of disturbance i they are pleased and able to make L I is a practice that results in no p good either to the district or to the t nation I is demoralizing to the majority 1kI ma-jority and invariably reactionary Outages t Out-ages committed on tho Republican side one year are followed by abuses on the Democratic side another year I goes from bad to worse until every one Is F overwhelmed with the shame and scandal of the business Defeated and repudiated candidates l have been encouraged by this partisan practice to seek admission to the capitol for the purposes of gaining notoriety and securing the allowance set aside for thebeneflt of contestants The folly of holding out a cash inducement has been demon ducement for contests s strated long since I Is like offering a reward for frivolous contentions and through it dishonest speculators haven have-n brought into eistence to fake advantage ad-vantage of the mistaken generosity of L congress and to aid in building up 3 partisanship so extreme and unfair that it cannot help but disgrace our institutions Congressional contests should be settled at home as often as possibly Partisans should not be encouraged to look to party majorities to seat men who could not be elected or to aid them in unseating those whom the voters of the district were unable to defeat Too many contests in congress con-gress are conducted on the farce plan They add nothing to the dignity of the federal legislature nothing to the credit of the nation |