OCR Text |
Show ASSESSMENTS "NOT RIGHT." The chief organ of the Mormon church has evidently heard of the campaign as-essmenls as-essmenls levied hy tho church Republican Republi-can party on tho officeholders who Hnvo boon given their positions through that party, but as usual it undertakes to throw tho odium of that vile practico back upon tho American party. Tho church organ knows full well that tho church Republican party makes theso assessments. It makos Lhcin, not alono on-tho candidates who arc expecting to receive offico, but it makes them upon those who arc already in office; assessing assess-ing mercilessly all alike from tho State ofliccrs down. It appears, also, that the assessment is mado on the new appointments appoint-ments of police by the Sheriff, and-tho church organ is so full of rejoicing over tho Republican success in this that it cannot hold in. It lets the cat out of tho bag, over tho shoulders of the American party, in this stylo: IT ISN'T RIGHT. No. "It Isn't rl;,'ht" to ask the polico, or any other employees of the public lo pay money to the parly funds, to help main lain one party In power asi against anoUior. Voluntary contributions for anv purpose aro all right, but when party bosses aro asscaslnp the people's servants serv-ants for parly purposes, and exacting the payment, they aro doinsr wronj;. no matter who they are. Such payments an; in Ihn nature of bribes. They moan that a public servant must pay somebody for his (position, who has no right to sell It. and that unless he pays the blackmail ho will ho, turned out. By what right does any party sell tho ofnees that belong- to the entire people? Public men, from tho hldlcst to tho lowest. ourIil to be employed because of their ability and honest effort to serve the people well. Thoy oucht to bo retained an long as thoy serve faithfully. They ought to stand, uk do the constitutional consti-tutional kings of Europe, so high above party strife and Jealousies as to bo able to serve the people and not only ono part of them.. And until some such principles are adopted and carried out In our municipal government!!, there will be graft and rottenness, Incompetency and miiurc. Against voluntary contributions to party funds wc have no word of criticism. criti-cism. Every American clL'sen has a right to affiliate with parties and support his chojee to the best of his ability, with money and otherwise. But no parly lias a right to bleed anybody, or to force contributions by threats directed against his Job, any more than against his life. So wc agree fully with tho pollco-man pollco-man who fays. "It Isn't right." But did tho "American" bosses ever do anything right? It is natural, of course, that the News, being a Republican organ this year as usual, should undertake to lay tho sins of that party upon the American party; but anyone used to the News's methods, meth-ods, and understanding tho working of its mind, can read between tho lines that the News is" chuckling over the successful suc-cessful coup of the church Republicans-in Republicans-in getting this big police force upon which to levy campaign assessments. It is curious, however, to seo that it uses the word "blackmail" in a wrong-sense. wrong-sense. The word it should apply is, of course, "hold-up" instead of "blackmail," "black-mail," because the latter term is meaningless mean-ingless in this connection. It is a holdup hold-up and drag-out, plain and straight. It is a robbers' levy upon the officeholder, with notice attached that if he docs not come through with the assessment made, he will havo no chante ur office again in the party of graft and grafters. graft-ers. Tho gentle insinuation made farther on by the News, that "Against voluntary volun-tary contributions to party funds wu have no -word of criticism," is so child-liko child-liko and bland as to make one smile. The church Republican campaign managers man-agers present tho proposition fair and square to every officeholder and would-be would-be officeholder that his assessment is so much. The money is expected. Ho can contribute it "voluntarily" and so receive tho political blessing, or ho can refuse to contribute it "voluntarily" and receive tho party curse and ostracism. ostra-cism. It is a sort of voluntary contribution contri-bution like tho voluntary contribution 'of tithes. A man need not pay tithes if lie does not want to, but if ho does .not nay tithos ostracism, denunciation and vicious abuso is his portion in this world and hell liro is his destination in tho next. |