Show THE VALUE OF GOOD AND CAPABLE MEN Ac ACCORDING cORDIN G to a dispatch in this issue general john A logan has been uttering words which embody considerable wisdom he holds that the condition of affairs is such in the large cities thattie that the mayoralties mayoral ties have become as important Import aut in a sense gense as shins of states this is MR only the recognition of th the fact that in order to insure good government it must be conducted on sound principles from the very foundation to the top of the structure but bat it is also an of the the existence ot a potential danger if the fundamental portion of the building is rotten it is not reasonable to expect that the fabric will stand hence the necessity in a republic for even the source the people to be upright and the lower f functions of the system to be purely performed no people can be prosperous or happy when they are the victims victim of by the existence of bad men in office the latter day saints were from the earliest days admonished on this point by the voice of reve the prophet they were directed to seek out and sustain good men mea for official positions whenever this idea has been departed from fro m trouble has been the result it ha has s been so everywhere it will continue to be so it is an inevitable effect s springing rid ing from a given cause place authority atho lity upon an unscrupulous man and trouble ensues it is not confined to the putting of such much men in positions of an official character clothe them with responsibility in the manipulation of of any matters of public bublic moment and the consequence be as a rule similar and ana when disaster is the result of their crooked course they will either exonerate themselves from blame by placing it upon others shoulders or at least drag Inno innocent zent persons into the miery puddles of obliquity which they have created the value ue of the idolce to demolish party lines in the selection of the best menthe men the qualifications being hon esty integrity and geu general e ral adapts adaptability birtty cannot be ove overestimated abed examine we the past course of a man of that character and impartial investigation will find it straight in the case ot his antipodes numerous windings contor eions and twi stings will be discovered good honest upright men are a sand fold more precious than all the gold of ophir their value is generally discovered after they are dead for those who scorn to lie deceive and cheat are not likely to be largely appreciated in a world where such evils are so common it io ia not popular as a a rule to speak the straight truth for sound d doctrine 0 et r in L wh which ic h is i s the truth is not generally acceptable to act upon it i is s not n 0 t m much u ch m more 0 re s so 0 if the nation would locally and generally speaking select officials from among amone the best element the country affords in place of awarding place to men who seek it for the opportunities port unities and spoils it affords they would infuse use a preservative agent throughout the body politic but the tendency is the other way this corrupting inclination is increased by the very danger which gen logaa says threatens the large cities of the union the mass masses s easily made a I 1 prey erey to demagogues are beginning to feel their ability to wield an overwhelming wh elming power in politics they PO possess votes and votes are what 10 count in political contests men of brains brain but who are utterly unprincipled will not be slow to co cobit ui t the favor of those who have it in their hands to turn the political scales whichever way they wish to they will throw dust in the tae eyes of the people and captivate them by guile deceit and 8 special ecial sr through this crooned crooked and slimy path they will gain fain access to positions that should be filled by bv better men disappointment disaster disa and confusion worse confounded will be the result and misery the crop that such buch a soil soil will yield some journals trippingly dismiss all apprehensions in relation to the danger to which general logan had bad reference when he urged the necessity for the mayor altie of large cities beina being filled by good and capable men rea ready y to act on emergencies they extinguish it with a puff of loyal sentiment much us as some writers fight and win battles on paper which have been fought and lost in the field but like the blood spots upon the hands of lady mae mac belh the ulcerous parts upon the body politic will not out the poison is in the system and largely diff diffused used through the blood the complaint being by no means local many things have been pointed out regard regarding ln the future of the nation by jos joseph e h smith the very idea of ac P tag as correct any forecast from such a source is popularly scouted this contemptuous treatment of what he be enunciated will not however diminish the correctness of misstate his statements he spoke of a time when the masses of the people would become a prey to demagogues who would by catering to their passions and prejudices gain positions of prominence and administer public affairs so un scrupulously and outrageously as to produce ruin and anarchy what does the present situation premise |