Mangum Weekly Star. (Mangum, Okla.), Vol. 26, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 8, 1914 Page: 3 of 11
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t
•ovkwmoii cwuca* MW«
tOontlnued uom Fa«e Oae)
«.IL~I In — Its pronlMM to
jsi jrts ntZZi*»tj.
...,} tract plvtd la Its kwpl#l ^
th!%ot«rs of tb« «uu. ft «» hardly
expect that the people will continue
It In Dovir. Havlag been twlco M*
LvVb, the ©eople of OkUhonm to
poeltlona of trust and reeponslblllty.
if fallur® hti stalked la the *»*• °f
th«M officials, It can hardly be ex-
pected thot the ne*t eet of oWcIbU
chosen from that party will b« more
gU^l*bolUv« that, taken asa whole,
tbe men who have administered the
affaire of state In Oklahoma have
been juat aa honeat. Juat as capable
aad Juat a* patriotic aa will be those
whom the people will cboae at the
election next November.
Party Muat Stand Upon Record
"When the party comes before the
people at the < lining election asking
for a continuance In power It mult
stand or fall upon the record it has
made. It la therefor*, nccessary In
order that the people may render an
IntelllKent verdict and deal out Jus-
t Ice to the party, that a fair presenta-
tion of the accomplishments during
these three years of government un-
der democratic rule be given to the
people of the state. In making this
statement It la necessary that it be as
much condensed as possible and many
many, thlnga of benefit to the people
performed by varloua public officials
must of neceasity be eliminated.
"I shall net attempt to deny that
there have been mistakes made. No
«mn la Infallible, and men in public
office are possessed of all the frail-
ties of human nature that influence
and control ' tbe private cltlaen. I
believe, however, that the mistakes
jnade by^he present set of public of-
ficiate are as few In number and of
aa little hurtful consequence to the
.people aa will be tbe mistakes made
in any other administration that will
come after them. Fair men do not
expect infallibility among public of-
ficials. All they demand is honesty
la public service and an endeavor to
give tbe best possible service to the
people.
"There will be no attempt in tbls
statement to answer the many criti-
cisms that have been indulged In
aaginst this administration and indi-
vidual officials composing a part of
the administration. Local influences,
personal feeling and partisan bias are
to be found in Oklahoma as they are
in every other commonwealth in the
Union, and so long as these things
exist unmerited criticism and un-
founded charges will find expression,
Official i* Peublic Servant
"I realize that it is unusual for
statement of this kind to emanate
from the chief executive of the state,
but my conception of publio duty is
different from that entertained by
mkny officials. 1 have always felt
that I was the paid servant of the" peo-
ple that my highest duty was to the
•t-peopje'ef the state and that they are
enitled to know what their public
servants are doing in their behalf. It
would have been far mere pleasant
to me had the information which I
herewith transmit to the people been
given through other agencies, but cer-
tainly the people are entitled to this
Information from some source, and
this is my justification for my action
in the matter.
"In order that the public may ren
der an intelligent judgment upon the
conduct of public officials it must
know the facts. A proper dissemina-
tion of these facts must be accom-
plished, in large measure, through
the public press of tne state and on
bertialf of the people of Oklahoma. I
ask those who control the public
press of this state to read this state-
ment, investigate it carefully with a
view to ascertaining whether or not it
it correct, aad if found to be in keep-
ing with the facts, then to give the
people of the state the benefit of its
contents. The accuracy of every
statement I make can be; easily as-
certained by any person who enter-
tains any doubt upon the subject. If
the press of the state is to continue
to hold the confidence cf the peop'e
and to be sought as the medium
where correct public information is
to be obtained, it cannot afford to let
partisan, personal or local reasons in-
fluence it in withholding from the
people correct information to which
they are entitled.
"There have been a great many
charges made against state officials
and the enemies of tbe ad-ministration
have been unsparing in criticism. Pub-
lic officials have been characterised
aa 'dishonest,' incompetent,' graft-
ers,' 'thieves' and "robbers,' and iu
making these charges those who have
indulged in the® have made no ef-
fort to particularise, but have made
tbeir charges In such broad aad
sweeping language the listener is
left to conclude that all of the state
officials of Oklahoma are 'grafters
and "thieves.' These charges are a
serious reflection upon the intelli-
gence and integrity of the cltixenshlp
of the state.
"in most instances, the state om-
cial who deals intimately with the a.'-
fairs of the people is by tbe people
diretth elected, and the final respon-
sibility for dishonesty and Inefficien-
cy la government rests with tbe vot-
er* of tbe state These critics shou -1
be more explicit and should single oat
tbe official who has proven a trait
to tbe people It Is the duty ofevery
rttitea be he public officer or I*1****
rtUrea «© aad bringto ***"
evnry dl.bone.1 oflkW. and the man
who know* of itshwssiy «■■» ^
state and aeoualntancss ars not o* cbleny^V ch£*U>g
ArMJrta-S
mistakes on th* •service. Offices In this state are not
selecting elective office'* than refuii w b passed around
Whore ien bave -«*** "£ 15TU? to «U.fy the ambition of
tioes for boaeety aBd fair deaHng by [in a , number possible. j»or will
a lifetime spent In a alginate from favorabU
ty But these new condition 'consideration aoy worth* candidate
rapidly paaalng , for tbe sole reason he has before held
modern methods of l, public office w
formation, our. W* tbo
who appeal to them for tbeir
fmge. ...
Dealing With Mate Alfalfa.
sary t?*c53l Vtteltioo to the that
The demand of tbe people ta Jot
honest, efficient and ,0_V0
ernment. and I am sure there la no
man in Oklahoma who desires this
more than I. That there has been
unnecessary expendlturs of the peo-
ples funds no one familiar with true
conditions will attempt to deny; thai
I have tried to bring about greater
snonomy. I believe my worst «neml«»
will concede. In my message to the
fourth legislature In regular session 1
educational
per cent. abe«t and not voting tee „d mods*.
H.o per cent From these figure* It d require
*111 be sees that tbers was vary Mt and If this oe aw., _ .
I be seea thaltbers wa. vary m Editions appropriations to maintain
amriiHsrs/S SSfs sr ETC-**- t
vsncemeut of the state can ooly
ducted by contiaulng to incroaae
appropriations as the population In-
crsuts
sary to can " Datd
KfSs-
Whatever reforms are acc-onripllBh. J then Hnd , be,|fVe now that an
to brinK about a lower cost of localI. tment Into laws of tbo recom-
Lovemment must, in large measun. , nu,ndation8 , umde would result In
be brought to pass by thef »eop'" saving thousands of dollars a"nu»|ljr'
reiHtbl'lcans and democrats for
igalast thse approprlatleas.
Ths Fleet Clash.
Ths public will recall tbst the
first serious «lash that <*»«' , *Thui wben driven to the last con-
tbe governor and the 'elusion and when we have racked our
ourred at the beginning of thebr#|n for #q intelligent way of toau-
lesslon. when 1 aent to that body B»y iratjnit gr«ater «<icnomy without lm-
veto message disapproving tbe Ibll a |be tffIc|ency 0f government,
appropriating |M.0<)« to pay tbe per ^ tact r^nilllM that the only two
diem snd mlW-age of Its members, j ical ways of accomplishing this
One of my reasons for vetoing the M rwjuce the number of paid em
measure, stated at that time, waa that ,oyM Mnd insunurate a sysUm of
1 was not In favor of making aniap-, hand,ln|{ |-)nB| Institutions In such a
proi rlatlon to pay mileage of mem_ way lo those
b >rs who had not actually be self-supporting To do the first,
tlie expense of travel. This bill wss h r wm require action from th«
passed over my veto In I paople linher than the officials. Most
and the record snows the ._ ^e «r our sUte office
es are provided for
02. i In tVe constitution, and they can.nev-
people for
should wllll*— . one
I ask no one
esponslbilltiea
H=Ssj=-~-S
turn T'Oklahoma nrovideB th^be
SwHSSs
th. governor 1.M
in • lorge m«««ure. the oltwrij o[
vnrious departments. In rea .i. ,
togs no such authority and he ■cm no
Sher baches6 o&f ^verSment or In
si
urer or auditor, tbau «an the bumo-
lest citizen of the state.
Governor Outlines P°''= £
"As the chief executive officer c
the state, the governor is s™p'jo J1
nntline certain policies and to use
his best endeavor to ^rry t^se pol^
cias into effect; bu^ under<he Uf?
this state his .power to carry auy po -
icy he inaugurates to a success,
conclusion Is limitol to >'» "
,nd «ven In 1.1. olllcn be can onlj
Shape its policies while he is
the state and acting as go
votes recorded: Democrats In
bouse In favor of its ®/' I .'r be aboil 'bed. «<»r consolidated one
against 14. absent and not voting t. thw oU||,r w,thout constitutional
republicans in favor of lt^ passage | iiin,.I)dmeiltB The way Is open
IS, against none, absent and not v through our Initiative provision of the
ins 1. 1" the senate; d Iconstitution to efMct this reform, and
favor of it 27. analnst absent and l ^ ^ ,H u ^fugal to use
not voting 1; republicans f°r • weapon to correct nxlsting
against 1. absent and not 'v(,tJ"g J; wt«ongs. the burden should be patient-
From this it will be -een that. Ib X\ e .w ^ ^ ^ ^ .eoond re-
two houses th-1* were:21 democrats rt,on tht. leKi,,iature. provided a
who voted to sustain the( veto, w lie ^ ^ W1| enact(d at the last ses
only one republican could be found ^ y creatJng a board of prison con-
In both houses riot In favor of pass ^ &nd ,a(llu(ie {„ given thut board
ing this measure over my veto. A thww ,.oBTlctB in
examination of the record wi 1 show ^ ()f einployin«nt that will tend
that on the. original vot^, and passage ,Q reduce tbe appropriation
of the bill, not a single for their maintenance; but if the en-
voted against it. Thes^,n!pg^t"0€0. tire expense of penal Institutions be
given to show that spend ng the PJ- Bave(J ^ 0Be.half of the state offi^
pie's money Is not a political ue ctA]B eliminL-ted, It would hardly
(and that economy is not the. herl- ( am£)unt t0 20 per ^n, Gf the total ap-
toge of any political party.) Ipropriatkm necessa.y for state gov
The Rsai Economy. ' ernment. and would only sltghtiy re
"1 would not lv»ve tbe peop,e lab°r duce th€ burdens of taxation.
cl.»ta,bt*SSSU( '<<?«
Impairing the efficiency offo^
ment. This can be don€,.nr"^n^ye8
rinrin* the number of paid employes,
and second by Inaugurating a ayatem j7 724^1B.68; l^oulslana. with a P^_
in the. penal InsUtntlonB that_ wl» . u|at|0B of 1,656.388 appropriated^or
— make them self-sustaining. So Iar i tbe two years $8,5212,212.37, iwan
of modey be; could twenty years ago. mak d educational | uh population of 1,690,949. ap-
likewlse no state can Miminlster it»\ as the ^ the two. year, $8,836,-
ing without impairing the efflc ency
of government, can be accomplished
outside of these recommendations.
Hermit me to say here, that as long
U8 ooonomlc conditions remain as
they are. we will never be able to
reduce the expenses of government
to a figure as low as they were in the
past.
"The higher cost of living Is being
felt in a higher cost of government-
A large portion of the state /evenue
is spent for the purchase of supplies
for the wards of the state. The or-
phans. the deaf and dumb, the blind,
the feeble-minded, the Insane, and the
criminals all must be cared for at tbe
state's expense. The cost of tbe sup-
plies necessary to maintain these
wards has increaaed to the state just
as the cost of necessities has increas-
ed to the Individual; and no individ-
ual f»n now live on the same amount
of similar population. Oklahoma,
with a population of 1.657,155, appro-
priated for two years'
1 Louisiana, with a pop
governmental affairs at as low be a
as twenty years ago. Stature that will appropriate less
Opening th. Public Purse. J™ for the8e institutions than was
Another thine let me state—the appropriated by tbe present
question of spending the people s sure that BUch will not
money is not a political one, and no ™ *one ,f the8e institutions are prop-
uruiicj »D o — , .
radical reduction can be expected by
a partisan change, in administration.
The entire expensa of state govern-
ment must be provided for by appro-
priation from the legislature; no offi-
cial can take any funds and apply
them either extravagantly or econom-
ically unttl the legislature has given
him that authority.
Appropriations.
"The recently adjourned legislature
passed eighty-two appropriation bills
totaling the sum of $7,724,215.68. "
proprlated for the two year»
135.17; Mississippi, with a population
of 1.797,11-1, appropriated for the two
years $9,070,911; Virginia, with *
population of 2,061.612, aPpropriaUrf
$13,200,COO; Tennessee, with a popu-
lation of 2,184,789, appropriated for
the/two years $9,985,229.51. and Min-
nesota with a population of 2,075,<08,
appropriated for the two years $20,-
992,338.11.
The Maximum Tax Levy.
"In making provision to meet the
appropriations made by the last legls-
erly cared for. The number of those
rnir^rsutrr?^.'"
will grow larger ysar by year.
"If we PTOPerly care L*lfc tt,„U A. appropriations "j
tional needs of the chiWren. the aP hag be,eIV necessary for the
propriatlon for that purpose will ne | equa]izatlon board to levy
er grow less. As is w«Jl known, I ^illg tax> which is the maximum limit
have advocated a numerical reduction taSiation allowed under the consti-
of educational to^itirtions^ and^be-1 ^ mad.
JhapeeVtts policies while he ***££
IhUJThe;^ wiy reason, becom, in-
the lieutenant governor of the stat
to act in his stead, no matter for ho
brief a tlme tbe dl»bfflt, Mist,
the sovemor has no vower whatever
to see that tbe policies he has inaug-
urated a?e continued in effect and
the lieutenant ogvernor, if J®
while acting as governor, can ignore
every plan and purpose of the gov
ernor and. in the brief space ofa day
can overthrow every policy that the
governor inaugurates.
Handicapped by Opposition.
"The present governor has been
further handicapped in carry ng out
his policies by the opposition, in some
iisrvbt Et^sr-s^
governor In » great ntnte l'to tbls «;
dinarily flows from the chief ex-ecu
five of the state must be done
through other Instrumentalities, and
in performing his duty to the people
through'the chinJel of^ppo^tlve oU
^ble^oThe^-'fo^tie vo
bis appointees. It would seem that no
■a would dispute tbe right of tne
governor to remove an appo^j* ^
has failed to carry out the (wUrlcito*
the appointive power, yet. with a »to-
. ^---ntton 1 have Bever undertak-
£ to remove'from ofttc* " a^rtlS
_f _in. without an effort meeting
with opposition, not pn^frwm^J
sort to tbe courts usually follows, and
Se pernor 1« in nncer^n^
and doubt as to what will be the 1*
gal sUtus of his authority until the
matter can find its way through the
tThous court, of tbe state. Thus far
* .ffecting this right has reach
S SKKSK-t cf the State Bu,
with these handkaps tbrowa in bis
....
examination of the journals S, the higher edu^tional f°r t^ ls ^,847,316.04; the
two bouses shovs that the average beneficlauy ^ WQuld €nable us to ^"priations made for thf year end^
vote upon these westloiis stMd J CS!e of the institutions that remain PP 1915, to be paid out of
follows: Democrats in the house vot- pa«eoi . ar tho equal of B .n-oQ-^cin or
ing in favor of the appropriations 70.5 | schools in ajwy^ ^ and
per cent, against 9V6 per,cent, absent^sw»i^ ^erfect the educationa. sya-
and not voting 19.9 per cent; of the state. A, reduction of the
of maintaining them, but!ltJjL,e of
rb.^^°™^s'tb.t
licans voting for the appropriations
©1 5 per cent, against 10.6 per cent,
absent and not voting 27.9 per cent.
In the senate: Democrats voting for
the appropriations 73.1 per cent,
against 8.9 per <ient, absent and not
voting 18 ver cent; republicans for
appropriations 70 per cent, against
tax levies is $2,793^66.15, or ^ more
than $1.000,COO lfc-is than fo^the cur-
tent year.
"It will therefore, be possible to
reduce materially the tax levy next
year from what it is for the current
year and a 2% mills levy next year,
unless there is a reduction in the to-
tal tax values, will meettherequlre-
ments of state government. The rea
With
the Price of
Meat and Eggs
Soaring
and
h.
3^UPOO blm. It Is culte possible to
find minds unfair •nough to charge
extravagance In government
and ev-ry mletake ,n ****?** ■<
rertly to tb« "
the governor Is to be »WP<
far tkew thing* n* sfcoold be c
It's worth while to consider the double advantage- economy
'"^meSandbariey^e rich in Nature's nutriment, and there's substan
tial evidence that cereals give one
greater endurance than meat.
Grape Nuts
FOOD
-made from whole wheat and malted barley—
«.ntains all the natural nutritive ,-lements of
these great food grains, including the mineral
phosphates—grown in the grain-whkh are in-
dispensable to perfeot balance of body, bran,
and nerves.
Hrap." Nuts f—d L< ddk-iou^economical and
convenient—ready to eat direct from the |«ck-
apc with cream, and a little sugar if desired.
8am old reasonable price
—15c the packace
BOTH GAINED
Man and Wife Thrive on Grape-Nuts.
The notion that meat is necessary
for real strength and the foundation
of solid flesh Is not now as preval-
ent as formerly.
Excessive meat eaters are usually
sluggish a part of the time because
they are not able to fully digest the r
food, and the undigested portion l»
changed into what is practically a
kind of poison that acts upon the
blood and nerves, thus getting all
through the system.
"I was a heavy meat eater,' writes
an His. Man, "and up to two years
ago was in very poor health. I suf
fered with indlgestlcn so that I only
weighed 95 pounds
"Then I heard about r,rape-Nuts
fcod and decided to try it. My wife
laughed at me "at firat, but when I
gained to 12R pounds and felt so fine,
she thought she would eat GW"
Nuts too. Now she is fat and well
and has gained 40 pounds. We never
kave indigestion any more and ■*!
dom feel the desire for meat
"A neighbor of ourn. «* years old.
was troubled with ladlaestkm f**
years, and *aa a heavy meat eaur.
Now. since be has been eating Gre»^
Nets regnlarty. be says he l* »e»and
legislature amounting to $JM.*40,fO.
tbe coet of all public buildings pro-
vided for. exfcepf the* »tate capital
and deflcteaclea eaUtlag; the appro-
priation for tbe-dry (arming con
grees; appropriation for extermlnat-
tioa of gra»sboppers. for the aWver
eervPie for battleship Oklahoma and
fund for 'be relief at smallpo* «uf-
ferera. are provided to be paid for out
of tbe levies for tbe current year and
are not like tbe appropriation or the
various department* distributed over
the two years.
gurplus ef Unfulfilled Premlsss.
•1 have called attention to these
expenditures and the. needs of gov-
ernment that the people may be
awaken to the aituatlon and may
properly discredit extravanant prom-
ises made by the «4>lfconstituted re-
formers who promise the ImpoSHlb e
Siren-voiced candidates for office in
gener ous terms will InvUgli against
extravagance In government and
iiroinlse If elected to office to Kreat-
y curtail expenditures. U* not de-
ceived. thes»! things c^nntot be. The
pi op» r tiling to do Is to demand of
these candidates for office and plead
ers for your suffrage an explicit and
Intelligent statement showing in
what department they expect to ef
feet ♦eotiomy and to what extent. To
say that they will conduct govern-
ment at less expense than It Is being
conducted Is easy and Is a splendid
vote-catching promlae. but what the
people of Oklahoma want ls resulta
rather than promises-there la now a
law surplus of unfulfilled promisee
In Oklahoma.
Cannot Drive Leglalature.
"I have tried to polat out wherein
I would effect economy. To do thia.
however, J am as-helpless as a child,
unaided by the people or the leglala-
ture. Likewise *,111 tbe next govern-
or be Just a* helpless. He can advo-
cate, be can plead, be cap entreat,
bul he, cannot compel. He can veto
what he conaldera extravagant and
uaelea8 appropriations, but the legis-
lature has It In Its power to render
his veto Ineffectual.
"More than a year ago when we
werei called upon to elect men to the
legislature I pleaded with the voters
to do tbeir lobbying with the mem-
bers before the session convene!.
Most Of tbe members of that body
want to carry out the will of their
constituents, but It Is too often the
case that the will of the constituent
is never made manifest to the legisla-
tor. and after be has left hla home
and come to the capital It Is too late
for the farmer and the busy business
man to present to him their needs.
In the election of men to the legisla-
ture the people should state definite-
ly the character of laws they desire
and elec.t men pledged to carry out •
these policies, and It Is my Judgment
that a majority taus elected will re-
deem their pledge^ to the people.
Consolidating Ccunty Officea.
"Tbe last legislature undertook to
reduce the number of county offices
by consolidating certain of them. It
was a Herculean ta'.k, for they met
with the stubborn opposition of prac-
s-ult was a compromise, and the law
passed will not become effective dur-
ing the tenure of the present officials.
At the end of 1914 thia law will he-
come effective and will result, in my
Judgment, in saving thousands of
dollars to the taxpayers in the var-
ious counties of Oklahoina. I thought
then and think now that this conaol-
idation should have, been more com-
prehensive and should bave been
made effective at once, but the law
enacted was probably the best that
could be passed under the clrcum-
stanefs, and was certainly a step In
tbe right direction—economy In gov-
ernment.
"The legislature also enacted laws
providing greater penalties for those
who violate the prohibition law; like-
wise the gambling laws; it also put a
ban upon race- track gambling in Ok-
lahoma. A defeat of these last two
acts has teen attempted through a
resort to the referendum feature of
our government, but ths legislature
did its duty in the matter, and
It is now for the people to decide
whether or not these wholesome
laws, looking to oetter moral condi-
tions and safe-guarding the social fa-
bric of the state, shall be permanent
features cf our code.
Saving ti e Gas.
Laws were also passed having for
their purpose conservation of the na-
tural gas of tbls state, which, during
tbe past years has been allowed to
waste to the value of hundreds of
thousands of dollars. While this con-
servation idea was not carried out so
far a* 1 would like to have ceen it,
it has paved the way fbr future leg-
islatures to continue a splenaid work.
Likewise a law was passed that wllr
secure to the people the immense
wealth that lies In the beda of the
navigable streams, which In the years
to come will yield millions of dollar*
in revenue; also a law requiring pub-
lic officials to make detailed state-
ments of expenditures, providing a
permanent school for the blind; bet-
ter equipment for the feeble-minded;
provision for tbe care of Incorrigible
to the banVing law—these are some
o! the capital measures -enacted by
tbe last legislature.
A Forward March.
"Three years Is a narrow «pan In
tbe life of a comaaonwealth. but thes-
three years in Oklahoma have been
tad*n with many cood things for our
people and there has been • «teody
forward march toward gcod govern
meat. There ha« been aa attempt to
accentuate tbe fact that the chief
concern of goveraawwt is to brtng
about better »»eral sertsl and edn-
cational conditions among the people,
nnd le do tht* at the least expense
{In Hne wttk tfcene pnMclcs we have
»■»!—« »ad practical*
audi-
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Wileman, Herbert. Mangum Weekly Star. (Mangum, Okla.), Vol. 26, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 8, 1914, newspaper, January 8, 1914; Mangum, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc285500/m1/3/: accessed April 24, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.