The New Garnishee Law

One of the many complaints made against the present legislature is in connection with the new garnishee law. The statutes authorizing garnishment proceedings are a radical departure from the principles of the common law, and have always been regarded by the courts as being harsh remedies, and to be strictly construed. Instead of adopting this just and equitable view of the law, the legislature of Michigan has now gone to the opposite extreme, and has passed a law which is universally denounced by all of the labor organizations, and which in many cases can not help working severe hardships to honest men.

For many years a married man was allowed $25 exemption from the operation of garnishment, and householders working for municipal corporations could not be garnished at all. The new law extended the action of garnishment, so as to cover wages earned by men working for municipalities, and reduced the exemption to $8. In case the working man has no family he allowed only $4 exemption.

No one has any sympathy with dishonest men who are able to pay, but one can readily see that under this new exemption law there will be many instances in which women and children will be deprived of the necessaries of life to satisfy the demands of some grasping creditor. It is a step backward toward the old laws which allowed imprisonment for debt. Not only those who work for wages, but all who are opposed to injustices and oppression, as well, should resent this action taken by a legislature elected and owned by the corporations. In other words, it is one more reason why good citizens should vote for the democratic nominees for the senate and house of representatives.

The campaign in Detroit is at fever heat. The ripper wing of the republican party has been thrown into the air. But the chief ripper is still running for governor of Michigan. Bliss is the man who rose and at an early hour signed the ripper bills and made the ripper appointments before putting on his clothes so that Detroit might have a new set of officials before the people there knew that there was any move under way to get a new set. Bliss showed by that act that he cared more for Tom Navin and Frand Andrews, the two men who secured his action, than he did for the whole people of Detroit.

Never had Washtenaw had a clerk who attended more strictly to the duties of his office than Philip Blum. The records in the clerk's office are in fine shape. He deserves re-election on his record.

It is evident that enough republicans will vote for Durand to elect him if the democratic vote is out.

If the action of the primaries in Detroit is to be taken as any criterion, the voters are decidedly opposed to "ripperism" and candidates for re-election who had to do with that dirty job will need to look out lest they hear something drop on the 4th of November. Ripper legislation is some of the lowest and most reprehensible things ever resorted to by partisanship gone mad in order to serve partisan ends. It is a species of piracy which should not and cannot receive any encouragement from honest citizenship. It is an invasion of the sacred rights of self government and one that if allowed to go on unrebuked will in time destroy local control of purely local matters. If allowed to continue, it will in time, no doubt, overthrow the school district and township meetings with their great educative influence in the direction of higher and better democracy and establish in their stead a control of local affairs from Lansing by officials who know nothing and care less about the needs of local communities. It is pure and unmitigated rot to talk that this ripper business is a move in the direction of the federal system in our city governments. There are thousands who believe in that system and in one-man boards, but they at the same time believe these appointees should be selected by the mayor and be accountable to him. No system of local control which ignores the right of the people of local communities to direct their own affairs can be permitted to go unchallenged. With local control of local public business destroyed, the step to the deprivation of the people of all voice in government would not be a long one. And if the people permit the one, they will soon be compelled to submit to the other. But Detroit has shown that she is not ready yet to wear either yoke.

Do you want a clean, capable, honest, intelligent man at the head of the state government? Do you want an honest and economical administration of state affairs? Then vote for L. T. Durand. He is no weakling as his opponent has been shown to be. He is a man who can speak the English language correctly and who will not shame the people with murdering his native speech. He is a man with sufficient decision of character not to promise one thing to decent citizens and then go and weakly surrender to corrupt bosses and boodlers. He is sufficiently intelligent to know the eternal fitness of things and will not shame the people by his blunders in the performance of any duties which the office imposes. The governorship is a position requiring considerable intelligence, dignity, firmness and judgment in the proper discharge of its duties. All these Mr. Durand has and in this respect is in marked contrast with his opponent. Every citizen who knows Governor Bliss understands that had his selection depended at all upon any of these qualities he never would have been selected for the office. He had the influence of big railway corporations enlisted in his behalf because they knew they could use him for their selfish ends. These are the things which made Bliss governor in spite of his lack of all those elements which are required in a people's executive. But the people should see to it that he is not again inflicted upon a long suffering public.

When you hear from York after election you will know that James Gauntlett has been running for sheriff. Where he is thoroughly known his majority will be tremendous. That is the best recommendation he can have. Quiet, modest, honest, one always knows where to find Mr. Gauntlett. His life has commanded the respect of his acquaintances. The death of his wife and his own severe sickness, from which he is just getting about, have prevented him from making the campaign he should. But those who don't know Mr. Gauntlett should inquire what the people of his community in which he has spent his life think of him. He will make a model sheriff.

As Mr. Durand's speaking campaign continues it is more and more clearly seen that he is a man who gets close to the people. They admire his manifest honesty. They like his speeches so different from the usual political clap-trap. They recognize his ability. Wherever he goes he makes votes for himself.

A man who is unable to govern himself and keep from fighting, even under severe trial and provocation, is hardly fit to be the chief peace officer of the county.

It is something of a fad in certain circles to denounce the reading of newspapers as a waste of time and as demoralizing. The objection seems to be that newspapers deal with trivial things. Yet trivial things make up life. The man who waits to do some big thing never does anything. The man who accomplishes anything in this world pays attention to trivialities. It is trivial things which make up the big whole. In olden times hermits left their fellow men and sought refuge in desert places. The modern hermit is the man who does not read the newspapers. He desires to separate himself from the lives of his fellow men. Fashionable ladies often denounce newspapers as taking their thoughts from reading more improving literature. They say nothing about  the small talk heard at their receptions. Small talk is not to be denounced. But the argument against reading newspapers would apply to taking part in society with equal force. But the man who is not social is no better than the medieval hermit. And mixed with the chaff in the papers will be found the kernels of truth.

Only during the last six years of the last twenty have the republicans had a clear majority of the votes cast for governor in Michigan. During these years, four of them at least, thousands of democrats voted for Pingree and other thousands voted against the democratic ticket on national issues. But both of these influences are now eliminated and, therefore, the question of democratic success seems to resolve itself into a question of getting the vote out. There are thousands, yes, tens of thousands of republican votes which will be thrown against the republican candidate for governor this fall and if the full democratic vote is out, the democratic ticket will be elected. No democrat should stay at home under such circumstances. A vote for the democratic ticket is a vote for better and cleaner government and for the retirement of the boss and the ripper and the boodler to the rear.

The republican campaign book come out squarely in support of "ripperism" and the voters may be sure, therefore, that the party machine stands pat on the infamy it perpetuated upon the cities of Detroit, Port Huron and Saginaw. More of this kind of legislation destroying local self-government may be expected, if the republicans are returned to power again. The overthrow of the principle of local control of local matters means nothing to the republican machine, provided only a little partisan advantage is thus gained. An invasion of the township government and the local school district will probably follow, if the people sanction what the rippers have already done. A democratic governor and a democratic legislature mean the undoing of this infamous work and the restoration to the people of the right to control their own local affairs.

It is doubtful if there is a more unpopular man in Detroit today than Moreland. Nobody seems to want his political support, although he controls thousands of votes, for that support would lose other thousands. Yet Bliss appointed Moreland just as he appointed Frank Andrews, now under 15 years sentence, early one morning, without giving the people a chance to know their appointment was contemplated. So early was it that the governor was yet in his night robes. This gross failure to recognize all principles of local self government ill befits an American. It is more like the act of an absolute monarch. We fail to see how any true American can support Bliss for governor.

Democrats, see to it that your entire vote is registered tomorrow. Then see to it that every voter is got to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 4. A full democratic vote at the polls will elect the democratic ticket. There are enough republicans who propose to vote with the democrats to elect the democratic ticket, if the democrats only come out and vote. The republicans who are opposed to machine rule are of the kind who will be at the polls. They are in earnest in their desire for the overthrow of bossism, ripperism and boodleism and if the democrats are as much in earnest for cleaner and better government and come out and vote their convictions, they can and will win a glorious victory.

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