A Delegate has not even the unit of political power--a vote on any measure; he can therefore form no combination to further friendly legislation in the interest of his Territory.
Orange Jacobs
The Public Record
Orange Jacobs was an American lawyer, newspaper publisher, and politician. His career in government centered on the Territory of Washington, for which he served as a delegate to the U.S. Congress, chief justice of the territory's supreme court, mayor of Seattle, and other roles.
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When I was elected, I do not think there was a single lighthouse, or fog signal, or foghorn, on the waters of Puget Sound, and I secured the establishment of quite a number of them.
He is constantly called upon to push land-claims to patent, and in this respect he becomes the attorney, without fee, of the people of the Territory.
A Delegate, in order to wisely and intelligently, as well as promptly, discharge his duties, ought to be a lawyer, and well acquainted especially with the land-laws of the United States and other laws pertaining to Territories.
As time advances and light and knowledge increase, the dead and useless branches are pruned off and the fit and vigorous remain to blossom and bear fruit.
The human judgment is imperfect--and prescience is limited--hence any approach to perfection in the system itself, or in its administrative provisions, is a matter of evolution of slow growth--and of the survival of the fittest.
Every act of legislation ought by clear and accurate provisions cover every element of the subject matter stated in the title.
A few general observations may be allowable: Rare are the men who possess in a high degree, constructive legislative ability.
I, in fact, re-wrote the whole bill making its retained provisions full and accurate--omitting surplus statements, and embodying many new provisions.
Thus, while I was a hard man to beat, I was always beaten, fairly, or unfairly.
Had I accepted this offer, it would have changed the whole course and direction of my life, and I probably would have continued in that line of work to this day.
The editorial work that I did while on the paper secured me an offer, when I announced my intention to resume the practice of law, from the Sacramento Union, then the leading paper on the Pacific Coast, to become one of its editorial staff…
Although we have lived together for fifty years, we never have been reconciled yet, because there never has been any occasion for a reconciliation.
A point illustrated and enforced by an anecdote or story becomes an integral part of a man's mental and moral constitution.
The platform announced three cardinal principles: first, the most stringent regulation of the liquor traffic; second, America for Americans; and thirdly, the curtailment of public expenses and the cutting-down of salaries.
No country can stand such a drainage, and prosper.
Our forests are rich in tanning; in fact, the raw materials of all kinds required are abundant.
The absurdity of this thing appears when we consider that we have a great abundance of hides, which are sold for a mere song, and are received back in manufactured articles.
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