«One man, one word!»

Jakob Scheuber, a son of the gypsum miller Josef Mariä, bought the Hinter-Rotzberg farm in 1901 and gradually almost the whole Rotzberg; his herd was counted among the largest in the canton. In 1896 Ennetmoos sent him to Stans as a cantonal councillor; he gave up the seat in 1902.

At the 1918 Landsgemeinde a successor had to be elected for the late treasurer Karl Niederberger. To everyone’s surprise Arnold Zimmermann proposed former councillor Jakob Scheuber. Jakob climbed onto the speaker’s stand and objected that he had neither the health nor the time nor the inclination for the office.

He was elected anyway. When the usher came to lead him from the crowd to the government bench, Jakob sent back: «Give my regards to the gentlemen of the government and tell them: one man, one word!»

In the end he did take over the department of agriculture and a year later was confirmed unanimously. When he stepped down in 1922, the liberal Walter Odermatt succeeded him.

Source: Peter Steiner, «Notes on the family history», in the Book of the Scheuber.