“Now an' then an innocent man is sent t' th' legislature.”
Back Country Folks (1914)
As quoted in The Dictionary of Humorous Quotations (1949) by Evan Esar, p. 105.
Variant: Now and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature.
“We’d all like t’vote fer th’best man, but he’s never a candidate.”
The Best of Kin Hubbard (1984) Variant: We'd all like to vote for the best man but he's never a candidate.
Short Furrows http://books.google.com/books?id=DCQOAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Never+tell+the+box-office+man+that+you+can't+hear+well+or+he+will+sell+you+a+seat+where+you+can't+see+either%22&pg=PA10#v=onepage (1911).