Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1858-01-27

FREoUEST ELEcTEORs.-It was matter OF no
small solicitude among the fathers of our con-
stitutia to hit upon proper terms or duratious
in Office. On the one hand they had to guard
against the pampered insoence of Office for
life or very long terms, and on the other (esPe-
cially in large cities,) against the demoraliziug
effect of frequent high political excitemcnts.-
And this brings US to our topic, as to how often
city officials should be elected. 1t is almost an
impossi6ility to carry out municipal election
cody and dispassionately. As general rule,
the more numerous and insignificant the cligues
or factions the greater the .fuTore with which
they push the claims oftheir champions. No one
SO worthless but what he has coterie of "fel-
lows" to bring him forward-go 'roundand BUT
ton-hole" his neighbors, and casual acquaintan-
cesTin his behalf, while the champion himself
is here and there laughing and cajoling, fiatter-
ing, smoking, drinking and deceiving whereand
how he can. Promises are strewn about like
leaves in the blast, and are just as hard to trace
to their source. This is a state of things which
we all know occurs periodically with city cleo
tions. The question is not how can prevent
it, for that we cannot do but how often we
must suffer it. Is not, in other words, the pol
icy of annual elections for city officers very
questionable one We believe it is. One great,
but by no means the only objection, is the utter
want of true independence which it fosters in
the officials Suppose, for instance, that A is
man holding profitable city office, the tcnureof
whichis his popularity from year to year. he
has, perhaps a large family depending on his
salary. Questions every day comslup, in which
the inclinatons ofa voter and the interest ofthe
public clnsh How is 1t likely that an Office
holder will be swayed The parable of the un-
just steward is parallel to such cases. Men
will provide for their private interests before
they will for the public. Visionary phiIoso-
pliers talk about the extirpation of this weak
ness or fault of human nature-but practical
men regarding it as inevitable, secure them
selves by contradiction so far as possible.
We believe biennial elections would answer
every purpose of an annual election and would
lop off many of the abuses and expenses of
these yearly connections The direct cost of
city election-that which is footed up with the
votes at the close of the polls, is not the only
nor the chief item of expense. There is what
wemightcall the apprenticeship expense, which,
unseen as it is by the popular eye costs the city
great deal more than any one would think.
Every man must learn the incomings and out
goings of his Office at the public expense. His
salary is just the same asif he had been holding
the Office for years; yet he cannot learn in a
day or a week, or in a few weeks, what he has
learned about the time he is called upon to give
up his Office. Real good aud proper men for
any given Office see this-and they do not
care to take the trouble of an office, study
its duties properly, when the chances are that
they will be called upon to vacate it at the end
of the year. Two years terms would be more
likely to secure the fright men for the right
places" than one year terms and we would be
glad to see our election laws so amended as to
make our elections biennial instead of annual.
Tr, s5;,or of tho SontSsido Democrat sneak.