The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-06-03
HOWTO PURIFY MUNICIPAL GOV
ERNMENTS.

A
ERNMENTS.
The rapid growth of the great cities of th,
United States has suddenly thrown upon then
great responsibilities To meet these pro
perly, to provide for present and prosperity.
wants, and to guard against many palpablt
evils and dangers, municipal government de
mands a degree of constant and thouphtful
attention which it, unfortunately, rarely re-
ceives. 1t is often made totally subor
dinate to national politics, the vita
interests of hundreds of thousands OF
citizens being sacrificed for the
qualification of partisan passions or the sue
cess of partisan schemes of no real utility.
Or, what is still worse, skilful and influential
rogues Of both parties combine to rule great
cities, nominally in the interest of this or that
organization, but really for their Individual
enrichment. Voters have so often shown
readiness to support rascal or an imbecile
who prefessed to belong to their party in pre-
ference to an honest man and able member of
an opposing party, that the ring leaders trade
on this habit. They are perpetually entreat-
ing the masses to vote for this or that bad
nominee, knave, or fool, for. the sake of the
party; and, meanwhile, by bargains with
their accomplices in the opposing ranks, and
by their individual exactions and corruptions.
they are inficting the greatest possible
amount of injury upon the organizations to
which they profess to belong as well as upon
the whole body of taxpayers. 1t was said
long ago that party was the madness of the
many for the benefit of the few; and this is
substantially true of the species of partisanship
that dominates municipal governments. In
their management it is especially necessary
that the Jeffersonian tests of honesty and
capacity should be rigidly applied to as
pirants for Office and when, instead of these
tests, we ask only whether aspirants are Demo
Gratis or Republicans, disregarding wholly
mental and moral qualities, we need not be
astonished at the prevalence of inefficiency
and corruption. 1t is high time that voters
should ask of candidates such questions as
these:-Is he theft Is he a public plum
derer3 Is he slave of a corrupt ring? Is
he leagued with gangs of notorious ruffians
and ballot.box suffers? Is he guilty of
subornation of perjury? Would he, if elected
exact, or permit his subordinates to exact, ille-
gal fees? Is he animated mainly by mer-
cenary motives? Would he sell Justice,
steal the records of the courts, tamper with
indictments, or resort to similar methods to
shield villainy from merited punishment Is
he q pardon-broker? Is he affiliated with
manufacturers of false election returns? Is he
despicable and depraved professional par
tisan, who has wasted his best energies in
wild hunt for Office? Is he an habitual liar?
Is he qualified for the proper discharge of the
duties of the Office to which he aspires? Is
he animated by sincere regard for the pub
lic welfare, or does he seek Office from mo-
tives akin to those animatinq the burglar who
plans the robbery of bank?
1t would be something of novelty to ask
such questions publicly; but to the shame of
the present system of nominations and cleo
tions, and to the fearful loss of an intelligent
and patriotic people, it must be said that an
affirmative answer could truthfully be given
to many of them, as applied to large pro-
portion of candidates for municipal Offices
It is vain to look for reform until the people
emancipate themselves from that deplorable
form of partisan slavery which now prompts
many voters to cast their ballots for noto-
riously bad, weak, wicked, and corrupt candi-
udtCb. 4Ao nuIlUoI WuO 6CTdbCu tuolE blCk0tS,
however, apparently increases, and there are
strong indications that this fall bad
nominees on either side will
be scratched to an unprecedented extent. An
energetic movement is on foot to swell the
army of conscientious and discriminating
voters to many thousands, and there is fair
prospect that no specially infamous candidate
on either city ticket can be elected. Such
movement is growing absolutely necessary to
purify our municipal government, and to
avert burdens as great as those now imposed
upon New York. If it is not cordially sus-
tanned, Philadelphia will speedily become the
helpless prey of plunderers as powerful, un-
scrupulous, and exacting as those who are
marshalled under the banner of Boss Tweed.
Our official aristocracy, too, will revel in
princely wealth and magnifcence; and our
taxpayers will find their only consolation for
insupportable burdens in the glitter of the
diamonds and the glare of the pa laces of their
official oppressors.
THE "HEATHEN OHINEE" As Il NAN
AND a BROTHER