The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1875-03-25
Restrlcted suffrage in municipalities.


Editors Democratic Statesman Gal
weston Neles, in its article of the seventeenth
instant, asserts that any distinction between
political and municipal governments is fall
lacious, on chronological grounds, basing
this assertion on the fact that the term ''po-
lltical" is derived from the Greek word
polls, a city. Herein it is guilty of two
oversights: First, In not remembering
that the Greek polls was both city and State,
the head and source of all government, and
holding the same relation to the people
governed that the Federal government does
to the United States; and, second, that.
even taking into consideration an argument
-+---G IifO1V'E,yJ
the term municipal" has an entirely diff
ferent derivation and meaning, coming, as
it does, from the Latin mu1licipiUH, which
was simply the right of self-government,
some times conferred by the inhabitants
of Rome upon other conquered Italian
cities, colonized by their immigrants. The
idea of Incorporating a town according to
modern usage was unknown to them, but
this granting of municipal rights was their
nearest approach to it, and so, in seeking
word to describe such rights, it was adOp-
ted by the moderns as the nearest in sense
of any, but in its present meaning and APP
plcation is by no means correlative with
the word from which it is derived. It
would be to the full as logical to compare,
our towns and cities OF to-day with the free
cities of the Rhine, as with Athens and
Rome. One does not fear that men who
think will do it, but this confusing of words,
not uncommon in newspaper writing, and
of which this is an instance, has its effect,
unless corrected.
ha a6u
gument against restricted suffrage, that cit
does not appear that the non-freeholding
raDble (of New York;, have altogether un-
done the city. In the period named (thirty
years., the city has doubled in wealth and
population" If this argument stood
alone one would only be tempted to
smile at its utterance-not to say sim
piclty and would conclude that it
had lis origin in the brilliant conception of
one of Jimmy 0'Bden's boys, denizen of
the sixth ward. But by the time we get to
it we are satisfied, from what has gone be-
fore, that the writer means it in good faith,
aud is incapable of seeing its absurdity-
there are so many of its kind as to leave no
doubt. He seems to forget that in those
thirty years San Francisco has not only
sprung into being, but has become lead
ing city of the world; that Chicago has,
from an obscure town, become the wonder
of mankind; that the city from which he
writes stands on a place familiar thirty
years ago only to the sea-gull and south
wind. For, if he had rememberednth
things, he could never have so stultiied
himself as to advance, as an argument OF
New York's good government and rapid
growth, the fact that it has taken her, with
her wonderful advantages, five years
longer to double her wealth and population
than is calculated to be the time of such
doubling for the country at large. Having
finished with the Nescs, shall proceed in
another article to develop the subject more
clearly. N.
The writer Of the above article is always
welcome to a space in the columns of the
STATESMAN for publishing his admirably
conceived public papers. It would be
pleasing to US, and We know it would be to
the public, to have continued contributions
from his pen.