The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-03-13
THE NAYORALTY.

As forcshadowed IN our last, Mr. Rcholsor
has consented to be candidate for reelection
to the office of Mayor, and we are pleased t.
find will be allowed to run over the course
without serious opposition. We are gratiflec
that this is so 4 city of the size and prcten
sions of Ottawa must have mayor who, il
the first place, on all public occasions, as tho
municipal head and spokesman of the city
can represent 1t crcdtably. For instance an
important meeting is to be held here on tho
| 18Th INST, when II will dcvolvc upon our May
or to greet and extend the Inequalities OF tho
city to Gov Cullom, Mayor Harrison, OF Chi
cago and we know not how many other dis
ltineuishcd strangers, and ii may devolye upon
| HIM 10 introduce them 10 the meeting. We
wan, for Mayor a man who like Mr., Richol
son. can do this creditably Then similar oc
casionS are constantly occurring during the
wear, when reception speeches are to be made
and other innumcrablc calls press upon the
Mayor of a character that only man of cdu
cation can respond to IN manner crcditable
to the city.
But of course We urge the reelection OF
Mayor Nicholson on much higher than merely
ornamental grounds. The administration OF
the affairs of our city during the two terms OF
his mayoraty has indlsputably been admira
BILE. The public good order has been rigidly
maintained the tramp nuisance has been bet
ter handled than IN any other city IN northern
nj ImnrnVpmpDtg
our streets have been made than during any
preceding administration, and several expen
sivc and longnecdcd bridges have been erect.
ed II Is also conceded that our fire depart
mont was never maintained in more uniformly
good order thau during the administration OF
Mayor Nicholson. Yet all this has been done
with an economy Of expense that is marvellous
considering the amount of the work.
Yet it is not to be denied that, in their anxiety
to MAINTAIN the most rigid economy the Mayor
and council have occasionally incurred unde
served census. The great and one specific
fault laid at their doors is, that the ordinance
against the sale Of liquor on Sunday was not
rigldly enforced and it Is curious that along
with tins complaint comes another that the
city, during the administration OF Mr.. Richol.
son, pad more than any other for police serv'
ices. Now the truth Is, the city has just four
policemen, three being on night duty and one,
the marshal, on duty during daytime. The
marshal, on Sunday as on other days, spends
most of his time in the central part Of the city,
and there, ii is admitted, the ordinance against
open saloons on Sunday has been rgldly en-
forced But tie complaint is that saloons have
been open IN the outskirts. The Mayor can
hardly be expected to pcrambulatc the out
skirts of the city on Sundays and watch the
saloons, but whenever word has been brought
to him that saloons were open, he has sent the
marshal to see about 1t, and II is notable that
IN most cases either his coming was scented
afar of by the offenders, or there was false
report, for the marshal in most cases found the
saloons on his arrival duly and rigidly closed.
1t is true, an additional police officer or two
to hover around the outskirts during the day
time especially on Sundays, might have re-.
moved all cause for complaint on the score in
question, but no petition, lntImatiOn or request
on the part of the citizens was ever preferred
to the council asking tor such an additional
police service and in the Strengthened condi-
ton Of the citys finances the council never
felt itself called upon, on its own slotion, to
incur that expense. The objection to Mr.
Nicholson on this score, therefore, which ap-
plies with double force to the council over
which he presided, and in whose deliberations,
in point of fact, he even had no voice or vote,
except in case of tie, is to say the most of it,
groundlcss and frivolous.
AZ TO the litigation in which the city is in,
volvcd, referred to in our last, it is true as the
Rtpub',ran suggests, that the issues have been
made and the case brought before L. s.
court, and the RepuJitcdn ought to have done
Mr. Nicholson the justice to say that the issues
We're prepared under his own supervision and
that, even in the judgment Of such attorneys
as Judge Lawrence and Geo G. Campbell the
work has been done splcndidly. But 1t is to
be borne in mind that making up the issues is
only the beginning Of the case 1t is yet to be
tried, and for a year TO come may need the
closest watching by our Mayor, who, 1t is
therefore of the highest importance, should be
"a competent lawyer and one thoroughly posted
in the case, ~ Mr. Nicholson Is known to be,
more in fact than any other living man. We
urge this point again, therefore, in favor OF
Mr. Richolson's reelection as one oi vital i'm
portancc.
There seems to be no good sense in the sug
gcstion which we see made by some of our
democratic contemporaries to select the Hi
nois delegates to the national convention by