The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1881-04-28

OrulnhhCes oeeh more rlRluly enforced
had some of the officers of the law been
a lutte more energetic in ferretting out
, crime and bringing the offenders to justice.
This is very mild way Of stating
the administrations weakness, but
then 1t serves the purpose
While we know that evils have been al
! lowed to prevail in the city during the last
two years in manner that was not credit
either to the city or its authorities, yet we
are not disposed to lay the whole blame OF
such evil upon the shoulders Of one man
and to follow the example Of some of his
r friends(O by heaping bitter denuncations
upon him. Most people, for reasons that
we have never been able to understand, lay
all the credit for good municipal govern
the shoulders OF the chief executive Of that
government. This is wrong The proper
enforcement Of the city laws depends upon
several persons over some of whom the
mayor has no control. The chief executive
may order the policeman to arrest all who
violate any certain ordinance and thus en-
deavor to enforce it, but, if the per
son arrested under such ordinance
be convicted and punished, it must be done
by the prosecuting attorney and the police
magistrate. Thus it will be seen that the
punishment of crime the enforcement Of
the ordinances is in the hands of four men:
the mayor, the police officer, the police
magistrate and the city attorney, the latter
two being entirely independent of the for
mer two; and it Is often the case that the
efforts of The first two to bring
a person who appears to be guilty of a
glaring violation of an ordinance to justice,
are defeated by the last two, either be-
cause of the lack of evidence in the case,
or lack of ability on the part Of the city
| attorney, or - from some other reason.
The executive is, however, to take the inl-
tiatory steps-he is to see to 1t that an at
tempt is made to enforce the ordinances.
This duty is difficult of performance. 1t is
no easy matter for an executive to please
his fellow citizens in the performance Of
this duty. People in their determin-
alton of what is good government
and what is bad government arc
always very much at loggerheads. Hence,
while some will blame the SAID executive |
for not enforcing certain ordinances, others
will heap bitter denunciations upon him |
because he does enforce them. Further
more many OF the ordinances IN nearly |
every city, Cairo being by no means an
exception, are and ofIightought to be, void
their enforcement would result in mis-,
chief to the community Therefore the
mayor must use great deal of discretion
in the performance of his duties; he must
understand what laws ought to DC enforced,
and what laws ought to be regarded as
null. If he did not do this--if he under
took to enforce every law that were enacted,
the pernlcious consequences that would
follow such action and the howl of indig-
nation that would arise from the
populace, are terrible even to con
template. Mayor Thistlewood has
the advantage now Of two years
experience in the administration of the
government OF this city; he knows, or
ough. to know, by this time what the
interests of the city demand of HIM and
that he must depend, now more than be-
fore, upon his own good sense and knowledge
Of right unlnfluenced by any faction. lie
knows tlat the interests of the city demand,
above all things, honesty and efficiency in
every branch Of Its government, therefore,
he will select such men for the offices un.
der his control as will answer to
these requirements he knows that
the interests of the city demand order and
morality and he will strive to enforce the
ordinances that are intended to bring about
this result; he knows that the interests of
the city demand that there shall be no
gambling, that there shall be no quarrel
ling, no burglary, no drunkenness, and that
the hideous crime Of prostitution shall be
under the most vigorous control, and we
have reason to believe that Mayor Thistle.
wood will exert himself to carry out what
he knows is demanded by the interests of
the city at large and the great majority of
its citizens.