Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-03-01
POLITICS AND BUSINESS.

There is a growing determination on the
part of the people TO disconnect local cleo
lions from national politics This determin
alton has so strongly developed itself in
municipal elections that it is plain to be seen
that the day is not far distant when the cleo
ton of city officials will be solely and entirely
controlled by business matters. We have
already shown that Democratic Boston and
Brooklyn have elected Republican mayors,
and during the last ten days Republican
cities like Philadelphia, Lancaster and Pitts
burg have elected Democratic officials The
Democratic majority of Memphis is about
1000. Yet at the last election for city off
cials politics were ignored and the canvass
made on business issues. There is no reason
why the affairs of municipality or local
government should be administered upon a
partisan basis The police control of city,
the supply OF water, the improvement of the
streets, the maintenance of the fire depart
ment, the raising of money and its disburse-
ment, are matters with which State and
national politics have relation whatever.
The views OF a mayor, chief of police and
other city officials upon questions of State
and national concern have nothing to do
with their municipal functions, and this is
the thing which every good local interest
demands that he should not do. But just SO
long as they have to depend upon party
elections, so long they will be more or less
party officials, and in sheer self-defense they
will have to lean more upon their party and
less upon the confidence of the whole peo-
pie than they ought. While the present
lines are tightly drawn faithful officials
will not receive from the opposing party
that appreciation and support which they
earn by a proper discharge of their
duties, and faithless officials will receive
encouragement and defense from
their own party which they do not merit
The experience of all parties shows that
it is difficult to get the right kind of
men to stand as candidates for local offices
because they know they will get little credit
for doing their duty, and Llat shey will lie
expected to use their places for the bene-
fit of their party. The Philadelphia Times,
congratulating the country on the result OF
the recent election in that city, says: at
seems absurd that argument should be re-
quired to establish anything so obvious as
this, and yet it has taken good many years
to bring about its general acceptance. In
this fundamental principle is the key to
municipal reform. There have been honest
men in office before now, men of unsullied
character; but as long as they were elected
as partisans and expected to administer
their Offices as partisans, the results were as
bad as though they had been the most cor
rupt of iobbers. 1t could not be otherSise,
because a man who willfully allows his
official conduct to be influenced by any
other consideration whatever than those OF
official duty, to the whole public and not to
a part of it, throws aside the only moral
principle that can preserve his integrity and
surrenders himself to the control Of thieves.
1t is worth while to recall that all the nut
tering and threats OF would-be reform
ers never shook the power OF the
bosses in the slightest degree until a
lot OF men in the councils had the
courage to say that they would not be
bound by party caucus in making public
appointments, and that all that has been
accomplished in the past five or six years
has been through the recognition of this nom
partisan idea Councilmen who were not
bound by caucus; a comptroller who scru-
tinized the accounts of political friends as
closely as those of political opponents; a
mayor who declared that the police should
Know no party; above all, judges freed from
political thrsldom-these are come OF the
achievements of those who have steadily
upheld the one great principle of official
morality, the separation of business and
politics. People who talk now about the
result of Tuesdays election being lesson to