Morning journal and courier., 1883-11-03

crat or Republican, hesitate to vote fol
 Messrs. Harrison and Peck? The people ol
 this large city ought to be as we'll repro
 sented in the legislature as they can be, ana
 the fact that they can have only two Rep resentatives should make them careful to
 vote for the best. Let every voter who readl
 this think what his duty as good citizen ii
 in this matter. Will New Haven be as vel
 represented by Messrs. Troup and Law as by l Messrs. Harrison and Peck?
 f THE REA1EDY FOR EhArrRa IA AVIATION ! The city and town elections are near si
 hand. The sole remedy for high taxation
 lies at the polls, and if the taxpayers hope tc make that remedy effectual it is high time I tqat something was done.
 Every man in his sound senses knows that tax of two per cent. is not needed for the legitimate expenses of good government. High taxation csn only be due to the mis- management cf incompetent men. We have
 repeatedly told our readers what we believe | to be the ultimate cause of the mischief. II is due to the fact that the affairs of the city and town are controlled by partisan politics tA4C fact that the tsxpaying element, the ner- chants, manufacturers and mechanics of this city, have scarcely any moro to do with the
 real choice of It's rulers than as if they did not possess the franchise at all. The choice
 of it's public officials is usually dictated by q
 handful of msn who do not represent nor
 belong to it's culture or it's business enter
 prise. The average tHxpsy sz is permitted to
 say by his vote whether the city officials
 shall be Democrats OF Republicans, but as to
 whether or not they shall be competent men
 he has no opportunity to say his say. He may choose frem the two lists of politicians served up to him at the polls such as he thinks are competent, if happily any such there, are but in the making up of the lists he has no voice at all.
 We ask anybody to give us good req son, if he can, why partisan politics should have anything to do with the choice of city and town officials. Why, for instance, should an assessor be chosen because he is a Democrat or a Republican Will he assess any better because he is either one or the other? Why inquire into the politics of an assessor any more than into those of the real estate agent whom you propose to employ to buy or sell or rent g house for you? Why should not Republicans always employ Re publican real estate agents as well as always vote for Republican assessors7 Why not se- lect city clerk or town clerk for the same reasons as any other clerk? The ordinary clerk Is not employed because he is popular with t'the boys" or because, like the leader of the recent meeting in the Sixth ward, he ''sets up the lager'' in the back yard. These may be strong points with the politicians of a certain class, but they have never had much hold on the business community. We have never known any class of politicians get much beyond the idea that men should be nominated for office because they have done party service. Men are chosen judges not because they are good lawyers, assessors not because they know anything about req estate, but because they have done partyl work. That is to sey, not because they have ever done the work required by the offices they are to fill, but because they have done some other kind of work. This is about as if man should be hired to sell dry goods because he knows how to catch skunks.
 There seems especially to be feeling that in the choice of aldermen and counciimen one should vote party ticket. But why? Here is the most important part of the city government. It votes the appropriations makes the taxes. How will the Democratic or Republican politics of member assist him in making appropriations? It is not po- liticaI appropriations that are wanted, but judicious appropriations. Political workers are not needed to make them, but judicious, fAir-minded men. We have Court of Com mon Council elected on party tickets. It is about the average result of that method of choice. Does it in any sense represent the business interests of this city or its intelli- genoe7 Is it composed of men who are at all capable of grappling with those financial and other problems Chat the government of every large city presents7 There is only one class that Is fully and continuously represented in this body, and that is ths class that works up the wards and runs the ward csucuses Is fhis the class that ought to govern this city? If not, the only way to get rid of their con- trol is not to vote the tickets they put up. Many of our readers VIII recollect that some years sgo .s.taxpayers' ticket appeared at a city election and defeated both the party tickets, one of which was so-called citizens ticket, nominated by a party caucus. Why not try it again9