Morning journal and courier., 1883-12-08
SournaI srtO Courier.
SINGLE COPIES THREE CENTS.
Saturday. December s, 1883.
THE COST OF POLITICS.


 Partisan politics is dear luxury. It not only costs us the expense of government by inoapacity, but good deal of the public ex- pense is directly due to it. Everybody knows that in this country politics has created an untold number of public offices that are in no way necessary to the work of government, that are more often hindrancs than help and which exist solely for the purpose of providing fat offices for lean politicians. There is no principle of political economy naore thoroughly believed in by politicians than the division of labor. The more di- veision. .of labor the better, provided the sal aries are not divided. In this respect, as well as some others, they have got little beyond the political economists. The divis- ion of the economists means that different men shall perform different branches of the work and be paid for what they do. The divis. ion of the politicians means that as many men as possible shall be employed to do the same work and each be paid as if he did the whole of it.
 This benefcent principle of division has not suffered for want of application in New Haven. We have good many ornamental offices in and about the City Hall and the Police building. We have, for instance, a prosecuting attorney whom we pay $2, 800 who prosecutes alternately three weeks, and an assistant prosecuting attorney whom we pay $9oO who prosecutes alternately one week. A few years ago it was thought that $2, 800 was quite enough for an official who worked half day every day. As lately as when John W. filling was prosecuting attor- ney the assistant was paid only for what work he did and that came out of MT. Al ling's pay. Now we pay an assistant salary. The judges divide their service in the same way. We take these only as samples of the mode in which the public work is done. As- sistants are doing large part of the work which ought to be done by their chiefs in several important offices in the city and town government.
 Another way in which party politics occa- sions direct expense is in the manner in which our municipal elections are held. At an election held in October we voted for school officers. At an election held last month we voted for sheriff and representa- tives. At an election held this month we have voted for city and town officers. Why could not all of these have taken place on the same day? Probably few people are aware of how much it costs to hold an election iE this city. The expense to the city and town for each general election amounts, we believe, to about $4, ,00O. Now what are the reasons for this double expense? There are none ex- cept political reasons. The State and mu nicipal elections were originally separated because the leaders of one party thought the voters of the other came out better at gen. eral elections. So they divided them and doubled the expense.
 We might if we had the time and space multiply the instances of expense which party politics directly OCCASIONS. Party poli- tics is a necessity in national affairs, perhaps so in State affairs, but no good reason ever has been or can be given why it should have any place in town and city matters and if we can get rid of it we shall be rid of very important item of unnecessary expense.