National Republican., 1883-07-17
OUR ANOMALOUS GOVERNMENT.
The Minority who Are and the Majority
Who Are Not i'm Favor OF its CONTINUE
Rncc-Are we Not Ablc 10 Govern Our
selvcsg


scIvcsl
To The Ed0or.
The financial settlement between the gem
oral government and tho district no one, so
far as | know, desires to disturb. Let il
stand. 1t provides in substance that the
district authorities, now tho commissioners,
shall annually make up an estimate of the
amount needed to run the district govern
ment for the ensuing year, specifying in de
tail how the money so estimated for shall be !
expended, and for what purposes. This |
estimate must then be sent to the sedre. |
tary of the treasury, representing the !
general government, for his approval !
or suggestions, and the estimate, to- 4
gethor with the report of the secretary
thereon, is then transmitted to congress for
its action. Congress reserves to itself the
sole power to make appropriations for the
district. Then, after the appropriations are
made the general government has reserved
to itself, through its own auditors and comp
trollers of tho treasury, the power to see that
the money so appropriated is properly ex-
pended. There is no escape from the control
of the general government under this sys-
TEN. Congress holds the purse strings, and the
treasury officers settle the accounts of all dis
bursements.
This covers all the general government
all money it tappropriatcs or is responsible for.
But the general government is not interested
in the question of whether our executive off
GERS are appointed by the President and Sell
ate, or elected by the people. Those execu-
tive officers under existing law, have no legis-
lative powers They have simply to carry out
the will of congress as expressed in its laws
Over them are placed the accounting officers
of the treasury to see that they obey the
laws as to expenditure of money. The gen
oral government takes no risks on this matter
now, and it would take none If the district
commissioners or other equivalent executive
officers were elected by the people. There is
no danger on this head Nor is there any
constituted trouble involved in suffrage here.
The general government governs the dis
| trict, but it does it now and always
has done it, and must do it through
agents. Tho fathers did it by mayor
and council. Later came the territorial
| government and now the commits
sioners' government. Each form derived its
power from congress- and each was equally
| lawful The law of the case as to suffrage
cuts no figure. 1t is q question of expedency
and good government which is best for a peo-
| pie, to govern themselves or be governed by
somebody else? That is the question pure
and simple in this district as we'll
as elsewhere; and upon that ques-
tion, strange as it may appear, there
seems to be some difference Of opinion.
This difference runs into classes. Those
who are rich and desirous Of quiet and leisure
do not care to make the exertion necessaryto
govern. They would rather hire some one to
DO it for them. But think there is another
| reason why they prefer an appOnt!Vo govern.
ment. They, by their money and social in
huence, are pretty sure to be able to control
an appOintiYe government with an elective
government the chances would be against
them. This class, the rich and those
moro especially dependent on them, are
,Iyn1,y tA GnTr nf nnlxy
in this district, but everywhere. Hence you
will find them declaring, as they did through
President Hayes, that the commissioners
government is 'the best city government in
the world" Hayes was a wealthy man and
aped their SET A nod of the great capitalist
of Washington had more power with him
than the thousands of our very intelligent,
but poor people. SO far does this influence
extend that the commissioners must live in
the aristocratic quarter of the city. Nobody
who has not the seal of the West End on his
door plate can hope for recognition under our
appointive government No commissioners
has ever resided elsewhere. There is
reason, therefore, why the rich men shouN
prefer the appointive government rather
than an elective one. This is one class and
where il stands on the suffrage question and
why it stands there.
There is then the great middle class, which
compose the great body of tho people in
America, and under whose influence our I'M
stitutions are formed and managed. How do
they stand on this question of suffrage
} Well, they have not been heard from
yet to any great extent. The
select list of few hundred
names, which an evening paper manages to
trot out when ever this question of suffrage
comes up does not exhaust this great class, if
indeed it includes many of them. 1t offers
f the opinions of n few hundred, but the thou
sands have not been heard from, yet the only
fair Way to interrOpate this great body is the
American way by the ballot Dodging around
among selected set here and there,
and reporting what they say can give
no adequate idea of the real opinion
of tho great middle class. Let them
answer by their votes in the good old fash
Toned American way, and that answer Will
be accepted and respected. Before forget
it, l wish you would, if you can, squelch that
|, stale SANDER that the present district debt
was the result of suffrage. The charge is
dishonest. Everybody knows that the
d debt was created by the board OF
q public works, an opposition body, over whom
J the voters had no control aud tho upper
! house of the then district legislature
Y was also appontive. The voters at most had
only poor negative on the upper house and
the executive through the lower house of the
territorial legislature. No, the voters are not
:, responsible for the debt, and the men who
t charge that they are do little credit to their
f; own honesty or to the intelligence of the
: people.
Do not understand mo as complaining oil
, what Gov. Shepherd and his associates did
| 1t was the grandest work Of the century in
Q the way of city improvements, and the time
is not distant, if indeed it is not here now
i when that work will be recognized by q
n grateful and delighted people. AMERICA.
: SHEBoYGAN, WIs.-Dr. S. b. Myers says
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