The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-05-05
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.
GIvETHE PEOPLE INFORMATION.
WAY the Official Proceedings of the City
Council Should be Published-Maj.
Browns Position When Elect
cd Alderman Last Year.

DALLAS, May 4.-[Editor HERALD. l.
Under uhe above caption, ON the 18th of
DULY, 1884, the following article, under
TODD then to haye been written by an
alderman, now the mayor of this city,
appeared In the HERALD. As the ques-
tion of publishing regularly the official
proceedings of the council will be acted
upon soon, the republication of the ar
ticle is respectfully requested. 1t IL as
follows:
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.
All growing towns, ON the road to CITY
proportions,and all having attained til at
condition, are vitality interested In the
wisdom and purity Of their municipal
government. This is the dictate of com
mon sense, BUTT has been learned by
many American cities at immense
cost. For years the Tweed ring
OF New York, plundered that
people OF millions annually, until the
tar-reaching mind and bold nerve of
Hamnel j. rilden, Dobly sustained and
sided by Charles 0'Connor, pulled the
devil from under the blanket and the
whole union stood aghast at the hIdeOus
spectacle. The bold inqusitors rested
not till Tweed and his confederates
were successfully Outcasts, refugees, in
P@nitentiary. Other towns and cities
have, In less degree, tasted the same
Bitter cup Of experience, until, in this
country, IL has grown into a prOverb
that municipal governments require
far more scrutiny from the people 10
Keep them pure and simple than do the
state or federal governments; in other
words, that they are far more liable TO
fall into the control Of rings and become
the pest-houses OF corruption md OPP
precision.
Then what is the safeguard against
such dangers? First of all, most
assuredlY, Is the obligation upon tho
people to select wise and
honest men to administer their
local government; but the surest, most
practicable, cheapest and best guaran-
too Of fidelity on tho part of tho admin
Fstrators, and Of ability by the people TO
discover and rebuko wrong, is to pub
lish everything done, and place the facts
from day TO day and week TO week be-
fore the people, who pay the taxes, and
for whose benefit the corporation Il ere
ated by the state. II must be borne In
mind that municipal governments, in
iinitely more than tho federal or state,
act upon and affect the right Of tho citi-
zen, and that their tendency, by the
laws Of human nature, is TO oncr0aoh-
mont and usurpatiOn. 1t dlevos into
the private affairs and personal rights Of
the citizen in ways innumornbly,
wherein the state law leaves him as free
as the birds of the air; and, the world
over the possession Of power by men
not restrained by wisdom and cOnsci-
entious conception OF right, begets a
mania for more.
1t follows that all acts of municipal
authorities should not only DO per-
formed open to public view, but that all
the transaction of that law-makinR
body-the representatives and guards
ans of tho peoples rights-should be
published and placed within the reach
OF every citizen, as we'll as frequent ex-
hibits from every city officer, whereby
those who bear the burdens and feel the
Ills, may have an intelligent concep-
ton ofthe acts Of their agents. No sem
sfble citizen would tolerate less in the
management by another of his private
affairs; and when the rights of 10, or
20 or $1,000 people are at stake, is IL not
by so many times more Important that
che principal In the supposed case, tho
whole people, should know fully the
acts of their agents.
This line Of thought has been sug-
gested by reflections on the fact that Tho
election of Samuel j. Tilden TO the pres
tdency OF the United States In 1876,
sprang from two great achievements in
his career. First-His exposure and
utter destruction of that mighty organi-
xalion Of plumber and villainy in New
York; which led, secondly, 10 his cleo
ton AS governor of that state, whereby
he cut down an annual and corrupt tax
ON the people Of $4,000, 900, to about half
that amount, and how2 BY exposing
the frauds 70 the people whose voice,
whom enlightened, triumphed over ve-
nality and corruption. Had the people
of the city and state Of New York been
informed from week to week Of the do
ings of their public functioners, such or
ganized and long-continued robberies
would have been impossible. Such les
sons are beacon lights, or ought to be, TO
all people who contribute Of their sub.
stance 10 the support of governments,
whether municipal or state.