San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1886-12-10
HE COMING CITY COUNCIL.

meas backbone of the city. The dividing
lines separating these are not drawn
along national or race parallels ut all,
neither are they marked by political or
religious chara "teristics. The line is
run utterly regardless Of race, religion
citizen and business man from the I'M
progressive ones who have forgotten
| that San Antonio and Texas have
changed ground since the days before
descendants in this city. Men who have
never moved up, never will move up,
never have seen the necessity Of moving
along and probably never will. Like
their saline mother, they stay where
they were dumped and make no effort to
change their surroundings. These men
have had lien on San An .onio long
enough. They have controlled her
municipal movements to the extent OF
hanging like a dead weight upon her at
tempts at progress and by their very
inertia have prevented municipal &C lion.
These men pay taxes, many of them
quite heavy taxes, and not understand
ing that all private trusts are for the
public good honestly imagine that the
city has no moral right 10 multiply their
taxes for the general improvements; for
the increased good government, COM
fort, health, convenience and elevation
of the average citizen and the stranger
within her gates. This idea is deeply in
grained into the consciousness Of very
good people and very stubborn people,
TOO, and they naturally resist all at
tempts to take new ground and
commit the city government to
new, live. wise. modern and
progressive policy In keeping with
the times. To work out the salvation of
this city municipality and rescue II from
the domination OF its old parslyzing
ideas, it is absolutely necessary that a
city council be elected that shall repre-
sent the modern ideas of municipal ad-
ministration, and place San Antonio
abreast OF other cities in the south. Not
only SO; that council must have the wis
dom to devise, wisely and well, the best
practicable results towards which mu-
nioipal efforts should tend, and also the
most economical and least Objectionable
methods of comprising those results.
The men who compose the next council
Of nj oh ha ha
suspicion of having a ward axe to grind.
Men of general intelligence, of a broad
view of government, of practical bust
ness abilities; men who have more inter-
est in the development of the city than
in helping themselves or their friends;
and above all, men who are recognized
as representing the business brains of
the progressive wing Of our people. 1t
is not light task to reverse the wheels
of municipal machinery and turn the
face Of municipal action away from the
Old,unprOgressive and generally obsolete
methods OF procedure. The men who do
this must have fixed ideas OF municipal
reform and backbone enough to make
those ideas vital in the council chamber.
They must be men who are ready TO
serve the city for its own good not their
own. These men will not be very likely
to push themselves into the notice of
their fellow citizens, demanding seats at
the council board. COntrarywise,
they will be found unwilling to accept
office unless convinced that they are i'm
peraliyely needed. All the same such
men must be sought out, made to I'M
derstand that the time has come for
them to come to the fronts then they
must be elected. Given such council,
should haVe-a man fitted to give direc-
ton TO all municipal movement, and
fully sensible Of the great lift that must
be given to ideas of municipal expendi-
lures and improvements; man possess
ing the confidence and respect of the
people and capable Of cOnfering dignity
upon the office; man to whom the fu-
ture Is as much necessity rs the past
or the present-giyen council and
mayor such as these and San Antonio
would soon take her proper place at the
head OF Texas municipalities and be-
come the metropolis of the state. The
coming municipal election will prove
the most important, for the good or Ill
OF this city, of any yet held, and every
means should be devised to so control
matters that good and not evil should
result therefrom.