The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1886-04-11
Thoughts for the Voters.

Thoughts for the Voters.
The canvass is about closed. Both
parties have completed their tickets. and
the candidates between whom the people
are TO chose on Tuesday next have been
form lily put forward. Orestes Cleveland
leads the Democratic ticket. He is per
sonally known to almost every voter in
the city. If he polls the full Democratic
vote of the city his election is assured.
But even more essential 10 the party than
his election is the election of the candi-
dates for the municipal Boards. The
Mayolality is, as far as the opportunity it
affords for reform goes, a mere shadow.
Genuine and effective movements for bet
ter government must originate with the
local Boards. They are really the govern
ing power of the city If they are made
up of characterless men, we have char
acterless administration. Good men in
the local Boards give us good government.
The importance, therefore, Of special care
in the selection of these subordinate Off
GERS must be apparent toevery citizen who
has the best interests of the city at heart.
The Democratic nominations for the local
Boards this Spring are unusually excel
lent. and, without getting down to the
consideration of the personal claims OF in
dividual candidates, we find ample public
reasoa why they should all be elected
Begin With the Fire and Police Boardsl
Both are filed with active Republican
workers. They won their places by their
skill in serving the masters who appointed
them. The Republican Commissioners
who control the two departments rely
upon their Efforts 10 large degree to-
keep them in their places Their political
dependence upon their subordinates
is SO great that the Commissioners
dare not deal with the unworthy
among them as they should. A
fireman, for instance, shows himself unfit
to be in the department. He is a friend
of one of The Commissioners; the Com
missioner. may b. one of his political crea
lures. He does not dare to remove him.
and by the promise to save by his vote
friends of other members of the Board
who may get into trouble, the Commits
sioner keeps his man in place be may
have dEgraced. So, an efficient fire and
police department, in which men are re
4.,,,,<i ox,1xv f,~ fi.a;r xu<S.b =, @g.n Slo<or
they fill, is out of the question with Re
publican governing Board. A Democratic
Police Board or Democratic Fire Board,
owing nothing whatever to the favor of
the Republicans who FIJI the two Depart
ments, can afford to deal independently
with the incompetent men; while the
civil service tenure act protects the worthy
and competent men from interference, by
them, on political or personal grounds. A
Democratic Fire Commission and
Democratic Police Commission might
give us genuine civil service reform
which, whatever may be our differing
views of its wisdom as applied to national
politics, is the one thing needful in muni--
cipal affairs. 1t is therefore the duty, not
only Of every Democrat but of every citi-
zen of whatever party, to strive for the
election of the Democratic candidate for
Fire and Police Commissioner in his dis
trict. Then as 10 The Board of Works.
We believe ii is tie now, and that fact
probably explains largely the disrepute its
members have brought upon themselves
and the city. As neither party in the
Board has strength to accomplish anything
alone, they are forced to resort to deals
and bargains and the making of deals
and bargains leads TO bad blood on the
part of those who are counted out, and
lot unfrequently to charges of bad faith
among those who are counted in. A pro-
nounced Republican majority is perhaps
even better than this equal division Of
party strength. But the Republican ma
iorilies We have had in the Board OF
Works in times past have not given satis-
faction, while Democratic majorities have.
Let us have Democratic majority again.
The Board of Aldermen is the law making
power Of the CITY. Il is here that the viii
of the majority Of The people should be
most accurately reflected, and as the city
Democratic @by large majority" il
-ollows that the laws to govern it should
j such Us commend themselves to Demo
cratic sentiment. II is needless to ask any
# our Republican leaders to assist in Civ
ng US a legislative Board that will reflect
Democratic sentiment, but we will say to
our Democratic friends thai if they will
turn out at the polls on Tuesday morning
next and vote The straight sAldermanic
ticket, they will have Democratic Board
Of Aldermen to represent them.
The most surprising and suspicious rev
elation that has yet been made in the