Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-02-20
MONDAY, FEBRUA~Y go, 1855.
Ele GIVE an d Appointive offices

The Board OF FreehOlderS are now
rapidly drawing to the close of their
labors. They, have till the 9TH of
March in which to perfect the organic
instrument upon which they have
worked SO long, SO faithfully and so
ntelligently. Their task is one Of no
ordinary difficulty, and if they succeed
in giving us the draft of a charter
which will at once conserve every
municipal interest and satisfy the
people, they will have accomplished
. work for Los Angeles which
two distinct Boards at different
times have signally failed in
acco mplishing for San Francisco.
The rock upon which the San Fran
cisco charter-framers split each time
was in taking too much power away
from til g people as electors and lodg-
ing it in the City Executive and the
Boards of Aldermen. 1t is a moot
PORT in large cities just where the
dividing line between the appointive
and elective offices should be drawn.
Experience has shown that certain
line of municipal offices should be
filed by the appointive pow
er, either the Mayor or the
City Council. Men will differ as to
just which Offices should be with
drawn from the people. But it is a
safe rule to make appointive, as far
as possible, such offices as are inyeste d
with moral and educational functions.
We would say that the offices of Po-
lice Judge and Superintendent OF
Schools, would be apt to be better
administered, and to be filed by a
better class of material, if appointed,
than if subjected to the caprices,
first, of political nominating conven-
tions and then to the popular vote
The reason why, in our opinion,
the Police Judges should be left
to the appointing power is,
that they have in their judicial ca
pacity to deal nearly altogether with
the loose and criminal elements OF
the community. As these elements
constitute power OF no mean strength
at the polls, they should not be per-
mitted to select the Judges who are
called upon to pass in judgment upon
their transgressions. We are not at
all singular in this view. Men who
have had experience as Police Magis-
trates all agree that these Judges
should not be compel ed to 60 before
the people for election. Perhaps
the purely criminal class could do
but little to prevent the election of a
strict and upright Judge. But the
Police Magistrate has to deal with
offenses that reach either directly or
indirectly into a considerable mass
of the people OF city. In close
election, this mass would hold the
balance of power. The reason why
the, Superintendent of Schools should
be appointed, is that small body,
such as the City Council, could make
the selection better than the mass OF
the people. The standing, character,
and especially the qualifications OF
the candidate can be deter
mined with. far more dis
eliminating discernment by the ap,
pointive power than by the elective.
On the other hand we do not believe
there is anything gained by taking
away from the people the power Of
electing the City Engineer and the
City Attorney. The offices are both
technical. The candidates would nec-
cessarily be selected from a small
class, and only men known in their
professions would be put up by the
nominating conventions. The public
voice could hardly 90 astray in max
ing selections for these offices.