Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-07-22
X DANGEROUS USURPATION.

In an address delivered recently before the alumni of Dartmouth Prof Townsend
 of Boston, took very glowing view of the future of our institutions. The difficulty of securing honest municipal administra- tions by popular election, Prof Townsend thinks, must lead presently to the voluntary surrender of the right of local self govern
 by commission from state legislatures in
 stead The next step he believes will be
 the surrender of state authority in the
 same way and for like reasons, and the
 government at Washington, which in it's
 turn must speedily become SD corrupt and
 oppressive that the people, for the sake of
 peace and order, will with one mind wei
 come the dictatorship of the first "man on
 horseback" who shall offer his services as
 ruler
 In so far as government by commission is concerned, we have practical illustration of the system in some of our municipalities ill Connecticut where democratic majorities
 are robbed of their rights of local self government by the greed of republican politicians who are able, by reason of our absurd town system, to control our legis- latures. It is not that these municipalities
 would be unable, if left to themselves, to enjoy an honest, economical and just ad- ministration of municipal affairs that their right of self-government, which in | heres i'll the spirit of our institutions is | taken from them. It is because certain | republican politicians would be shut out | under the local election system from the power of holding office, and not relishing | this they prefer to rob the municipalities of the right of choosing their public ser l wants. This is the real explanation of the non-partisan system of commission es- | tabllshed where democratic majorit;es ex-
 ist in Connecticut. Many of those who
 enjoy places on these commissions, as well as those in whose fertile minds origi- mated the scheme of government by com
 mission, are deeply concerned with alleged departures from the spirit of our institu- tions i'll the south, while they can contem-
 plate calmly the robbery of municipal rights in which they cut so conspicuous a figure at home. It is the old story of the pertectlonlst who can see no evil in his
 own acts while he is able to discern all the shortcomings in those of his neighbor. Whether Prof Townsend's forecast be builded on probabilities, or whether it be the dreams of pessimist, it is quite cer- tain that the custom that has grown up
 among republicans of taking from demo
 cratic municipalities the right of govern
 ing themselves does not promise well for
 the future of our institutions. Every en- creachment on the genius of republican government and the true spirit of democ- racy must weaken in some degree the fab
 ric of the republic and tend to the destruc- tion of the ideas that animated the found
 CTS of the American system of popular government. The usurpation of mu- nicipal rights that has been characteristic
 of the republican party of Connecticut is positively dangerous in it's tendencies and results. And the worst indication is that this dangerous usurpation shows no signs of lessening.
 1tis, indeed, gloomy and discouraging outlook for the future