Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-05-07

lie lubd OIL utNiuB inc iiui hot Clpstu
and restricted to the city would give
opportunity for most reckless waste OF
public money. Proof of what might
happen is only too recently before the
eyes Of the public to allow of the enter
tainment for one moment of any
such method of doing business.
This was seen in the recent inter-
cepting sewer and parkway bids. The
former ranged from $4,000 to SAT 900
and the latter from $4,000 on to about
$4,000 The restricting the work to
city bids in the first case would have
cost the city $4,000 and in the latter
case $4,000. BY parity of reasoning it
would be possible for almost half of the
100000 asked for in the bill to be lost
in sheer jobbery.
Altogether it looks too much like pos
sible ring work. There is no danger in
regard to labor. There are between
5000 and 1000 laborers out of work
here who will be Immediately available.
Donahoe Political Issue.
Morning News editorial.
The City Democratic Association at its
meeting on Saturday evening unanimously
passed two resolutions approving of
Speaker Donahoes course in respect to
the Five Commissioners bill and the bill
providing for the expenditure of S50O,O0O
in improving our streets. These resolu-
tions were introduced by Mr.. William III.
Lee, and appeared to meet the sense OF the
meeting exactly,
These resolutions place the Democratic
party at the approaching city election on
Donahoe as a foundation stone. This is a
proud position for the speaker of the State
Senate and will no doubt be regarded by
him as step forward in his ambition to
secure in due time the Democratic nomina-
ton for governor.
We do not know any one who. will object
to Mr.. Donahoes appearance in our city
election. He certainly will not. For Mr..
Donahoe appears to be utterly destitute of
modesty. We doubt very much il he
knows what the word means. The latest
instance of his conception of his own i'm
portance was furnished the other day By
the legislative correspondent Of the Eeen-
ing Journal. 1t was upon the occasion Of
| the signing of the Five Commissioners bill
| by the Speaker of the Senate. The re-
| porter's statement is as follows:
Speaker Donahoe said. when he took up
| the bill to sign his name, II will now
christen my baby"
There is public impudence about this,
| in view of the differences between the
| Five Commissioners bill for which Mr..
| Donahoe stood sponsor and the one act
| ually passed, that is positively refreshing,
| The absence of dignity is also obvious. In
| short while there is no positive harm in
the remark-except its bald and false pre-
| tence that the credit for what other men
had done belonged to him-there is a
coarseness about it which is extremely an.
moving to every one who would like to see
! all our State business transacted in decor
| Gus manner.
I4,,t AL a frr Il,n ,,,yHs ATf
| Donahoe discharges his official duties,
there is also a public feeling of insecurity
as to what he may do if he is not watched
| This constitutes the real objection to the
| man, If he had power to do as he pleased
no one could tell what he would do, 1t is
| quite sure that he has no sense of respect
for the orderly and lawful processes Of
government. The fact that the qualified
voters of this county had chosen theii
taxing officers, to serve at least until the
| people could express their Judgment again
| at a regular election, had no effect at all
| upon him in his consideration of a change
| in our county government. His idea OF
what it was right and proper to do in sc
serious matter as the reconstruction of an
| important local government was fully ex'
| pressed in the coarse Jest which he threw
at the head of Senator John Pilling, as the
representative of the majority partyin this
county, when he said on April 10th, ''yor
make me tired. Why don't you stand W
and take your medicine like a man." Il
is sad that this great dignitary shoulC
have been exhausted by an honest, reason
able, and as it turned out-thanks to Ger
tain Democrats who possess some know
| ledge of the need of respecting existing
law in our public affairs-effective opposi
ton to his revolutionary schemes. If h'
had had the power to do as he wished ht
would have enforced his whims and caprice!
| upon the people OF this county without re
| straint or limit. So little thing as
general election would not have required
two minutes consideration from him il
order to decide that it constituted NJ
obstacle to the execution of his purposes
There is also feeling that Mr.. Donahot
is capable of tricks-that he is governed
by the opinion that all is fair in legisla
ton. That blotted "not' has never beer
satisfactorily explained The bill in ques
ton has been traced from hand to hand
from the time when it left the House Of
Representatives, where Mr.. Eisenbrel
voted against it because the mot was il
it, until the moment when Gov. Reynolds
publicly reported that the mot had beer
blotted out-and every man who HANDLED
the bill during this interval denies having
made the blot. Obviously some one is no
telling the truth. But in the course of thest
denials one fact has come out, namely
that the clerk of the Senate enrolling com
mittee reported the existence of the blot tt
Speaker Donahoe before it became
known through Governor Reynolds
and that Speaker Donahoe did nothing
and said nothing about it, This was ver!
singular conduct on the part of the speake
of the Senate--an officer who is specially
charged with the duty of seeing that bill
passed by the General Assembly becom
laws in the form in which they wer
passed. We do not pretend to know VIII,
mutilated this bill, but we are quite conf
dent that if Speaker Donahoe had mad
the blot himself, or had known the MAJ
who did make it, he could not have acte,
much differently from what he did. II
any case his failure to take immediat
steps to correct the fraud, as soon as it wa
reported to him, indicates that he is eithe
very incapable or q very untrustworth,
man to be charged with any responsibilit.
in making our laws
The appearance of Mr.. Donahoe as on
of the matters TO be decided by our cit,
election is not therefore matter of regret
On the contrary, this is a very good tim
to deal with him, while his qualities an,
official career are entirely fresh in tn
public mind.
While There is Lie There is Hope.
The wisdom of the saying while Their
is life there is hope" was singularly i'm
pressed on Centreville, Md, physical
last week. He was called some distance t
see a child suffering from double pneu
monia and in such condition that its dealt
would have been no surprise to him at an
hour. Still he prescribed for it. and lei
the house with the injunction ITO Motif
him in case Of death to save him from
long ride unnecessarily" He, however
made two successive visits, but found II
Improvement in the child, and repeate
the former injunction. On the fourth da
he received a postal card saying, "Yoi
need come no more" He of course too
it for granted the child was dead, and S
did the mother and others of the houst
hold. Then coffin was ordered an
nrenaratinns wore made for burial but OF