The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-10-12
ENTER MAYOR DENNY.

| ton. This is wise provision, inasmuch as
| 1t gives immediate effect to the will of the
people as declared at the polls. The new
Council and the city clerk will assume their
offices at the same time, and the charter
provides that the Council shall hold it's
The charter says nothing to the terms of
office of the city controller and the members
| OF the different boards. and the present in
cumbents will hold until their successors
are appointed The Mayor ought not to be
hurried in the making OF these appoint
ments. He should be allowed reasonable
| time to make his selections with care and
to assure himself that he is making no mis-
takes. A few days ought to suffice.
The charter wisely and properly places
the appointment of all executive officers
in the hands of the Mayor. This gives him
| considerable patronage. The officers to be
| appointed are city controller at $1,000
] year. three members of the Board OF Pub
lie Works at $500 year each, three men,
bers of the Board of Public Safety at 5000
a year EACH city attorney at $1,000
year, city engineer at $500 year. three
members of the Board of Health and Char
tiles. who shall be practicing physicians,
at 800 year each. On the wise selection
| Of these officers the success of Mayor Den
ny's administration will largely depend.
1t is important for him and for the people
that his first selections should be wise. for.
while he has power to make changes at
any time he may see fit, and while it is
his duty to make such changes if any of his
appointees prove incompetent or unfit, it is
desirable to avoid them The best way to
| avoid the necessity of making changes is
to make wise selections at first. and this.
no 6oubt. Mayor Denny will endeavor to do.
The most important officer under the
| Mayor, in some respects, is the city con-
troller. He has entire charge of the city
finances and accounts. The charter makes
it his duty to keep a tight grasp on the
| city's purse strings and imposes many
sponsible duties upon him. The controller
will carry confidence and whose standing
in business circles is a guaranty that the
financial affairs of the city will be honestly,
capably and faithfully managed. He need
| not necessarily be a great financier though
if he have special experience in that line
so much the better. but he should be a man
| of approved standing in the community and
of recognized business capacity. He need
not necessarily know anything of practical
politics, and he should be above the reach
| of political manipulation.
Great interest will attach to the Mayors
! appointments for the Boards of Public
| composed of men of character. and the
first, especially. of men of first-rate bust
ness talent. Mayor Sullivan's Board of
Public Works was a fairly good one but
| Mayor Denny ought to be able to improve
on 1t. He should give its members to under
stand that, while there is to be no back
ward step in the policy of public improve
ments, there is to be change in the meth
DDS of the board, and especially in the man.
ner of treating people who come before it
on business. Property owners have rights
which the board is bound to respect and
should be required to respect. The char
ter is made for the people, not the peo-
pie for the charter. and no matter what
power the Board of Public Works have
they have no right to exercise 1t in an
arbitrary and offensive way They have
large powers in the way of ordering i'm
provements making contracts. etc, and
they should be above any suspicion of
favoritism of self-seeking or of playing into
the hands of any ring. These appointments
of the Mayor will be very closely scruti-
nized. and it is to be presumed he will use
great care in making them. He will doubt
less lose no time in appointing a new city
engineer and in directing the Board of Pub
lie Works to see that the administration of
that Office is reformed and it's expenses ma
terially reduced.
J Perhaps the worst feature of Mayor Sui
livan's administration was his Board OF
| Public Safety. The charter contemplates
that this board shall be composed Of men
who will manage the fire and police force
on strictly business principles and with a
view solely to the efficiency OF the service
Both of these departments should be kept
out of politics. and to that end the board
itself should be composed of men who are
not 'in politics" as the phrase is generally
understood. The chairman of the Sullivan
board is more of a politician than anything
else, and the result was demoralizing un
dercurrent of politics in both the police and
fire departments during the entire Sullivan
administration. 1t may take some time tC
| reform this condition and to get the two
forces on a higher level and a strictly non
partisan basis, but it must be done. TIL;
civil-sarvice idea should be strictly enforced
and merit, not politics. should be made tn,
test of every appointment. The Journa
has reason to believe that Mayor Denny!
Board of Public Safety will be organized
on this line, and that from the day of it!
appointment it will be given TO understand
that the laws must be enforced.