Passaic City record., 1893-03-11
THE MAYORALTY.
A Common Sense View of the
Political Situation.
AN UNwRITTEN Law.

AN UNWRITTEN LAW.
The time is now at hand when
the voters of this city will be
called upon to decide VINO of the
two or more candidates shall be
elected TO serve as their Mayor for
the ensuing two years. There is a
certain unwritten law that it is a
graceful act to elect man for a
second term as an endorsement
that he has not done i'll the first
term. In other words. there is a
feeling current in certain circles
that public officials must have a
character" given them by being
voted second term in same Office.
That this unwritten law is becom-
ing more honored in the breach
than in the observance is manifest
by the reluctance to elect a man
to the highest Office in the land for
a second term, and the periodical
suggestion to lengthen the term of
thishighest Office from four to six or
eight years, making the one who
is elected ineligible for reelection
Many good men believe that when
this unwritten law becomes obso-
lete, and written law that man
is eligible for the same Office but
once takes it's place great incent-
i've to corruption in public life will
be removed.
Another unpleasant feature is
the
FRAMING OF A PETITION
to which signatures are solicited,
asking any man to become can
didate for an office. The weight
and character of the signers are
apt to induce a man to accept even
when his own judgment, which as
guide to his own actions is better
than theirs, convinces him he
ought to decline. In certain
sense such a letter is libel on
three thousand or more voters, be-
ing in a moderate way state
ment that there is only one man
among them worthy of the office.
In another sense it is libel, as it
is direct attempt to forestall
their wishes, by wishing for them,
and then trying to make them be-
lieve they desire just the one the
signers, ,desire themselves. Such a
letter, to put it mildly, is burden
to many who are asked to sign it.
Take two men equally clean, hon.
orable and upright, candidates for
the same office, and man who en-
Joys the friendship of both equally
does not wish to appear on paper
as favoring one against the other.
Neither does he wish to decline
his name, for the friend in whose
behalf the letter is framed, miss
ing his name may feel he has lost
his friend. 1t is our opinion that
the better way where two or more
candidates are in the field is to let
the voters in public meeting ex-
press their choice. An open field
and fair fght.are safest in the
long run.
WHO SHALL BE MAfOk
for the coming term is of very
small concern outside of limited
few who are backing a favorite
candidate. What the coming
Mayor will do for the city is OF
great concern to the majority,
whether the minority think SO or
not.
If we read the
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Alright, the voters of this city are
ready to be taken into the conf
dence Of their officials. They are
tired of deals by which Mayor
gets one good man confirmed by
the Council, by appointing a poor
man to some other Office in order
to secure votes enough to confirm
the good man. They are tired of
6 machine politics" by which men
are appointed to Office not on ac-
count of fitness, but because they
have a certain following at the
polls which may be useful for re-
election. They are tired of the
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PUBLISHED
year by year which in way show
everything, and yet in a manner
so as to be understood only by
few. The intelligent voter,
whether he has little property or
much. wants to know whether the
propertv is really his. or belongs