The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-10-14
A DEFENSE OF PARTISANSHIP.

Speaking for the bosses of the Republi-
can party the Chronicle is filed with ap-
prehensions that the people may conclude
to elect Non-Partisans to fill municipal
Offices. 1t thus voices its fears:
There Is widespread notion that party lines
have no application in respect TO municipal
governments. 1t is a common thing to hear it
said that the governments of cities should be
conducted on business principles: that polt-
fcal parties as such have no place in municipal
politics; that -partisanship should be the
watchword.
Having thus correctly stated the princi-
pies which sb ould govern the voter at the
coming election, our coDte mporary goes on
to show tia he ought not to be guided by
those principles, but should, On the con-
trary. set them at defiance, in order to
place "the Republican party"-that is,
Burns and his henchmen-''in charge of
the city government" The Chronicle S
justification of this curious non-seQuitur
is interesting as showing the confusion
which sometimes prevails in illogical
minds. Our contemporary observes:
Party government is desirable and party re-
sponsibility should be the desderatum in the
miniature republican government Of a city pre-
cisely as In a State or in the Government of the
nation. In the nature of things and inevitably
political, parties in our great cities form along
The lines which divide the people In respect to
State and national affairs. Though our city
governments are small republics and in sense
independent of State control. still there is a
solidarity, as the French say, in all OF the polit
Zeal and governmental affairs of the people who
constitute the nation. AS it is impossible to
sever State politics from national politics so it
is impractjcable to disassoclate municipal poll
Tics from the public affairs OF the common
wealth.
1t does not seem to occur to the Chronicle
that "the lines which divide the people in
respect to national affairs" are not the
lines which divide them on municipal af-
fairs, and TO borrow its own words, that
the former .'have no application to munich.
pal governments" 1t does not appear to
see that man may be sound on the cues
ton of the tariff yet quite unsouDd Oh the
questions of street improvements. city
railroads and water rates. Dragging ma
tional issues into municipal contests is not
only illogical, but is suprenely mischiev-
Gus, for il has, as we know, placed unfit
men in municipal Office because of their
assumed soGndness on questions which
have nothing TO do with municipal inter-
ests. If the owner of a ship who vas a
believer in homeopathy should prefer an
lDcom petent captain who was partisan
OF 1nflnltesimal doses 10 competent
mariner who stuck to the old school of
medicine. people would set him down as
fool; yet that is just what the party bosses
are urging US in substance to DO.
The subordination of the interests of the
city to the interest of national party in
the selection of candidates for local Offices
is not only foolish, but it has proved very
pernicious. At the meeting on Thursday
Mr. knight urged citizens to vote the Re-
publican ticket Oh the ground that the Re-
publican party was the champion of hu-
man liberty thirty or forty years ago. It
is precisely by that argument that knayes
have been foisted into Office and enabled
to rob taxpayers. Rogues who would not
be trusted by any sensible merchant with
access 10 his cash drawer are placed in DO
sitlons of trust in the city government on
the ground that they were opposed to the
secession of the Southern States In 1861
Gould anything be more absurd or moro
Contrary to the plain dictates of reason?
The Chronicle makes the point that the
parties are responsible for their nomina-
tlons. Judging from experience. The
CALL Is not inclined to take much stock
in that responsibility. We have had some
pretty rotten governments in this city,
and. according to our contemporary. one
or the other patty has been responsible
for the rottenness. but it has not been OBJ
served that it impaired the party's diges-
ton or its vitality. party is a vague,
underlined entity which cannot be ar
raigned at the bar of justice or beaten
with club or locked up in jail. A citizen
may be disguised with the action of bis
party, but SO long as ON election day he
has only two regular tickets prepared by
two party bosses to choose from he will
be apt to be governed by habit and to vote