The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-11-01


 will not undertake to say from what vicious political intelligence this prac- tical joke upon the city of New Haven proceeded; but I will express the pri- vate opinion, while the play Is going on, that such practical jollers with the prin- ciple of popular sovereignty should not be given more than one opportunity to make sport of the franchises of the peo- pie l cannot say how, when the act of consolidation was on to be matched in committee, a change of eggs was made; but this is the form of full-grown ab- surdlty which it finally took under the | incubation of the committee on cities and boroughs. Or was China egg in- tentlonally put in the place of a real act of consolidation? Now it is quite possible that there may be some radi- cal difference of opinion among the members of this club concerning the ' long mooted question of consolidation; but think there can be no difference of | opinion among us either as to what we can now do about It. or as to what the selectmen ought to be requested at once to do about it. Whatever our opinions concerning consolidation, we may do this-we can go forth and exer- else the precious electoral privilege which is left to us under this act, of uttering our opinions through the streets of the suburbs. In this way, and this way only, residents of the city may have influence in deciding a question of far-reaching importance to economic and efficient government for the whole 1 town, as we'll as of great concern to the administration of poor-relief within the city of New Haven. Accepting in | humble thankfulness this privilege of influencing voters for us in Fair Haven and Westville, members of the Good l Government club may possibly accom- plsh something in having this question 1 of consolidation settled right. We may also find in this act justification for flu | ture activity and vigilance by our com mittee on legislation. The action which | the selectmen should be reminded to | take at once is the appointment of the day of this suburban election, in order that little time may be given for the newspapers to familiarize the people of ! the rural districts with the questions which their votes are to decide for the | town and the city
 The other of the two issues which have been put before us by act of the legislature is of paramount Importance | to good government in this city. We are to elect by party nomination in De- cember two members on each of ou" ! commissions. The more or less visible ministering spirits, who deftly guided the political counsels of the last legis llature, secured the>passage of an amend ment to our city charter, under which the election of commissioners hereafter is to be taken from the aldermen and lcommitted toFthe party primaries. Were 1t an act providing for the election of all commissioners by the people much might be said in it's favor But while nominally the act provides that the commissioners shall be elected by the people, really and practically 1t sub stitutes government by party for gov ernment by the people. For it eenacts that for every two commissioners to be elected, no voter shall cast his ballot for but one of the two candidates This is not the principle of majority rule with | minority representation. It does not leave practically open the redress of a third nomination. For suppose that A and B are put in nomination by the two ruling parties, and that the nomination of A is repudiated by a large portion of his party. They put in nomination a third candidate, c. But under this act of what possible avail would that be? If all the people could vote for two com- missioners, then of three or more candi- dates the two best might be elected
 But now, since we can only vote for one of each two, in order to elect both B and c, and to defeat A, it would be nec- essary to detach enough votes from B, and just enough not one too many, in order to leave both B and at the head
 of the list So A might be elected by | excess of zeal to defeat him. Under this arrangement'every vote subtracted from one good candidate in order to help another good candidate means the possible election of a bad candidate.
 But this amendment tTas probably not intended as a contribution of the leg
 islature to good government in New
 Haven, but as a contribution to so-call-
 ed practical politics The legislature
 might have gone one step further in
 this reformatory direction, and saved
 the city the cost of the election, and
 spared the people, the mockery of cast ing their ballots by enacting that im-
 mediately after the nominations by the two leading parties the city clerk should
 cast ethe ballot of the city for the nom-
 inees of the party primary or conven-
 tion. That is all popular election under
 this law practically amounts to.
 Now remember thatfin 1885 substan-
 tially the same act passed the legisla-
 ture, but with the added provision that
 it should be submitted to the @teople Of
 New Haven. It was submitted to the
 people, and not one-third of the free
 men of this town could be found will
 ing to sell their birthright for this mess of party pottage, and by an overwhelm-
 ing vote this invasion upon popular
 sovereignty was defeated. But in this year our party bosses, profting by that
 lesson which in 1885 the people taught the parties, took pains to keep this
 amendment to the charter out of reach
 of the people, and would not have it re- , ferred to a vote of the> people for rat
 ification. Tn view of past experience t was deemed safer in this matter to have
 the legislature deny home rule to New l Haven