The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-07
A CASE OF INCONSISTENCY.

In an address to the Commercial
Travellers Club Saturday evening SEN
ator Haggard, of Lafayette, denounced
the policy of nonDartisan management
of public institutions in unmeasured
terms. Yet the Senator is the author
of a bill which he will champion in the
Legislature creating a State soldiers
home which declares that but three of
the five trustees shall be of one political
party" If a nonpartisan board is de-
sirable for one. benevolent institution of
the State why not for all the rest? If
it is better to have three men who are
Republicans and two who are Demo-
Gratis. or vice versa, in control of the
State soldiers home why is it not bet
ter to have both parties represented on
all the other boards? To be consistent
Senator Haggard must either strike the
limitation out of his soldiers home bill
or he must practically retract his speech.
II he insists the policy he has an
nounced of ignoring the pledges of the
party made in State and county con-
ventions then he should strike out of
the soldiers home bill the provision
making the board of managers nom
pditiodU SlIlCc l. Ddi DOtIoS Cci
better manage hospitals and prisons
such board will be better for the pro-
posed soldiers home.
The Journal believes in keeping the
party pledges. If the Legislature elected
upon these pledges ignores one of them
it will cause itself to be distrusted in
respect to all others. The partisan con-
troll which Senator Haggard demands
for all the charitable institutions eX-
cept the proposed soldiers home means
that the directors will be chosen by the
Legislature, which in turn means that
the men who are most eager for the
positions will be likely to get them. I'm
der that system Democratic legislatures
selected the men least fitted for such
positions-chronic place seekers who
had neither capacity nor integrity. Sew
eral of the trustees chosen by Demo-
cratic legislatures were either dropped
or forced to resign because of their in
capacity and lack of common honesty,
and not one in five were such men as
were fit to have a voice in the direction
of institutions expanding tens of thou
sands of dollars of public money. The
chances are that caucus selections by a
Republican Legislature would be far
from being the best which could be
made. for the reason that such a large
body. with more legitimate business
than it has time for cannot Investigate
the character and qualifications OF IL
score of applicants Such method
would make it quite impossible to raise
the standard of qualifications for such
~ =,
stitution expanding tens of thous 1nds
of dollars requires much business ex-
perience and capacity it does to man
age any large business. Such men will
not lobby about the Legislature and
make combinations to obtain an cleo
ton. There are those who will. and
those who will are generally not such
men can give the State the service
it should have.
There are two or three institutions in
charge of nonpartisan boards, notably
the Reform School 1t is one of the
best managed institutions in the State.
It's board of trustees is business board.
The superintendent was elected for four
years by. board of which the majority
were Republicans, and he and the great
ct part oI HIS oruiildteS Hoiu eieil
places not because they are members
of a party, but because they are efficient
and faithful. The Journal has every
reason to believe that it is the purpose
OF the majority in the Legislature to
keep the party pledges and to require
that the best men in both parties shall
be trustees of the penal and benevolent
| institutions, and not confine the nom
| partisan policy to the board created by
| Senator Haggard's bill to establish a
State soldiers home.