The Portland daily press., 1895-04-20
MUNICIPAL REFORM.

and valuable address before the Congre-
gational Club the other night on muni-
cIpal reform, and it made SO much i'm
preston upon the club that they voted
to become branch of municipal
league to be established. This shows an
interest among the prominent gentlemen
who compose the club in municipal
affairs that is gratifying. AT the foun-
datlon of most of our municipal troubles
is the impracticability of what is often
times sneeringly called the "better ele-
ment," the sneer being really an express
sion of contempt at the inefficiency OF
that class except in the way of declama-
tlon and preaching. There are very few.
ii any, cities in this country where the
better element" could not control the
shaping of municipal government if it
determinedly set out to. But it gener-
ally contents itself with preaching and
praying, while the other fellows go to
work. The result is that the "better
element" is generally defeated. If the
better element" is ever going to control
municipal affairs it has got to take les
cOA lIOlu buc WOES6 Gl6IuGuUs u6 ldUL6F
makes aldermen and councilmen under
stand that if they do not do it's bid
ding they will be punished for it. The
better element" has got to do the
same thing. If community wants the
government run on business principles
derstand that treachery on their part to
such principles will be punished by
prompt retirement to private life. When
aldermen and councilmen get it drilled
into their heads that it is more dangerous
to atfront people who want municipal
affairs conducted on business principles
than the spoilsmen the spoilsmen
will lose their grip. AS it is now
they feel that it is safer to affroDt the
former than the latter because the latter
will pursue and punish them while the
former will soon forget or, at any rate,
will not take much pains to punish
them because it involves going into
what is known in ''better element par
lance, as "dirty politics" 1t is not
necessary to go to New York or Boston
or any other of the great cities TO find
the conditions prevailing which are out
lined above. They exist right here in
the city OF Portland. Of coufse there is
not SO wide a difference between the
classes of our population. There
is not here any considerable element
which can be called positively bad. Yet
there is a class that Acknowledgements
off 10 <o ipt 10
the management of our municipal
affairs and is averse to their conduct in
strictly business way. 1t is not necessary
to inquire into it's motives. 1t is enough
to know that such class exists and that
it makes itself felt at caucuses and polit.
ical conventions and in some way sue
ceeds in infusing into a good many of
the peoples representatives in the
City Council the idea that it is too
powerful to be affronted with impunity
and that it is much safer to affront the
other crowd, which is more numerous
but less active. e
These considerations explain the most
of such performances of tn ose of
Thursday night when the common
council ratified rule for the en-
pIoyment of laborers in the street
department which is an affront to
the most elementary of business prinoi-
pies. The councilmen who voted for that
rule were practically voting under
duress. The influence that we have
alluded to had been at work upon them,
and they did not dare to affront it--theJ
preferred to affront their own common
sense.
Now the only way to counteract such
influence is to organize the people
who have no interest in the gov
ernment except to see that it is good,
and induce them to bring influence to
bear in rhe opposite direction. If this
can be done there won't be much
trouble. A municipal league composed
of such material as makes up the Con-
gfegational Club can very easily over
conN the influence that produces such
results as this absurd and outrageous
rule which is calculated to turn the
street department into a refuge for in
competents and school for the teaching
and practice of laziness. The league has
got to do something more than preach
however. tt must make aldermen and
counoilmen understand that it can turn
them down at the polls more effectua1ly |
than the influence of which they are now
so much afraid.