The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-01-22
rALsE EcoNoNY

Economy is a mighty god thlng, either
in public or private Affairs, but economy
means reasonable" ~retrenehment and
prudence ANY unreasonable Tetreneh-
ment is therefore false econum and
something that should be avoided Just as
strenuoasly as a PREDICATE waste Of
money. Our new city council Is pledged,
among other things. to economy and
one or two OF its members seem to be
bent upon making a record in that direc-
ton. This sort OF a determination is all
right to a certain extent. but the gentle
men who adorn the council board VIII
have to exercise a great deal Of diserim-
ination or their desires to be provldens
may lead them and the city into a most
d~eplorable mistake.
It Is reported. and WI have reason to
believe that there Is something more than
street talk in the rumor. that the council
is considering the ACCESSIBILITY Of making
a cut IN the salaries OF members Of the
police force. We sincerely hope that the
council viii do nothing Of the sort. The
city Of Astoria has an efficient body Of
police officers. wen up to their work and
attentive 10 their duties. Their wages at
present are lower than those OF policemen
in any other city OF Oregon Of the sam
size. though the territory and the re-
sponsibIity Of their position are very
much greater. We have here a eosmopol-
itan population. a very large area Of wa
ter front property, and. during the FISH
ing season. many tons Of valuable goods
which are anything but adequately
guarded by their owners.
OF all periods in the city's history this
should be the last 10 talk OF any re-
trenchment or reduction in this direction.
with the coming OF our railroad and the
certain advent, in the early spring. Of a
large class OF adventurers attracted by
our dawning development. the vigilance
OF our present force will be taxed to the
utmost to preserve order and to prevent
depredations upon the property of our
citizens.
The Historian has no hesitation in say
ing that the beat covered by each mem
Der OF the Astoria force and for the or
derby character OF which each man Is
held to a strict accounting, is over twice
as large as the area covered by any other
policeman in any city in Oregon. This IS
a fact which has been thoroughly sub
Stimulated and which no well informed
councilman can disprove.
Under such circumstances it is worse
han folly to talk Of reducing the salaries
OF a body Of men who do their arduous
work faithfully. The duties OF an officer
carry with them a responsibility that is
too often overlooked by the public. n
Notwithstanding that Jones or Smith or
Brown can hire just as good a man
these times for half the money" It is
well to remember that cheap money al
most invariably means cheap material.
Good service deserves decent pay, ana
the wages paid the Astoria police force
today are VIGOROUSLY lower than they
are in many places where the work Is not
nearly so hard or so tedious. Let well
enough alone.
The conservative and far sighted men,
bers OF the council should make it their
duty to see that the attempt OF some of
its members to make a reputation for
retrenchment and economy should be
confined to channel that are not so like
ly to imperil the most vital Of the city's
interests.