The Saint Paul globe., 1896-12-20
THE PRICE OF PARTIsANsHrp.

and eleNatioD. r. =. Lyons, ODSeINSI.
THE PRICE OF PARTISANSHIP.
1t is true that the ease with which
corruption creeps into city govern
ment, as it has in Minneapolis, is pro-
portioned to the system adopted by
that particular community. Thus the
abuses which the grand jury of that
city is now Investigating are such as
are most easily committed where re-
sponsibility is divided. The matter of
machinery, however is not cause of
good government or of bad, but only
detail which makes one or the other
easier or more difficult. Every city that
values it's reputation and prosperity
and the comfort of its citizens ought
to insist upon the best form of charter,
just as a man about to purchase some
commodity that should last him for
q lifetime will endeavor to get the
best there is. After all, this only skins
the surface. The root Of the trouble
lies deeper yet. Ring rule and stuffed
contracts fit more naturally with a
system of diffused than with one of
concentrated power and responsibility,
but they are not the progeny of either.
They will flourish under either just as
long as the people of American cities
follow the insane policy of choosing
their representative and executive Of
ficers according to their party rela-
tions
Take the average Of the Minneapolis
city council and consider what title to
public place these men have aside from
their pull as politicians Were they
elected by the people because of their
known integrity, their desire to pro-
mote the welfare of their city and their
familiarity and skill in dealing with
questions of public policy, or because
they had set up the necessary combi-
nations to get themselves the regular
party nominations? The answer to that
question, as applied to Minneapolis. is
no different from the answer that must
be returned by nearly all the cities
OF this country. A community finds
that it is being plundered and dis
graced by officials who are inefficient
or corrupt. or both. Forthwith there
Is howl from the outraged public. a
demand to turn the raseals out and
a clamor for a complete house clean
Ing. But how do the people go about
this? By getting together as they
would if they were going to build a
railroad or run big exposition or en-
gage in any other business enterprise ?
Not at all. They simply look to see
which party is in power and then set
to work to substitute for these fell
lows another set of fellows as like to
them as peas>in a pod, except that they
bear the opposition label. They turn
out Republicans or Democrats, as the
case may be, in order to, put in Demo-
Gratis Or Republicans instead, and go
about patting each other on the backs
and calling it reform" 1t is not re-
form, nor business sense, nor common
sanity.
The people Of American cities are di-
rectly to blame for every act of mis-
government that has made our munich
pal administrations a by-word all over
the world. They get just what they
bargain for, and they will never get
anything else as long as they persist
In running municipal elections on ma
tional party lines. Everybody knows
and has seen the necessary, uniform
and Inevitable result Sooner or later
It means the climbing into power of
the party hack, the degradation of
municipal government TO a political
machine and then the squeezing out of
the dear public of the oil by which
every such machine must be fabricated
Business men know all this, but seem
to care very little about it, They let
matters go on, absenting themselves
from primaries, taking little interest in
ticket. good, bad or Indifferent, until a
public scandal ensues. Then they
arouse themselves, hold mass meetings
spend their money and time freely, put
the other party into power and go
back to their desks to wait until the
same old seed sprouts and grows and
ripens the same old fruit Of municipal
corruption. This is another of those un-
failing refusals to follow the dictates
of ordinary prudence and self-preser-
walton. or profit by an unvarying ex-
perience which refutes our claim to
the best and highest civilization When
party politics are wholly eliminated
from city elections we may expect good
government. ard not before. Until thai
tinle coTaes-zthe public must be salts
fed with an alienation Of abuses; and