The Portland daily press., 1896-03-02
TO-DAY'S ELECTION.


1t is unnecessary to say that today's
city election is All important one, II
affects interests closely related to every
citizen, and it is the duty of every one
to assist in determining its result. The
price of good government In individual
interest. Underneath almost all of our
bad municipal governments and repon-
sible for them is the apathy of tine masses
Of the people, and the consequent con-
oentration of power in the hands of a
few who have axes to grind and selfish
purposes to promote. Portland, hereto
| fore. has enjoyed for the most part good
municipal government, but apathy on
the part Of the people here will in time
produce thu same results that it has
brought about in larger municipalities
1t is therefore of the highest conseq uence
that the interest of the masses be kept
alive in municipal politics, and that
every voter take part in the selection of
public officials.
We are to determine today what partic-
ular men are to have the management of
city affairs for the year to come, and in
making selections the character, ability,
and experience of the candidates must be
considered, and also the influences with
which they are likely to be surrounded.
Both the candidates for Mayor are gentle
men of acknowledged good character
and ability. But one of them has had
three years. experience, while the other
has had none. Mr.. Baxter has demon
strated his ability to give the city a
brsiness-like administration. We know
from experience that the financial affairs
of the city will be ably managed by Mr..
| Baxter, that all it's interests will be care
uliy guarded. that progress VIII be the
| watchword of his administration. We
know too, that the party that is behind
Mr.. Baxter is progressive party, that
its members have large interests at stake
in the city, and that they have every
reason to desire efficient and painstaking
administration of the city affairs. About
Mr.. Birds capacity for civic administra-
| tion little or nothing is known. He is
without experience in that line, and the
| influences with which he will be sur
rounded, to judge the future by the past,
will not be specially conclusive to good
government. During the last quarter of
a century the people of Portland have
several times entrusted the administra-
| ton of civic affairs to the Democratic
party, but the experiment has never been
successful enough to make them desire
to repeat it more than one year in success
sion. One Democratic administration
has invariably been sufficient to de-
monstrate that the Democratic party as
party is far inferior in ability or dis
position to manage city affairs efficient
ly to the Republican. The last expert
enoe Of this sort is fresh in mind, and
everybody knows it was productive OF
some of the worst scandals n the history
of municipal government in this city.
There is no reason to believe that the
Democratic party of Portland has i'm
proved in the last three years; there have
been no signs of change of heart. The
tone of its spokesman who have deliy-
cred themselves in public the past week
shows that the spoils idea is uppermost
in their minds and that their eagerness
to get possession of the city is that they
may be able to get hold Of the patronage
| in order to use it for political ends,
'Turn the damned Republican rascals
OUT" was the parting Injunction
Of the chairman of the Democratic city
committee to his constituents in Ward 4.
This in not the language of man solicit
tous of good government. 1t is the ut
terance of man bent simply on gobbling
up the spoils for the benefit of his politi-
cal henchmen. 1t betrays spirit utter
ly incompatible with good government.