The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-29
HON. HERMAN MYERS AS MAYOR.
How He FILLED the Commissions
With Pnrtisans.

tense of the commissions, ex-Mayor Myers
again INDUCES in a glowing dissertation
ON the beneficent theory involved in the
pet legislation of the Citizens Club. 1t is
true the ex-mayor says that he it not dis
cussing theory, because, forsOoth, COM
missions exist in other communities. So
they do; but they are constituted in an
entirely different way from ours. Where
ever there are two conteuding parties, the
law provides for bipartisan board, so
that each conflicting political interest has
representation. Again, in most cities the
right of removal is vested in the mayor.
And for the very simple reason that the
mayor is elected by and responsible to the
people. and should in all fairness have a
supervising and directing control of all
matters incident to the public service 1t
NAV safely be asserted in this connection
that no act taking from the people the
privilege of governing themselves was
ever passed without previous discussion of
the subject and fun approval by the citi-
zens who were being deprived of their
most sacred right. 1t remained
for Mr.. Myers and his associ-
ates to put through radical and
novel legislation without the consent, aye
against the wishes of the voters. The ex-
mayor offers no excuse for this unusual
and extraordinary legislative conduct. But
he does say, however, that no one protest
ed or objected. AS l tried to point out
to the ex-mayor, and as he has all along
wen known, there was no one in a posi-
ton to prot est Three members from
Chatham advocated the measures, the SEN
ator from the First district supported
them, and the mayor and aldermen of Sa-
Vannah clamored for them Was there
Of
Club officeholder who knew what the bills,
We're until after they had passed and were
in operation? Was their full text ever
published in a single newspaper? Certain
1t is that the official proceedings of the
city council of Savannah show that after
the commission bills had been introduced
the aldermen themselves knew moth
ing of their contents. AT the
meeting of , Alderman Falligant
moved that copies of these bills
be furnished each member of the board
the statement having been previously made
by one of the members that he and his col
leagues were ignorant on the subject
What did the members? So satisfied were
they that the bills were good things from
a party standpoint that they voted the
doctors motion down and the aldermen
never saw the bills so far as the record
disclosures. OF course, the captions of the
bills were published That Is a provision
of law that even the friends of the meas
ures had to observe. This publication told
that certain bills were to be introduced to
be known as acts to create "a board of
fire commissions" "a board of police COM
missioners," and so with all the others.
Can you tell me how the average citizen
could frame his protest against this vague
and uncertain thing that was about to
happen? His objection, could he have made
one, would have had about as much effect
as would have the protest of a child
ir1ef he aa1Af fn11D HeTsef torn
The bills became laws and the citizens
waited. He saw their effect and when he
had an opportunity to act he did his part.
For years this average citizen had been
voting a mayor and aldermen into power.
The right to govern him he delegated to
them. He knew the law said that this
board, which was the creature of himself
and his fellows, must govern the city. He
had an old fashioned notion that no one
should serve the public who acknowledged
no responsibility TO the people. He saw
Mr.. Myers and his aldermen shift the
burden of government upon others, on the
preteXt first, that the aldermen had not
the time to attend to the varied duties OF
their position; second, that non-partisan
administration of affairs would result in
the public departments. He thought that
if these aldermen and the mayor did not
have the time to properly administer the
affairs of the city they should resign and
let others take up their work. He knew
that the members of previous boards had
found sufficient time to fulfill their du-
ties. Again, he thought if human nature,
as represented by the thirteen members
of the city council, is too weak to admins
lister affairs in a non-partisan
manner how can the same
frail, weak human nature when
embodied in the commissioners hope to 60
better? To express it differently, he
thought partisan was still a partisan,
whether his title be mayor, alderman or
commissioner with this difference-the
citizen can reach the mayor or aldermen
and punish him. the commissioner can't
be gotten at. The average citizen thought
this was wrong and he voted against The
party that made it possible to place any
public official in a position that carried
no responsibility with it.
When these laws were passed, what was
the mayors course?
With "non-partisanship" on his lips. he
appointed partisans to almost every place
within his gift. With the avoWed inten-
ton of taking the departments out of pol
itics, he placed them in the grasp of the
politicians. His every official act negatiV-
ed his private profession. Holding himself
out to the world as a champion of non
partisanshp and freedom from politics,
his actions did more to sink the
departments into the mire of par
tisan politics than all other
causes of confusion and Generalization.
The ex-mayor, in his anxiety to defend
the commissioners, makes himself ridicu
lous to those who knows anything about
the recent elections in this city. He says,
triumphantly, "the commissions have not
been rejected by the taxpayers" Then he
goes on to lay his defeat at the doors of
the Irish and the negroes, the former
having been persuaded and the latter
bought May we enquire from Mr. Myers
how many negro votes he obtained in the
Duncan fight and how many were direct |
ly or indirectly Influenced TO vote for him
by that which has too often in the past
reelected none too favorably upon the cleo
tons in Chatham county?" The ex-mayor
ought not, in all conscience, TO have re-
ferred to the illiteracy and Indifference
OF the negro voter, for no candidate was
ever more indebted to them than is the
eX-mayor himself. The people of this com
munity have an impression that citizen,
even though he be not property tax
payer, has the right to vote upon all pub
lie questions Are we to understand the
ex-mayor as taking the position
that none but a taxpayer should
af9Vr he fla-