The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-22
MIR. MYERS ANSWERED.
uis Plea in Behalf of the Commits
siOns Discussed.

I'D "the indulgence OF your columns to
,.-snealx of the conservative business men
and taxpayers of Savannah to give calm
ami careful consideration 10 the laws
,,,on the statute books that created the
,4irsrent municipal commissions, and the
and sought to be conserved by creating
,ba. commissions" 1 desire to discuss his
defense of the measures referred to. 1
4, moi care to make the point that the
commission's representatives and defend
ers had full and free opportunity to dis
,,,ss the matter before the public, that
,pev actually did so, and that the people
nj the community Enthusiastically decided
that they did not desire to reach saliva
trian bv means of commissions.
Without going into an academic discus
sion as TO whether commissions are even
dssirabIe. let us confine the attention of
tba conservative business men and tax
1avers'' to the Savannah commissions and
he END sought to be conserved by ere
ating the commissions.
4 condition, not theory, confronts US,
and we must deal with the condition and
not allow refuge to be taken behind the
theory.
+hroueb a mayor and board of aldermen,
assumed control of the citys affairs.
In the campaign resulting in their cleo
tion The subject of commissions were not
breathed or preached Per contra, the
warning statesman of the Citizens persuas-
ion fought their battle on the line of
administration reform and municipal prog
ress.
Bv extremely shrewd political work ana
expert manipulation of the ready sinews
of war they won. Fer seven or eight
months matters went along; mayor and
aldermen attended to the duties imposed
upon them, at their own earnest soliclta-
ton by the people of Savannah, and the
horizon was unlocked with the cloud of
commissions, or as afterwards developed,
clouds of commissions Upon the death
of the late Mr.. DoOlan, a representative
from this county, a special election was
held at which the Citizens Glib were
again successful. Then, and not until
then, did the light of day fail upon the
philanthOpic, disinterested and patriotic
scheme for the rehabilitation and re-es-
adjustment of the citys department upon
a non-partlsan basis.
This little seed of administrative beneYo-
lence by careful nurturing in. the council
chamber of Savannah, and in the legisla-
tive halls of the state, blossomed and
bloomed and bore fruit, some of it good
and some of it bad We were promised on
commissions, once established, would re-
suit in Il non-partisan administration of
the public departments.
The laws were passed and the time came
for the mayor acting under them to name
his commissioners. Right there and then
Mr. Myers made the political mistake of
his life He mssed1a golden opportunity
70 show his desire for honest and real non
craftsmanship
Not until Mr. Myers letter of yesterday
did the claim of semi partisanship develop
Exactly what the term semi-partsan'
means is difficult OF comprehension A
board is either partisan, non-partisan or
biparusan-they can be no such thing as
semi or half partisan. A body is either
free of partisanship, entirely partisan, or
II has its representatives of partisanship
taken from conflicting factions or parties.
A commission semi-partisan must neces-
sarily be wholly and entirely partisan. APP
ply TO Mr.. Myers appointments the test
of partsanship or non-p artisanship, and
what do we see? Or, for the sake of argu-
ment, let US ina CINE a possible condition
of semi partisanship and test his actions
by that. First and foremost among the
commissions was that of the public works,
with. a term of six years and an annual
salary of $500.
In casting about for non-partisan or
semi-partisan, the mayors eyes lit upon
one Of the members of the very legislature
that created the commissions. This gen
tleman, however able and competent he
may be in other requirements, has never
suggested to the public mind, the idea of
non-partisanship.
Nor can it be conceived that his most
bitter enemy could accuse him of "semi,"
or half partisanship. Does Mr.. Myers
mean to contend that the pubic works
department, UP to the time of the last
city election, was conducted upon a non
partisan basis?
Next in Importance, or, perhaps, the
most important of all, comes the fire de-
partment
What did Mr. Myers there? Did he Sc
lect gentlemen noted for their capacity
who had grown up in a school of nom
craftsmanship? Has anything in the adj
ministration of this department persuaded
the public that it has been subjected to a
non-partisan administration, or, that up
TO the recent election, ii contained either
as commissioners of firemen any but par
tisan? In the police department. which,
by the way, has been the least extensively
conducted of them all, Mr.. Myers placed
not single non-partisan. Not a single
non-partisan was named for the water de-
partment; nor is one to be found among
the assessors. But when we come to the
park and tree board, whose duties as orig
lnally defined was simply to exercise a SUI
shoots of little plants and the lowly
sprouts of grass, one, perhaps two, non
partisan out of five may be found. Re
member however, that this commission
mad no patronage at it's disposal, all of it's
work being done by the public works COM
missioner. The present members from
chatham introduced and secured the pas
sage of bi-act, giving this commission
me right to expend it's own appropriation,
ana employ its own labor
BUT says the ex-mayor, no one protest
eo against the passage of the bills. What
would have been the sense or reason in
Processing against measures fathered by
'He city council and earnestly and vigor-
UuslF pushed by united delegation from
.ue county. and the senator from this dis
TC'3 That was not the time to protest.
me opportunity came later. In fact, two
protests We're filed by the people-one in
Oc'oher, 1896, when the Citizens Clubs
CANDIDATES for the legislature went down
ocueath the ballots of an indignant con-
su'uehcy-the other in January, 1897,
Mmeh Mr.. Myers and his twelve disciples
zen outside the breastworks, victims of
, roo nluch zeal for commissions and COM
Al