The herald., 1897-01-31
THE PRIMARY BALLOT LAW
BY ABBOT KINNEY

litical patronage and appointment to
subordinate offices as rewards for pri-
vate or political service must be abol-
ished- Merit alone must give entrance
and promotion to the public service
These are the main things to be done
Our newly defeated charter proposed
| to reduce the elective officers by concen-
trating power in the mayor. This would
certainly provide the possibility for an
| efficient and capable city government
| The possibility for this does not now
exist. The increase In the mayors pow
| er Is not popular. Another way to bring
| the city business into business shape
with q responsible governing power, is
| to follow the Swiss or the English plan.
| in fact the foundation plan of munich
| pal government throughout the civilized
world, except in the United States.
| This plan is a council with power to ap-
| point, remove and direct the municipal
officers. Our experience in America
| with city councils is far from giving us
confidence in this plan The European
city council however, is not like ours
in any way. Take Glasgow, or Liver
pool, or Manchester as Instances. The
regular city election takes place in No
vember The city Is divided into dis
tricts. far more numerous than ours.
Each district has three councillors, each
of whom serves three years, and one of
whom Is elected each year The only
person or candidate voted for is the
councillor at the November election. No
trades are possible. The districts are
small. Only one system of nomination
is recognized. Nomination is by a petit
ton of generally ten persons only. Party
pressure is almost unknown. A NOM
ination alone is generally equivalent
to an election. The method is so simple
and easy that no machinery or previous
politics being necessary, the plain, ev
ery0Ay people really select the oandi-
date This council is not, or but little
paid. 1t selects an executive council
that is we'll paid, and selects and con-
trolls all the executive officers subject as
to subordinates to more or less rigid
civil service. This is substantially the
English city system. The power Is con-
centrated in council directly RESPONSE
Bile to the people and elected by them
without other confusion of candidates.
The voter votes for one man only at
the council election. The result Is econ
omy and efficiency. We may, indeed,
say that the results are grand. Glas-
gov, for instance, under this scheme has
built its own deep sea harbor and made
itself a great port at a necessarily tre-
mendous cost. It has cleared away its
central slums, owns its gas. water and
city car systems, and has probably the
finest hospital system in the world.
This year no taxes were required. It's
public utilities paid the whole cost of
government and something besides for
new improvements Is not such a sys-
tenn better than our complicated and
headless scheme which everywhere slips
out of the control of the people into the
hands of cabal or boss? Is 1t not bet
ter to simplify the methods of nomina-
ton and thus bring politics to the door
of the plain citizen rather than to fix
upon ourselves by law the miserably un-
representative system of political pri-
maries with the perpetuation of ma ational
party politics in local affairs?
This primary ballot law gives us more |
politics. Instead of more politics what
we want Is less politics and more sound
common sense,