The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-02
ADV ANCED
Another PEG
Are Plans.
CLINTON AS A CITY
Discussed Pro and Con By
The Heaviest Men.

Clinton, Dec. plans forming here,
since the movement to make Clinton a
city was inaugurated by The Spy, are
so far advanced that town meeting
to consider what preliminary steps to
this end, if any, shall be taken, will be
called in a few days Various gentle
men of prominence in the great parties
and in the Business Mems Association,
who have been looking into the matter,
feel that the time is ripe FOR action, and
The Spy is in position to say that the
selectmen will be asked by number OF
citizens to summon a town meeting, as
The law provides, within the next Two
weeks. The names of these gentlemen
will be made public in due season 1t
is enough for the present to say that
no more representative body OF gentle
men could be found in the town.
As an indication of the sentiment
that brings about this movement to DO
something definite toward becoming a
city, The SPY has obtained from gen
tlemen prominent in business, politics
and affairs answers to the question:
Should Clinton be a. city?
These answers are made by David J.
Walsh, chairman OF the democratic
town committee; 5. Ives Wallace, re-
publican representatiVe-elect Warren
Goodale. president of the Business
Mems Association; p. H Morrison, an
acknowledged leader of the democratic
marty in this section; Fl. B. Merchant,
secretary Of the Business Mems Asso-
citation: George w. Morse, and other
gentlemen Of acknowledged prominence
and shrewdness in business affairs. the
question is mos fully answered py Dd-
vid L Walsh, as follows
ie n he said in encOQT-
agement Of a city government for Gin
ton. I understand there is even an
extended sentiment in favor OF apply
ing to the next general court for
charter. Recent occurrences, TOO
seem to indicate that we have out
grown government by town meeting
There is complaint that town meetings
are not so representative as they used
TO be; that their method of doing bust
ness is not always accurate and not al
ways dignified. 1t has also been said
that those who attend town meetings
are not all parliamentarians Well,
those who attend town meetings never
will be all parliamentarians Neither
are town meetings less carefully con-
Quoted now than they were when the
town was smaller. But inaccuracies
in their method are noticed more. The
larger the business, the more important
it is that the details of that business
shall be systematically performed.
Omission or mistake is more disastrous,
more far-reaching and more noticed as
the work becomes complex. l am
asked why town meetings are not more
largely attended. 1 have heard sew
eral reasons advanced. The one that
has been frequently advanced is, that
the best element of both parties re-
mains away because the men repre-
senting the best element are afraid of
being insulted if they come. Person
ally, l can't take this view. If I did,
I should have to believe that some $500
legal voters of both parties were. alb
sent from a recent town meeting be-
cause they We're afraid of being out
ragged, mobbed or insulted by the forty
who were present. This is too ride
ulous. My own opinion is that a tire
arrives in the growth of a community
when it outgrows town government.
For such communities, the wisdom of
the ages has provided varying forms of
city government. l can't Illustrate
better than by asking what would be
the result Of trying to run Boston by
town meeting. Town meeting affords
q fair expression of opinion where the
town is small and the business of the
town can be transacted at one or two
meetings during the year But where
the business grows until two or three
meetings a month or more are neces-
sary, they become impraeticable. Men
have their own work to do. The mass
of them are too busy to give q large
proportion Of their time to civic func-
tons. 1t is not necessary that they
should do so, they know that IL is not
and, as in Clinton, when the volume of
business becomes too great, they viii
not
The element of cost must, of course.
be considered. My own opinion is that
a city government would be at least as
economical. The salary list might be
Slightly greater under a city charter,
but the resulting gain in efficiency and
economy ought to more than equalize
the increase. A mayor and common
council would not be likely to appro-
pirate large sums of money as reck-
lessly as town meetings frequently do.
The reason is summed up in the word
responsibility If town meeting
votes two or three thousand dollars
unnecessarily, by thoughtlessness or
by device, who is responsible? Where
everybody is responsible, nobody IS
But if the mayor and council recl6lessly
expend the money of the people, it IS
they who are to blame, and they who
must suffer, with the party responsible
for them, On the score of dignity all
the arguments are for the city and
against the town form of government.
l know of one strong objection which
/ believe will influence some in oppos-
ing the adoption of a city charter. 1t
is the tendency of our legislatures to
oveTule the wishes of the people of
certain localities and poke the med
ding fingers of state laws into muni-
cipal affairs for partisan advantage
Striking examples of this, abuse of
home rule is instanced in the creation
of police boards with power of appoint
ment in the governor for the cities of
Boston and FAN River. If the opposi-
ton should be fought along the line
that the state legislature was going to
usurp the powers of the voters of
Clinton to control their local affairs
then / believe our charter is not an
early possibility. So long as the leg
islature of this state continues annU-
I ally to dishgure city charters by par
tisan amendments, against the pro-
tests of the people concerned-these
turbulent, troublesome town meetings
are safer, because the people enjoy
self government-the foundation of lib
erty.
The local affairs of Clinton ought to
concern no one but the people of Gin
ton. / believe city charters ought to
be adopted by the votes of the cities
themselves and in that same manner
amended Such is the custom in west
ern cities-any other method is a stig-
ma upon the principle of self govern
ment.
If a movement to procure q city char
ter should be projected, clearly that
movement should be non-partisan
Politics should not enter into IT, The
instrument should be drawn by a suit
able committee composed equally Of
representatives, of both parties. 1t
should be drawn solely to give to the
town the best government possible I'M