Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-06-10
GL|MPSES OF PAST.
IF the Union Would Have Them
Let Ii Read Its Own
Record.
APRoPos OF COUNCILS RIGHTS.

The Stand 1t Took a Few Years Ago When
the Aldermen Had Less Reason to Com
plain and That of Today-Mayor's Pres
ent Course without a Parallel In the
City's History.
The Union is rash enough to ven
ture into past history, so clouded
with strange freakisms on its part,
far enough to attempt to cite a par
allel in the issue that arose between
Mayor Medill and the council during
his first administration over the APP
pointment of two policemen, and the
situation that exists today in Rock
Island. The circumstances, however.
are not at all similar Mayor Medill
had not sought to upset the entire
municipal government, nor had he
attempted to supplant men in office
with others whom the council had
disapproved. There were vacancies
and the mayor filled them These va
cancies were not of the mayors max
ing. They came in the ordinary
course of events He had not turned
out of Office the men whose political
views were in accord with those of
he ma ority of the council, without
the consent of the council. But mas
much as the Union is looking vainly
to the past for precedent to sustain
the mayor in his present al BIZ
trary course, why does it not
consult its own files? 1t might
discover in an issue along about Feb.
%. 1894, in one of those grandmoth-
erlv lectures, which it occasionally
felt constrained to deliver to THE
ARGUS, a TRADE growing out of the
recalling of the same instance alluded
to this morning, in which it declared
itself in this fashion:
There are two theories of munich
pal government. One is that the
mayor is an autocrat and the council
merely a formality to enable him to
carry out his policy. The other is
that the council governs and that the
mayor, while having certain indie
pendent powers. is its executive-the
person charged with carrying into
effect its will. Ex-Mayor Medill and
the democratic ARGUS stand for the
one-man idea; Mayor Knox and re-
publicans generally believe in repre-
sentative government. The council
under our laws is given certain pow
ers and is very properly hid resPon-
81 BILE for their exercise II we were
to criticise the present mayor 1T would
not be for his cheerful Difference TO
the will of the majority in matters
within the councils province, but for
not always insisting that it is duty,
and his alone, to attend to the eXecu
ton of all laws and ordinances.
The talk in which the Union in
dulges about what Mayor McConochie
amagined or conjectured was the rea-
son the council rejected his appoint
ments, is merely whine. The mayor
knew why his appointees were not con-
firmed, and he had reason to expect
no different fate. In reply to what
he may do, or what radical move he
may make to further indicate TO the
council that he is master of the city.
it may be said to his honor that it is
his next move as the situation is
now, and that when he has made it
the council may be expected to try to
have another one coming The alder
men have made their advance for a
| compromise and it has been rejected.
If the executive prefers to fight it out
no one can blame a council that is
more considerable of his desires than
he is of the councils official express
sion, if it accommodates him.
Mayor McConochie Has no Defence.
| In its labored arguments to sustain
the one-man-rule policy that Mayor
McConochie is endeavoring to esta ID
lish in the conduct of municipal affairs,
the Union, in citing the attitude that
repu blicans in the council have shown
toward democratic mayors, which in
every instance, by the way, found the
Unions unqualified endorsement on
| the side of the aldermen, fails to note
| that in not one of the cases in ques-
| ton did the democratic MAYOR at
tempt to supplant those in Office
lin defiance of the council. At no
time before has a mayor, after the
council had failed to confirm his APP
| pointments, removed the men in
Office and filed their places with the
very ones the council had, on presen-
tation of their names to it for con-
| firmation. rejected. Not before,
either. has the council, the Union to
the contrary Notwithstanding. been
absolutely ignored in the choice of
appointments. Most of Mayor Motifs
entertainments were in accordance with
the desires of the council, and in
cluded, among others, the retention
of the much beloved Phil Miller in
the office he had then held for 10.
many years, and who seems to never
! grow old in the service as the head
iof the police force. And yet the
Union. at that time urged the
aldermen to stay away from the
meetings until they secured their
rights. 1t fGrther recognized the re-
tention of the chief of police of oppo-
site political faith to the mayor as
proper. and it now says the mayor
should have all the departments gov
erued by officials in entire political
accord with him, and Mayor Medill.
after the republicans had at the very