The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-28
should counciimen Be paid

Should counciimen BE Paid ?
The question has recently been asked
whether or not city councilmen should
be paid for their services The mat
ter is not new one for discussion. 1t
10 q. theme over which there has
been controversy for years. There are
people who believe man is worthy Of
his hire just as there are those who
think the true public-spirited citizen
should serve the community without
hope of financial reward. The one side
holds that q mans time is worth some
thing; the other that the honor Of hold
ing place il sufficient in the way of an
emolument.
The problem ought to be solved by
determining whether or not munich
paiity will get better service from its
council II the members are paid. If
higher order Of talent can be secured
by employing a salaried council. then
such council should be maintained.
1t is quite as important to have good
men to enact ordinances as it is to en-
ploy competent agents to enforce those
ordinances. and II It is right to pay one
set of city officials. why should it not
be right to pay another set which il in
trusted with responsibilities quite as
grave?
In small places the better class Of cit
liens are not reluctant to give their SER
vices free, whether 1t be for the duties
OF councilman or those Of fire en-
CINE or hook and ladder company;
every mans efforts are at the command
OF the community and, as a result, the
history Of early government in Amer
lean cities is story Of the public SER
vice Of the more substantial citizens.
But with pronounced growth and In
crease In wealth. population and Inn
portance the better class of citizens
show q reluctance to Identify themselves
with local public affairs. and the run
ming of things falls to those who have
nothing else to do and who are placed
in power principally for the reason that
men Of large parts and commanding
ability will have nothing to do with
petty ward politics In consequences
the supremely important task of maxi
ing laws for a municipality and regu-
lating it's affairs falls to an inferior
grade OF men--men who may mean well
but who have neither the experience
nor mental equipment to know what
the interests Of that municipality de-
mand.
The proceedings Of a municipal con-
vention invariably show how glaringly
at fault people Of all parties are In their
choice of men for some of the more
responsible positions. Having select
ed candidates for mayor and the other
offices carrying pay, nominations for
councilmen are shoveled out to any,
body and everybody who will take
them In the scramble for the more de-
sirable plums the necessity for choosing
broad gauged men as city lawmakers
is overlooked. People therefore wake
up and find that the majority If coun-
Gil candidates is made up of nonentities.
small politicians, men out of job,
newcomers who found the grass
short in the East. people without prop
erty or anything at stake, wise theo-
rists who have always been unsuccess-
full in running their own affairs. thrifty
individuals who have made study OF
municipal leaks and rat holes to
their personal profit and finally one
or two men of real worth who will
have to act as the brains of the outfit
and assume almost the entire RESPONSE
bility of furnishing good. decent, hon
est and respectable government.
Having elected this class of men to
perform legislative duties for the city,
good part of the time until the next
election is occupied In berating the city
fathers as pinheads, incompetents and
grafters unfit to look after the city's In
terests-which is sometimes more than
half true. That is why ii is asked 90