Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-01-15

The processes of city government which
call for such ebullitions of public resent
! n.ent that just reported from St. Louis
to correct evils are in need of serious re-
fCrmatory attention. The st. Louis case is
not extraordinary when the conditions I'M
del which the average municipal legislature
is chosen are taken under considera-
ton. Citizens permit the machinery for
filling these important places to fall
into the hands of professional politicians.
whose first aim is spoils and who think
last of the real interests of their commun-
ity. The legislators are drawn mainly from
the ranks of the workers in the wards, the
men who can control votes. who can he
relied upon to act in accordance with in
structionS from headquarters, whose votes
in council are under control The we'll
meaning citizen, honest in his views of pub
lie life and DESTROYS only of good govern
inert seldom troubles himself about the
primaries, preferring his personal quiet to
the turmoil of a fight with the organized
ma chine and the trained politician. His
,assitude reacts sooner or later upon him
self. Now it is street railway franchise,
given away for a song to a favored corpo-
ration; row it is an electric lighting or gas
contract let to a company which offers the
of the party in power; now it is a water
works grab. engineered by a combination
of spectators and politicians. The tax
payer pays the bills. When they begin to
press too hard. when the electric lighting
service is bad or extravag antly costly
when the water supply is ruinous'y expens-
i've when the street railway corporations
begin to assert their independence and give
poor service, then he realizes that some
thing is wrong and he starts out on a cru
SADIE to correct the evils. He finds an en-
trenched enemy, capable of putting up a
long fight and reasonably sure to win an
average engagement. But once in while
the indignant citizen finds that he has
many associates, that other honest men are
aroused with him and that of a sudden
public sentiment has crystallized around a
demand for reform Then perhaps the ma
chine is smashed, the affairs of the COM
munity are turned over for time to the
hands of honest administrators, councils
are cfrcunspect in their processes and the
municipality seems to have been safely di-
vGrced from practical politics. But in
ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the hon
est citizen grows lax after his first burst of
enterprise, and after a few sessions things
drift back to their old state and the pro-
feSSiOrlls have secured control once more.
The reason for this falling off In the city
administration usually is that the honest
citizen assures himself that his duty Is
done when once he has interfered and
overturned the machine. His duty in fact
demands that he keep on guard constantly,
that he become part of the machine,
that he devote a part of his time to munic-
ipal government just as to his business.
Perhaps after few of these experiences
the honest taxpayers of our American cities
will realize the truth that 1t Is to their
direct interests as merchants and profess
sional men and laborers, as business prop
csition to contribute time, money and en-
ergy to the work of managing public affairs
on a non-political basis. to attending the
primaries, to serving in the councils, or as
officers, and to that perpetual private su-
pervision over affairs which foments and
maintain the public sentiment serving in
this country as a governor to the great
engine of the state. Until that lesson has
been learned there will be occasional need
for these popular rushes upon city legisla-
lures. threats of force and bloodShed, dem
onstrations of disorder, to the end that the
balance between the government and the
people may be preserved.