The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-02-16

In beginning his remarks the captain
spoke of having recently read a book
by the son of Lord Macauley. describing
the old-time town meetings held when
this country was i'm its infancy, and
he stated that he couldn't help con-
trasting the sturdy honesty prevailing
then to the methods now in use in the
civic life of the city of Scranton. He
Immediately took up the board of con-
troll and among other things said:
Have any of you gentlemen ever at
tended a meeting Of the Scranton board
of control. If you have you undoubt-
edly know what II is. 1t Is body
without law and without rules of order.
1t is composed of men from all Sec
tions of the city, who well represent
the wards they come from, but do they
represent the interests of the people at
large?
IF member of the school board
has two of his daughters teaching
school, if his brother gets a large per-
centage of the coal contracts, and IL
his employers get large percentage
of another class Of work, as is now the
case, it is because the people who put
that man in his place think he's doing
the right thing. If member comes
into the meeting drunk, as is done. It
is because the people of his ward have
no objection to his conduct.
FAULT OF VOTERS.
''If money is expended by secret un-
derstandings any way a member SO
desires, as is the case, it. is the fault
of those who send these controllers to
represent them. 1t is due altogether
to the low state of the public mind5in
reference to the public duty.
IF man of honesty and honor an
nounces himself as "a candidate for
the school board or councils he Is
wondered at. When went into the
board of control a man said to me:
What do you want in that body, you
need nothing?' l replied that thought
I might be of some service to the public
and he answered me back: You're
fool
What the citizens of this city need
to do is to take an active interest in
public affairs if they want an honest
administration. They must take off
their coats and work for the public
good. They must put not average men
but the best men in office, so that we
can in time be as proud of our school
board and OF our councils as our old
time fathers We're proud of their town
meetings"
Captain May was followed by At
torney James II. Torrcy, who spoke on
"The Responsibility of Scranton Cit
izenship." He stated in beginning that
he took an optimistic view of the flu
turc and had a firm hope that existing
1,n r;or faI in In.
Torrey spoke in part as follows:
NEVER ENDING CLASH.
''Since the earliest beginnings of this
country there has been a never-ceas.
ing clash between the professional
politician, who seeks to smother the
individual voter and the individual
voter, who will not be smothered. The
methods used by tho professional poll
tician for controlling the voters are
many. The first method is to control
the will by rousing the party spirit and
getting the voters to elect men with
out any regard for their personal
worth There are many men who ara
foolish enough to permit issues to be
forced upon them which have absO-
lutely no connection with municipal
matters whatever. The way to defeat
this method is by the Independent vote
and the independent vote has grown
marvellously in all parts Of the coun-
try within the past few years.
THE second weapon used by the
politician is to seek to confuse and put
the voter In quandary by having
two men nominated, neither one Of
whom is good man. The way to de-
feat this weapon is by the Crawford
county system, by means of which
every man selects his own candidate.
THE third weapon used is to seek
to win over the officeholder after cleo
tion by means of bribery and corrup-
tion. The only means to he used TO
prevent this is the rigid enforcement
of existing laws against these offenses.
One "f the greatest responsibilities of
citizenship is the holding of public
servants, from the president down, 10
account for their acts. 1t is the people
at large who make and unmake public
servants. The three elements of sue
cess in an organization like yours are.
n definite purpose, energy in pursuit
or that purpose ana perseverance.
REFORM OF ABUSES.
Another responsibility is the reform
of abuses. The great trouble with re-
formers is that they want too many
things. They want all or nothing and
they want all right away. There Ia
nothing in which half loaf is better
than no bread as in reform. After You
get the half, however. always strive
for the other half.
"A question to which ] have given
not little time and thought in years
gone by is the necessity for q re-ap>
portionment of the wards Of the city.
When the city was divided into twcn-
ty-oEe wards years ago it was don.
helter-skelter and no wisdom was
used. 1t might have been fairly even
division then, but It sn't so now
Take, for instance, two sets of
wards. In the first set place the Third,
seventh. Tenth, Twelfth. Eighteenth
and Twenty-first, and in the second
set place the First, Fifth, Eighth,
Ninth, Thirteenth and Seventeenth.
The first set represents those wards
in which lack of enterprise and public
spirit is most apparent and the second
set those in which public spirit and
intelligence Is at the highest.
'"rhe ayerapa voters per ward in tho