Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1902-08-07
The Municipal Development
OF Eagles Mere Borough

municipal management or misman-
agement.
The writer we'll remembers, many
years ago, when one of his friends
was County Superintendent of Pub
lie Schools nearer the geographical
centre af the state hearing him say
at a County Convention something
like the following: "it is one of the
dearest rights of the American Cit
iZen, of both sexes, to criticise the
school directors. The citizen feels
that this is one of the inalienable
privileges guaranteed by the Consti-
tuition of the United States. So i'm
portant is it that he is hero indeed
who will manifest his dissatisfaction
with a School Director by shying a
brick or a rock at the offending Off
cial at any time when it can be done
without danger of detection"
While we would hardly go to
this length with our old time friend
his remarks would be fairly aplica-
BILE to conditions with us as to our
Borough Council. When cOndolen-
ces on the weather are exhausted,
the miners strike gets tiresome, the
presidents aphOrisms stir no respOn
i've chord and even Pierpont Nor
gan's reach after the earth becomes
history instead of news, it is always
safe to fall back on the Council.
What it should have done or left
undone is always legitimate sub
ject of animadversiOn in the barber
shop, at the store, ON the street cor
ner, in the hotel lobby, on the trains
or even after church.
1t is question whether this is all
fair and if there is anything that we
try to believe in it is that in con
test or discussion of any sort, wheth-
er in words or blows, we want things
''fair" as witness our late unpleas-
antness with Spain over the little
fellows Cuba and the PHILIPPINES.
The councilmen serve without
pay, they are compelled to assume
responsibilities out of all proportion
to their own property holdings, they
must decide all sorts of questions
without any opportunity to profit
by the experience of others and deal
with matters in which they have
had no experience themselves.
Some of these things involve larger
sums of money than they are accus-
toned to handle. The assessment
of the whole Council is lessithan five
per cent of the total for the borough
and yet they must rule upon the
other ninety-tive per cent without
the assistance or judgment of the
owners of that ninty-tive per cent
We believe that we have only to
stop for a moments consideration
and we will concede at once that
something should be changed.
Our councilmen are residents here
all the year round, and the summer
conditions are only of interest to
them as far as they furnish business
out of which must come the living
and savings of we who stay here.
How is it possible for us to know
Just what will add most to the graf
ification of the people from Will
transport, Philadelphia, Washing
ton, Baltimore and hundred other
places whose coming is building our
houses, educating our children, pay
ing for home and giving us a little
money in bank:
On the other hand how are they
to know about the local lie. islation
that we are enacting so as to concen-
trate in the limits of thirty or sixty
days all the benefit and pleasure that
is to be had in our attractive village
and its surrounding region. AS the
doctors would say after diagnosing
a case ''what treatment is indica-
ted?" 1t seems to the writer that
two changes are self-evidsntly need
ed one is that our council should
adopt measures so that what we are
doing may be thoroughly known
and understood by those whe pay
the bills and the other is that those
who pay the bills should adopt some
measures to lay before our council
lust what is desired to make their