BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-04-03
JUAN, APRIL 3
Our New Councilnen.

One of the best things done by Viii
liam H. Hunt since his Inauguration as
governor of Porto Rico, was the ap-
pointment, on Monday of Manuel Pania-
Q ia Oller, Carlos Maria Soler and Tu-
lio Larrinaga as members of the Mu-
nicioal Council of the city of San Juan.
The Importance of these appoint
ment cannot be overest1mated, and
their significance of hope and promise
for sensible and bushes 5like manage
ment of the communitys interests
cannot be doubted for a single second.
These three men taken from amongst
the representative class OF conservative,
non-p partisan, business men and placed
in the council is like guarantee for
sterling municipal integrity and proper
administration.
This important step in the direction
of non-partisansh;p taken by the author
tiles should be hailed by every citizen
as as indication that politics are not the
life of the island of Porto Rico. That
the people have far more to lose by too
much politics than by too little politics.
Partisanship expunged from any con-
Sideration in the management or the
city's affairs means better laws. better
life. and what is of the greatest impor-
tance better management of the citys
municipal budgets and finances.
There is no inputatlon in this art1-
Gle that the affairs of the city of San
Juan have not been carried on with
ability. To say this would be as much
of an untruth as an injustice to the
prese 1t A1calde, whose efforts are In
caaSing, and whose zeal knows no OBJ
StacleS. In the face of this however it
mus. be admitted that there are things
which can be materially improved The
finances can be placed in such a con
dition as to be beyond doubt or
question.
New York City, the metropolis of the
Union was for long time permitted
to lay like servant in the hands of
political partisans, who knowing of no
opposition, and who seeing no interest
taken in the affairs of the munich
pality, by The business men, felt
that the city vas the property of
the ring alone, and managed it to suit
the ends and private purposes OF the
members of one of the most wicked
combination which ever organized itself
as political body. When the business
trIe status of affairs, the final over
throw of the ring was rapid and sud
den. To-day New York is undergoing
the best administration it has known in
years And this is at the hands of the
better class of citizen and business man.
The history of the United States is
replete with incidents of this kind,
where political party grown obl1viot1s
of all else but its own strength has
imposed upon-the community, robbed
the treasury, NAL administered the laws
and made the people ashamed to ack-
nowledge the cities of their birth. The
overthrow Of these parties, and The.
ilnal redemption Of municipal commu :
mites has always been accomplished by
the re-awakening of the business men
and non-pa rtisan citizen
10 the man who is familiar with the
situation the fau1t d Jes not all lie with
the politician. The greater fault is
with the disinterested citizen, who can
not see that he owes a du=y to the
community to work for it and against
the partisan politician and his n1achina-
tons This has been the greatest cause
OF political d ring bossdom. Mr.
James Bryce in his well known work
on the American Commonwealth, in
discussing the topic of " The War
Against Bossdom' says But the most
serious difficulty is the apathy of the
respectable, steadygoihg part Of the pop
ulation to turn out in sufficient num-
bers. They have their engagements of
business CT pleasure to attend to, or it
is a snowy night and their wives per
suade them to stay indoors. The well
conducted men of small means are an
eminently domestic class, who think
they do quite enough for the city and
the nation if they vote at the polls. It /
is stin more difficult to induce the rich
to interest themselves in confessedly
disagreable work
Accustomed TO he treated with defer
ence in their coanting-hou or manu-
factory they are jostled by a rough
crowd and .fnd that their servants or
Morkmen are probably better known
and more influential than they them
selves. The d fficnlties of getting good
citizens to maintain a steaoy war ag-
ainst professionals have been found SO
great that in many cases remedies have
been sought in legislation.
The birth, the existence and the job |
berry Of the partisan politician always
has been and always viii be due to the |
apathy Of the better class Of business
men.