The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1902-08-21

no public service which is not agree
able. that he will not expose himself
to rude OF undesirable association OF
to malevolent criticism, is a very poor
sort OF a patriot. cannot, indeed
complain OF the treatment | have re-
ceived in the council. have learned
much which | am glad TO know re
specting the details of our city house
keeping. Il is a kind of work In which
any intelligent man will find interest
and profit. am conscious that could
do the city better service in the next
two years than have done in the
last two, but the burden cannot be
borne by me any longer at present
without endangering my health. That
any good man should be willing to
secrifice his life for good city govern
ment | do not deny; indeed, be-
lieve that, If | could hope to secure
thoroughly good government TO-
Columbus by making that sacrifice,
IL would cost me no more on an eff
fort to make II than II has cost hun
dreds OF thousands OF soldiers to
march into the jaws of death.
But in order that such a sacrifice
may have any value under the present
circumstances, two conditions are
necessary. The first is that there
shall be some prevalence of the same
spirit throughout the community
general willingness to take up the
burdens OF a municipal responsibility.
II would not be a heroic act for a
single volunteer to start out from the
lines where his comrades are strongly
entrenched, sleeping on their arms,
and make a charge alone upon the
stronghold Of the enemy. It would
be simply foolhardiness. II the men
of character and intelligence and
standing in the different wards in this
city were bestirring themselves to
secure good government. volunteering
to take the positions of responsibility
on the school board and in the coun-
and determined to bring
about better conditions-I think |
should hesitate about laying down my
burden, e'en though the risk of bear
ing 1t for two years more were to me
very serious.
But | see no present indication of
that kind; my comrades are nearly
all as sound asleep in the breastworks
as they have been, 10, these many
a sleep from which.
| think, nothing but the thunder of
the judgment day will waken them;
and If one of them now and then rolls
over and rubs his eyes and exhorts
me to go ahead and make
my charge upon the battery, |
am not perhaps greatly moved by
the exhortation and do not feel quite
clear that in such an enterprise /
should not be throwing away my life.
am sometimes asked If | have not
learned much In the council. one
thing / have learned To hate, with a
perfect hatred--to loathe and abom-
mate with all the energy of which my
nature is capable-one thing which is
called party politics, in all it's con
nections with the city government.
Its makes every man who becomes
its devotee an unconscious traitor.
He is always ready to sac
rifice the interests of the city
for the sake of putting his
adversaries in a hole; he would rather
that the city should take detriment
than that his political enemies should
receive any credit. Not until the peo.
pie have learned TO stamp out this
deadly infection shall we have good
government in our city. For that
day shall wait in hope"
DIR. GLADDEN. gave his views upon
The present evils of the municipal sys-
tenn the other day during the course
IF a little chat in his comfortable |
study in the First congregational |
'hurch, of which he has been pastor
.or many years. He said: The |
rouble with our city government is
argely due to the incapacity and the
nexperience of the men in charge Of
hem. There are rascals in some of
hem, as the recent exposures have
shown us, but weakness more than
Tickedness is the cause of our munl-
'ipal miseries. Even where corpora
ions have made corrupt use Of city
it has often been by playing T
ipon their weakness more than by !
bribery. And If the figures could be
published ! suspect they would show
hat the average venal councilman is
bought at a very low price. This is
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