Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1902-10-28

/ attempted to be put upon them
merits, and ought to receive, an en-
phatic condemnation at the polls.
! Governor Nash in like manner has
! said In late speech, that in the code
which bears his name "the principle Of
home rule has been preserved" Low
that sentence must have blistered his
tongue as he uttered it, in the light
Of the above exposition of the hidden
purpose and certain workings of the
law in question!
The only plausible rag Of pretended
political uprightness or fairness left
in the act is that this board is to be
! bipartisan, that is, 1t is, according
| to Hanna's Cleveland speech, to be
made UP Of two Republicans and two
Democrats. There has been no such
CHASTITY failure in municipal govern
ment as that bottomed on the idea Of
| bi-partisanship. 1t is Senator Platt's
favorite mode of handling his crea
| lures Indeed no more wholesome
example of whnt 1t can be made, car
ried into practice. Is to be found than
/ in our present city government by
Commissioners supposed to be taken
one.half from the ranks Of one party
and onc-half from the other. The ap-
pointing power,-the real chooser, be-
longs to one party alone. 1t is not for
his partisan interest to have credited
to the opposite side of the bipartisan
ledger either an honest partisan or an
able man. SO he appoints Il political
renegade who has in some emergency
or another betrayed his party. but
comes back to It's colors when politi-
cal rations are to be issued, and IL
in the same man he can find person
of no ability, he has served the dou-
BILE purpose of discrsditlng the party
opposed to his own, and at the same
time Of finding supple tool for his
own devious work. Washington
GLADDEN., in his late argument before
the Code committee, fifty character
ized this double-hended city govern
ment as race for imbecility," and
x,,o dnc,t la,,a t<, ,,~, furtl, o ,U-sy ~ tha .,
Akron to find confirmation Of the
truth of his remarks.
We forbear, for the present, from
commenting on the many other un-
savory features Of this law,--the un-
necessary places 1t creates, the> i'm
provideiit expenditures 1t invites, the
burdens of added taxation 1t en-
courages, and the like.
What we do say is that It evinces
profound ana settled distrust of the
people. It undertakes to keep de-
linquent officials from being reached
by the people for the purpose of ac-
counting and punishment for their
shortcomings when found faithless to
their trust. It tries to hide those who
are to administer our city govern
ments from responsibility to the peo-
pie.
AT the same time it attempts 10
hoodwink the people into the belief
that, through the Mayor whom they
have elected. they do have some real
voice in the administration Of their
own affairs, and this II does by means
of the disreputable fraud which we
have exposed. That such low sub
tcrfuge should be resorted to is evil
dence of the inlquity OF the whole
scheme; and for Governor of great
State and a Senator of the United
States to call this home rule" ia
wholly unworthy Of the stations they
hold, and Of the earlier traditions OF
the party to which they belong. Equal
: ly is the claim an insult to the intelli
gencc of the people to whom they
: make II, And 1t is as short-sightet
as II is unworthy and insulting The
deception is apparent to man wht
: can see through ladder, and 1t fools
no one who does not wish to be de
ceiyed or to deceive himself. Tha
) there will be plenty of the latter with
, In few days. the Forthcoming In
terviews in the Republican paper
will show,
To such we have nothing to say
But Of the man who desires good gov
t ernment. aud who expects neither I,
\ cheat nor be cheated when he send
| Legislators TO HIS capitol to make law
: for him, we ask candid consideration
Of this law, the defense of whicl
Q the Republican party has so tardil,
I taken up. And we are ready to abid
= the decision Of such.
J. trust regulates the price Of the outpu