Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-10-30
HORACE ). TAFT'S LECTURE
frs President and Ladies

to speak on the subject of civil servica
 reform. have, however, obtained
 their permission to take instead a3
 broader subject. one that not only ina
 wolves all the principles of civil ser<
 vice reform, but is of vital inportanca
 1n the discussion of every political re< form in this country
 Let me ask your attention to the case
 Of an average American citizen in aa city which will call Grafton. cifv
 with a population of a quarter of a
 million or more. Itis the day of flaes election of city efficials-the mayor. f6a
 treasurer, councilmen, aldermen, efcs
 Our man Is n good republican anal
 votes the republican ticket. That ticket Is victorious. Of course eaIIl
 him republican for convenience's sake.
 The tale would be as fvDica r
 were he called a democrat Tie new
 administration begins The city offices
 are filled by men, of whom many.
 have 9 bad reputation and most Of the
 others proceed to acquire one vaIs1-
 able franchises of the city are sold bg.
 Tne city council to corporations for a(
 song. Contracts for all kinds of work
 are let at double the prices that would pc named in a private contract The
 quallty of the paving in the streets and
 the prices charged make citizens stare
 Iaxes are raised and big debt con-
 tracted, and from all this expenditure
 the citizens see no results excpn4 tIlaH
 many officials and acounciImen area|
 growing rich. The police for price
 protect the saloon and the brofhel.
 There is certainly a ring in Grafton.
 and probably the ring has it's boss. a1sd.
 this boss rules the city as no elected
 ofnc1al ever can rule an American cifvsi Tn short popular government in Graf
 ton is complete failure. It has rz-
 suited for more than generation iI13
 utter inc ftirieilcy and corruption and
 demoralization. Now. the first ol7es-
 ton is: Did the average citizen vvislfs
 for this? Is the majority of Graffon-j ians in favor of corrupt government {
 A thousand times no! Our civilizafiongt could not last a year if that were fhel| case We should descend to Iev.IE below that of the South American ra- publics. But why then does the aver-@ age American citizen vote so? Becausa
 he must vote for his party. He Is ~
 good republican and the republicans put up these rascals Why is lesa K. pnbiican2 Because he believes m sa 7,a.f,. fective tariff, in the gold standard. 5r.} expansion. and in the great history x>f the republican party in war times ann after. And the next question fs: Yha <
 have these things to do with the leov- ernmenf of Grafton? Abso1s1felv nothing. No sane man could uoil1t ol1f the slightest connection The of15cera E of 2 acity government as such. have no more to do with passing a tariff hi17. adopting a monetary standard or carr<-. ing out an expansion policy than tl1evs have 10 do with EnglansI's Irish policy or Russia's treatment of Finland. IF i4 these matters with which reu11f,Iicass and democratic principles are con- cerned. The pfornr work If fl1e rsas,lv- E or. the trea surer. the council. etc ;s fn run a great business corporation. to inrovide efficient police and fire profee- tlon. 70 enforce the laws without fear or favor to pave the streets to manage the schools. to provide plenty of pure water. to build an efficient seweraveI system. to sell franchises to troI1ev companies and other corporations un- uer terms most advantageous to fha city and for all these purposes 50 to raise taxes and spend the money that the citizens shall get the most benefr dt Lne leasr expense. A mans s opinio1S on expansion has exactly as much fo uo WIth nls fitness for doing such work as lI nas With his fitness to run the
 scoviil aManufacturing Go BlIt. if resS puualcaH ~ principles are not ifaz S so,ved, why does our friend feef noilged to vote the republican tickets , nscause ne always has and because his father did before him. 1n a1ss most any community in this country We nave the remarkable fact that the poiltic1ans of either party can put 1p any ucket they please and coIlnf On poiilng Tor that ticket ninety-five peri cent of the regular party votes tl1ouen not a, single party principle is involv-.s ed. If all the men in Grafton who liked their eggs boiled soft were to put up a ticket for city office and enter into vigorous sfrupgla with the hard boiled party, and every soft boiler felt that he was sacrificing 8 great principle if he did not vote the soft boiled ticket. the situafiou logically would hardly be more a1S- surd than the one we have
 But to return to the average fatss zen. He does not like if. let us make him little more than averara. then he hates it. His patriotic blood boils at the infamy of it. What. can he do? Inasmuch as be cannot step out of the party, he must purify the party at the primaries. The bad cans didates that our friend voted for were nominated by the republican city cons venton and the delegates to that con- vention were elected in republican primaries throughout the city. There. fore it seems perfectly logical when B politician who is growing fat on the average citizens loyalty to party tells him that the thing to. do is to begin with the primaries Accordingly he 1oes. He then finds that nine-tenfhs of the American people will not go to the primaries; that they regard their duty as done when they have cast their votes on election day. Further more he finds that when he and ths