The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-07-24
BY AN BX-MAY0R.

the conclusion that in the game OF prac-
teal politics tho successful man is he
who proves to be the best job gcttcr
3Sa'.Y You can't stay IN politics unless you
can pu t your constituents on some pay
roll, ~ said the alderman Most Of my
time Is spent getting work for my peo,.
pie, and this IS true Of every alderman
in the city. don't know how many
men & have got into the street car COM
7pany, the gas company. and the other
companies which have to come 70 us for
5fayors. s Just now my best hold is the
railroad which cuts through the west
end of my ward. The railroad peoplc
want to run a long switch down q. street
and It comes In mighty handy to me A
Just now. for the other crowd has got
the breweres and the lumber yards, and l
I'm going to have a hard fight on my
hands. sent forty men & over TO the 4
working to-day
# The City Hail seems to {be regarded by
many citizens as III asylum for tleir5
drunken, incompetent or worthless Erela-H
5tipes. recall one instance. lsucce.:s-5
8ful and worthy. business man catrnc to my
With the request that I place his brother
In one OF the departme DE men
toned a position which paid a fh.r sa l,sS
sary knew the man IS brother to DO
a worthless d nkard and Will, some
heat i said: 4;
53..In your big store you've got almost
as many men AS "a 70 n m ri Dyed An this
City Hall. Why can't you find as place
for your brother there " $.f5
Well, Mr. Mayor lie replied. II hes
not very strong. and you know i ere 8 4
q wide difference between private busi-8
ness and the public service Sii Oh don; II
den:and so much Of a mar N the CITY
Hall s we do s. n orr Ssl y. y
81 Now this man, but q short time be-
fore, had strenuously objected 70 the
amount OF personal tax assessed against
his establishment. and in his argument
had Injected the statement that II the
public service were managed more
economically there would be no need for
such large taxes,Ss did not give D. MS
brother the wanted position and that In
business man became my pcrsona and
nolitical enemy.
His was a typical case s ono 81 man
such, Had \ accfded to y OF ll!se re-
quests made during my term o. Office .,;
the city pay roll WOULD have read liiie
| the columns OF those directories which
contain only the names OF the fashion
ables. Men representing the incest and
best people of5my city baGged me daily
toB find some place In s ONE tepartnlenlt,
where the family cast Il could pc en-
ploycd ~ i soon discovered TINT he sal
ary had nothing to do with the case;
1.-the family wanted to be apo = g refer
Ito the ne'er-ido-well ms DIG on,
cal or as one Of the 81
--and the public service was 20 elas1ic.s
1T never seemed to have occurred to3
| them that a mayor might Il have some.
| pcrsonnl @ prlde lin his admins ION.
|Their selfish thought ssness ss3 blinded
their civic patriotism and no they troop 7,
ed to the mayors office, exl.i pit eds tne,f
family skeletons and bra zeyl az tempt
cd to place their black sheer as cha ~ rEes
upon the public. 5ts y VI
There was a marked IA florence between
such men and those presented AZ py tl,f
politicians, The d latter were @inveterate
petitioners, bit the majority Of the. men y,
they wanted Inc iron ~ Ine
| rublic crib II were III wild e-aWake, active,
| brainy fellows. They had IN them many
| uualI ties Witch characterize men Of sue
/ cess. Most OF them we're young and 20
ambitious, and looked upon q pub JOB
/ not only as 4 Al reward for SCI wees rfill-
/ dered their political superiors, hut as e Z,
/ means to advance them In politics vs. ana
/ the world In general 70 BE sure J hey
regarded a desk In the City Hal q or !, III g
/ foremanshp of "a street gahg ~ . silts,
i cure, and this idea OF public service are
/ ait az their political creed, which was
1 that tho chief end of a wa I'd worker
Is TO keep hlTselt ana his fr'enas y
power. ID
4 THESE men were by nature not % ~ o.
i given to sinking their duties, although,
their city hall lives mig Slndica 70 ihey
were. They were consoles workers s SCI. leot