The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1905-05-20

BY AN Ex-MAYoR OF ONE OF THE
LARGEST AMERICAN CITIES.
RH0NOT0NY, unless it be the mo-
EVl nontony Of ceaseless variety, is
a word which man drops from his
vocabulary the instant he begins to-
serve a term as mayor Of large
American city No two hours are
alike in any particular after that until
he steps down and out to make way
for his successor The transformation
from private citizen to chief executive
of the metropolis brings more than Of
fetal authority, responsibility and al
most autoeratie power.
It throws the private citizen into
another world; it gives him another
kind of air to breathes it flashes MIA
from the level of the commonplace 70
the dizzy heights where rulers sit; he
is lifted up from the ranks Of the IN
noticed and becomes 3 focus And all
this happens in a second. is It any
wonder that many new mayors do all
kinds of unexpIainable things in those
first days when their brains are max
inc million revolutions a minute?
remember SO well the night fo1-
lowing my Inauguration. It was sleeEs-
less. / lay in bed sick with lear =
see med to NE that the weight OF the
new responsibility was breaking every
bone and muscle in my body. 1t was
as if the whole city pressed down on
frrs-
awesome responsibilities which man
assumes when he raises his right hand
and swears to enforce the laws and
ordinances set forth in the statutes. !
tried to map out a programme Tor my
first day in Office, but gave itup. /
felt certain would be called upon to
do something which would involve the
very existence of a multitude, and
was seized with a Kind of fright which
OF itself frightened me, for feared
I would develop a "strea5 of yellow
which would bring ridicule, saunts
and failure.
But my first official act was to refer
to the police department a letter from
a broken-hearted mother, who from
another city wrote me to find her erf-
ing son, last heard of in your city,.
Somehow that badly written, tear
stained letter, with its sefaWly writ
ing, made a wonderful impression on
me. Maybe because it was connected
with my first official act or maybe be
cause it was the first of the hundreds
and hundreds OF like tenor | received
during my mayoral term. But | think
it was because of tie great relief that
little letter gave me. The simple
pathos Iessened the tension which NY
might of fears and tremblings had
given to my nerves.
Ny first days experiences showed
me that to many people the mayor Of
city is a guardian, an adviser, an
ever present help in time of trouble,
a public watchdog, the father of his
people, a lost and found department.
an information bureau, an umpire, an
arbitrator, a detective, a fortIne-tel-
Ter, a paek-of-aI1-trades a matrimonial
agent, the sword of justice, the spirit
of mercy, the incarnation of charity
and man who needed advice On
every subject under the sun This
was because I was a new mayor.
Some months later | was convinced
that an equally large number of per-
sons believed the mayor Of a city was
a seoundrel. a juggler Of public opin-
ion, a traitor to his city, an unserupa-
Ious politician, a gramtef, an incon.-
petent, liar, a hopeless criminal, al
upstart, a tyrant, the spineless toy of
corporations, the pet of boodlers aud
the boon companion Of all the INHALED
rascals in town. This was because
no longer was a new mayor.
The demands, protests, petitions,
suggestions. questions, advice, denun-
Citations, concentrations and inquiries
which pour without ceasing into the
mayors Office keep him Informed Of
the trend of public opinion. Their in
finite variety also keep MIN from set
ting down into the condition known
as monotonous existence. There are
no dull days in mayors Office and Tic
duplicates.
The Dlaywriter seeking novel situa-
tioas will find no better hunting
ground than that bounded by the four
walls of a mayors Office. The novelist
searching for plots will find more than
enough if he sits but one day beside
the desk of the chief executive of a
large city. Ali phases Of human na-
ture are met when one passes tue
threshold of a mayors door.
Who but the governor of great
municipality would be called upon tc
decide whether a famous physician
who practically confessed he had com
mitted a mereiful murder should be
hauled before the bar Of justice? II
now seems incredible that ence
stood as Judge ard jury and yet, at thu
! tine il appeared eIninentIy proner fal
me to act the dual part AS the phy.
siciaa has gone to join his patient il
the cemetery I can tell how it hap
pened.
At my home one evening two mar
called On me. When they gave theil
names l recognized them as men OF
large affairs. They apoIogized for dis.
| turbing me, but excused themselves or
the ground that the business they
came to see me about Waa of such &
nature that they could not discuss il
at my Office.
This is what we came 10 see yor
about. sir, said one Of them. lily
brother here lost his wife two weeks
ago. Apparently she died of a cancer
from which she had suffered greatly
for two years We. however, think