St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1905-06-10
REVELATIONS By
An EX.MAYOR
TEE IDEAL MAYOR, AND TEE
CITY.

Both Of Them Out Of Beach Unless
Radical Reforms Are Made Effec-
tive = Public Servants the Real
Masters - Practical Method for
Freeing Cities from Boss Rule by
DISTINGUISHING oHceholders.
BY AN Ex.MAYOR OF ONE OF THE
LARGEST AMERICAN CITIES.
OCCASIONALLY some writer who
~ takes himself seriously lays down
the plans, specifications and working
drawings for the construction of the
Ideal mayor. have never heard of
any mayor or ex-mayor who had the
hardlhoOd to say what he believed
should 60 10 make up the ideal chief
executive Of a large city But about
every SO often some student" of '.mu-
nicipal problems" sets forth in vigor-
Gus language the mental, physical and
spiritual elements which should 20
into the making OF that visionary
character known as the ideal mayor
inv Az A0S A1lSQ d udy
chair for a. least one term, these eff
forts to fashion the improbable out OF
the hardly possible are calculated to
establish an all-embracing feeling of
intense and prolonged fatigue Such
a one knows from bitter experience
that the idaal mayor cannot become a
realization until the ideal city is an
actually. And you never will get the
ideal city. II
1 am repeating substantially what !
said to a. couple Of well-meaning gen.
tlemeI who called on me near the end
OF my term to enter mild protest
against some official act OF mine One
of them asked me to give him my
views On the ideal city and I replied:
IA town whose business men do not
have one standard of honesty for pri-
vate business and another for public
business. Fl felt safe in venturing
that opinion, for / sincerely believe
that if the representative business
men OF any large city would measure
their civic relations, duties and obli-
cations with the same rule of conduct
they use in private affairs that city
would become the ideal municipality.
In business personal honesty is d
valued asset and individual respcns:-
bllity a necessary burden. Nine-tentas
oil the commercial transactions are
based on credit in some form, and this
is founded on the rock of confidence
q hiph h15cipQco in
other. Every business man is meas
ured by his personal honesty and his
Willingness to assume personal re-
sponsibility. If he meets the require
ments and measures up to the stand
ard he is known as an honorable and
representative business man
Is it. fair question to ask why
these very men are dishonest or ire
tsponsible OF dishonorable in their re-
lations as citizens with their city?
And yet it is a fact that in every
large city an overwhelming majority
of citizens are either dishonest or dis
honorable in their personal dealings
with the municipality or utterly fail
to assume any personal responsibility
In civic affairs
This unpleasant statement is known
to be true by any man who ever served
as mayor of Boston, New York, Phila-
delphia, Cleveland, Chicago, ST. Louis,
San Francisco OF any other important
city in this country Every such city
is full Of citizen-cowards, citizen-ras-
Gals, citizen-drones, citizen-hypocrites |
and citizen-Irespoasibles, anC most |
Of them belong to the last class.
If you can but inject the spirit OF |
work into the drones, awaken the civic
consciences Of the irresponsibles and |
arouse the pride OF the towards you
perhaps may realize the dream of a I
city peopled by men who have grown |
10 the full stature of honorable, intel
igent and self-sacrifcing citizenship. |
l use the word "self-sacrifcing' be-
cause it frequently happens, in the or
1iAary administration Of municipal |
government, that the interests of one
must be injured for the good of many
n these modern days, with the spirit
# selfshness dominant, when the
public good demands a sacrifice the
,ne whose interest is placed in jeop-
lrdy by the demands makes such
,Cmomtion and puts up such a fight
hat frequently the necessary i'm
is baked and thousands
suffer because Of this one mans self
shness
Too often this selfshness is bred
md fostered by the spirit of greed-a
,lain case of blaclmail. / could call
roll of some of the blackmailers who
attempted to hold UP the city of which
was mayor, and the list would con-
ain the names of many Of Our great
nd good" citizens.
1t is too much to expect that the
deal city and mayor will come ia cur
ime But much of the evil which
reeds corruption, lagity and >extrava-
,ance in the administration of city af-
airs can be eliminated by making a
e,y radical changes in the methods of
lecing city officials.
First, partially disfranchise every
ublic official and employe. Keep from
i'm the right to have any voice what
yer in the nomination of city officers
nd their subordinates so long as he
5 a public official or employe. Make
| unlawful for him to take any part
7hatever in political organizations
aucuses Or primary elections, AMI
lake the penalty clause OF the law