Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-12-24
SOUTH AMBoY.
THE BOROUGH GovERNMENT.


4Editor EVENING NEWS:
In the articles in the NEWS ant
IN the South Amboy Citizen entitled
IA Plea for City. Government, W.
do not thing 1t will stand close an
alysis in the arguments advanced foi
change of government in our loca
affairs. Now the idea has been ad
Yanced that the laws enacted for the
government of three hundred persons
is not effective in it's administrator
for the government of three Thousand
souls; we are also told that inestim
able benefits would arise to the peo
pie of our borough without an in
crease of taxation; yet while these
ideas are advanced to agitate the
question of change in our govern
lnent, there was not single proof OF
a word of explanation advanced why
the laws governing three hundred
persons were not effective in govern
ing three thousand. We are told that
inestimable benefit to the people VIII
be derived by the change to a city
government, but we are not told how
this will be brought about when the
change takes place; and again we are
told we would reap all the advant-
ages we now have and those beyond
estimate without any heavier burden
in the way of taaxtiQn, If we would
only have change of government.
This may be so, but there are many
people lin the borough who would
like an explanation how this matter
is to be brought about. Then there
is mention made of several council
men being elected from one district.
We don't know of an instance Where
this has been the means of that par
ticular district reaping advantages
over any other part of the borough.
Then another objection to our pres
ent form of government is that the
mayor and common councils powers
are limited, or in other words, they
are subject to the wills of the people
We think that is one of the best
features of our present form OF gov
ernment. Capitalization of power or
placing 1t entirely in the hand of the
few has been the bane not only OF
nations, but wherever and whenever
it has been applied it has worked
disaster if not ruin in every case. We
do not know how to reconcile our
selves to the contradictory statement
of those who are advocating change
Of government when they say that no
Improvement, however needful, can
be made under the present regime
unless a majority consents to the i'm
provement, yet little further along
it SAYS there is a perfect willingness
that the minority shall rule the bor-
ough providing the majority does not
combat it. We are informed that the
officers would not be increased in
numbers under a city government
and the salaries of officers would be
the same, but their powers would be
far more extensive than at present.
That is the idea, fellow citizens, in a
nutshell, it's power is what we are
after, power to sewer the town
whether the majority Of the people
are ready for 1t or not; power to in
crease the valuation (by improve
ments of what might be termed the
moderately wealthy in our borough
at the expense of the struggling man
trying to pay for his home or to the
tenant that is hardly able to pay his
rent and find bread and clothes for
his children; yes, give us city gov
ernment that the mayor and alder
men and few avaricious men may
be enabled to enrich themselves at
the expense of the poor. The tend
ency is on this line in almost every
proposition advanced in the present
age. We are not pessimistic when
we say that unless we have a govern
ment of the people by the people In
municipalities as well as state and
nation we have no assurance OF sue
cess. That chaotic confusion of
township government brings smile
upon our countenance. While we
have no desire to return to township
government, we are we'll aware that
the townships in Middlesex county
are as we'll IL not better governed
than any of the municipalities and
many of us older ones remember
when we were designated as the
township of South Amboy the ma
chinery of government moved along
as smoothly and economically as at
present.
The time may come in the near
future when a change may not only
be desirable but necessary, but we
have not reached that time yet. We
may have more to say on this matter
at some other time, but we do not
wish to trespass on your columns
further at this time, believing that
our people will arise almost enmasse
to prevent the tampering with the
government of the borough at the
present time Think of the hundreds
in our town with homes partly paid
for struggling along to have them
unencumbered and then to try to
force upon them a government where
we infer from the article we have
read improvements can be made,
taxes piled up, and the poor man
to sacrifice his home be-
Muse the burden is too heavy for him
t6Nbear. This should not be so. Let
hunAanity overbalance avarice.
CITIZEN.