The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-09-07
NO CITY OF ORANGE.

 failure of the town of Orange to adopt the proposed municipal charter and organization which the General As- sembly gave them the right to pos sess if they wished to. Those prom inently connected with the movement are naturally disappointed for the time being but even they will live to realize that the judgment of the ma jority is always better than the judgment of the interested few. The bed rock common sense of the peoEle has saved the town from earnest but misguided men who miscalculated the needs of government.
 Many reasons have been given for the defeat of the scheme but the right reason is yet to be given, namely that the people of the town and borough did not want city made of either town or their borough It is all well enough to talk about the inclemency of the weather and the general con- viction that the charter was safe and sary. If the people had really been in- terested in attiring themselves in the raiment of city folks they would have weathered the storm and trusted on- ly their own votes to produce the re- suits. Nor Is it queer that the advo- cates of a municipality should have deceived themselves with regard to the proposed change. Crowded mass meetings at which the voice of opposi- ton finds little or no expression have deceived many a political general. It is still a subject of curious inquiry with Mayor Thayer of Norwich what all the people thought they were do- ing who attended his campaign rallies last fall only to vote against him at the polls They were listeningi they were in doubt perhaps; they were sig l ing the situation up. The people of the town of Orange have been listen ing ever since the movement was launched which was to make city of their home; they were for time in doubt perhaps; they were sizing the situation up When they had to give an opinion they voted in opposi- ton or they stayed away from the polls through g. lack of interest in the proposal.
 What the people of Orange have escaped is first political organization | for which they are not fitted. Theirs is not the kind of social substance from which cities are successfully
 made. It lacks for instance the ele-
 ments of permanency in social life. A large fraction of it's population toll
 in the city Of New Haven and return | to Orange for a good nights sleep Many of the leading citizens are bus ines or professional men in this city l Another large fraction make the sum-
 mer colony. Their interest Is confined | to the summer breezes and the salt
 water. With them the inspiration oi home is altogether lacking. To at tempt to gather all these more or less feeting elements together into city form of government is an impossible Undertaking, They cana become city folks only by joining with a city al. lready in existence. In the second place the proposed charter for tht Igovernment of the proposed city was an obstacle in the path of the move ment It promised to introduce into the life of that people all of the CT TOTS of judgment in charter making
 which older cities have indignantly Hung away. Its whole trend was to- wards a repetition of governments
 excesses which the modern city ha Ilearned to avoid as 1t would plague TO have escaped these things Is quit,
 enough to make the people of Orang when the disappointment of failur
 has passed profoundly thankful t
 that mysterious force which in al
 communities comes to the rescu
 when actual trouble threatens.
 We again congratulate the peopl l of Orange on their proverbial goot luck. Now let them dwell peacefull
 with the logic of the conditions. Tn Inevitable will then occur at the mia
 tiative, too, of the people of West Ha ven whose welfare is close to tn
 hearts of the people of New Haven.
 !