Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-13
JORDAN SEES
CITIES ILLS
"LEr US TRY MEN IN OUR PUBLIC
AFFAIRS
EDUCATOR PLEADS FOR CIVIC
VIRTUE
Municipal Matters Must Be Made More
Important Before Conditions Can
Change stanford's Presi-
dent Declares

audience yet gathered at City club meet
ings yesterday, discussing Municipal
Government The Stamford University
club of Los Angeles met with the City
club.
President Jordan delved into many
questions from San Francisco graft to
undesirable immigrants, being frequently
interrupted by applause.
I'm the early days tie town meeting
was the safeguard Of freedom.
Each citizen had primary interest in
local affairs. The constant necessity for
local action kept this interest alive.
People care permanently only when
they can act Men are Indifferent to-
ward that which they cannotshelp. The
town meeting was the local school Ill
public administration. Its graduates were
sent on to familiar duties, to the legisla-
ture of the state or to the national con-
gress.
There many of them made worthy
names in the history of the administra-
ton.
In the Old Days
'In the old days the people sent their
W1SeSC men TO make tifes ldWS' III lhSh
scattered villages with, slow transporta-
ton and few newspapers. the people had
( but dim ideas of national affairs They,
therefore, attended to their own local af-
fairs and gave their wisdom full play
in managing them.
"What happens near home in the town.
or county we hear nothing about The
great events overshadow the lesser. Local
matters are inaccurately or sensationally
u ,4k nt tfrna nj a ant n
unless ,spiced with exaggeration or dis
torted by caricature. Specially is this
true of matters of administration.
1.-THE great national problems, finance,
taxation, colonial extension interest us
all. The fact that we are powerless to
deal with them we lose sight of.
Away from Local Affairs
y Thus the public attention is turned
away from the local affairs which fur
nished the business of the town meeting.
'It has degenerated into the caucus and
is mainly in control of those whose rela-
tiop to government is personal and sell
fish The men who manage local politics
care nothing for shadows, not even for
shadows of great principles. They are
out for realities. They are making money
out of the business.
Their operations do not interest us
because we cannot follow them and we
do not understand them.
"They are scantlly reported in the news
papers, and when favorable accounts OF
evil transactions are desired most news
papers will furnish them.
.'The partisan organ is always ready
to shield it's own rascals while 1t black
ems impartially it's opponents. good and
bad.
Thus it comes about that we know
the government at Washington better
than that of our own city-our own
county.
with all its faults the administration
of affairs at Washington is in general
better than the administration anywhere
else. 1t is in the light of keener criti-
cism., 1t is nearer to peoples minds than
local administration is.
Affects Individual
But it is much farther from their in
terests. The loss through local waste
and corruption, bad service and misuse
of favors, affects the individual man more
than anything that congress can do, or
leave undone.
"These national follies become disas-
trous only as they are added to the cost
of local profigacy.
''The injuries from defective sewage,
from filthy streets, from badly managed
and badly taught schools, from saloon
DOl1tlCS, IrOIn UdQ iOdoos thOhi e,iS NNfeN
walton of slums, from adulterated food.
from poisoned water, from lawlessness In
the streets. from inadequate public serv-
ices. vastly outweigh the importance to
the individual the great question OF party
nolitics or of national policy for which
we pass them by.
"a democracy>is form of government
adapted to minding its own business.
THAT attention to foreign affairs and
boc SrnOthareQ inter-
est in details for justice and economy, Is
ono chief cause of our failure in munich
pal government
s'In large public affairs 1t Is principles,
NOT men that first concern us, In local
administration it should be the choice Of
men rather than political principles.
I'm view of all this we deserve all the
evil we receive, as well as all the good.
THE government of any community In all
its grades is as good as the people are
entitled to have.
Must Learn to Live
eff our republic is to be permanent, If
. America is ever to have one continuing
l citv.' we must learn how to live in cities
and in so living to guard our property
and our lives. AS matters are we pro-
tect neither life nor property, and the
citv is a center of degeneration and
waste.
.sAraong the causes of ineffective local
government we may name the following:
..The lack of seriousness. AS a people
we have a very fine sense of humor and
it ia exercised impartially in all things.
In our Journals, corruption and ineffi-
cheney appear as a joke. A newspaper
cartoon tells us the story, and with this
II ends. AS cartoons are easily made and
NAV be as unjust as any other form of
criticism, they cease at length to be taken
in evidence at all.
"An administrative crime has no ade-
ouate punishment. We do not know
whether it mas taken place or not, and
in the hopelessly good nature Of the
American people, whether 1t has taken
place or not 1t is equally and speedily
forgiven.
Lack of Pernanence
"The lack of jurisprudence in our pop
ulation Is the source of other evils. MI
grafton diverts attention from local ques-
lions. A man who moves from place to
place may be just as good an American
as one who stays 1T home-often bet
ter--but he is not so good Californian
..The spols system in politics is the
Tn oil ifcf