The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-05-06
MOVEMENT FOR
 DEPUTY MAYOR Object of Bill to Put a Stop to the Double-Headed
 Mayor Business. BUT DOES IT IN FACTP J. Rice Winchell Inclined to the Belief That It
 Does Not.
BUT DOES IT IN FACT2

The underlying purpose in providing for a deputy" mayor, seems to have been to put a stop to double-headed mayor, or mayors, working in double harness and drawing two loads, or two salaries, simultaneously. It was sug- gested by the present condition of city affairs, where the mayor is at the same time judge of probate. It did not ap- pear quite fair to distribute offices of such importance of so great responsi- Utilities, and so succulent financially to one and the same man. But the pres- ent holder of this lucrative prize is so widely popular and has shown himself to be so thoroughly competent, eff cient and trustworthy, in whatever posi- tion placed, that the clamor has been for his retention in his dual capacity to the lawfll end thereof After Studley, wha$ $?' has been the question which has agitated political circles in New Haven. It gave rise to state of mind not satisfied that such a double- headed power should exist in the future after January i, 1908. Hence the pow CTS at Hartford have been invited to intervere against recurrence of such an anomally after next New Years. The fruition of conferences and ex- changes of views upon this complicity is seen in proposed amendment to our city charter, providing in substance, lon the first Monday of October, 1907 and on the first Monday of October in every second year thereafter, the free men of said city shall elect by ballot a deputy mayor who shall hold 'his office for the term of two years from and after the first day of January next succeeding (his) elec- tion"
 It is further required that said deputy mayor shall be at least thirty years of age, shall have been a legal voter and resident of the city for the five years immediately preceding his election, and shall reside in the city Turing his term of office. He shall re- teive no salary excepting when acting As mayor, or as hereinafter provided, and he shall not, during his term of OlllC6, IlOlu ally Ollcl OkllCS OI puSlllOil in the government of the city,
 The latent powers of the deputy may or will bloom into full vitality when. and only when, ''there shall be a vac, ancy in the office of mayor, or when ever the mayor shall be prevented by absence from the city, by illness, or by any other cause, from attending to the duties of his office" But when the mayor comes home or gets well and all other obstacles vanish, he may re- surne power and the deputy mayor will step into the shade.
 It, is remarkably observable, how ever, that while, by this proposed amendment to the charter, the deputy mayor is in strong terms forbidden to 'hold any other office or position in the government of said city" while ex- eroisng the office of mayor, the mayor himself is put under no such limitation. He may, so far as the charter goes, hold as many offices as the people choose to elect him to!
 If the mayor elected in October, 1907, should happen to be chosen controller or treasurer of the city later on in his mayoralty, there is nothing in this amended deputy-mayor-m charter to forbid his holding both offices to the end of his respective terms. The same double-headed imbroglio that meets us now would then again present itself,
 In other words, the proposed amend. ment to the charter eontemplates doing something that it don't do. It provides for a vice-mayor to fill certain vacan- cies occurring in the office of mayor, but it makes no provision for the oc- currence of a vacancy whenever the mayor is elected to another office dur> ing his term as mayor. What it needs to declare is, that whenever mayor accepts and enters upon any other city offices during his term as mayor, such act shall of itself cause his power as mayor to cease and terminate. That would create a vacancy that the vice. mayor might fill, without such provis- ion the proposed amendment is practi- cally valuless.
 Such a provision, however, might open a wide door for discussion of the Qu65llOll WuClliCI eAy Slly OlllCldl should hold two offices under the city simultaneously. There are arguments pra and con, which may we'll be con- sidered.
 The contemplated amendment, where it forbids a deputy mayor to hold any other office or position in the govern ment of said city" appears to overlook that provision of the charter which makes the mayor, ex-offioio, president of the board of finance. And in de- fiance of it's own restrictions this same amendment provides that the deputy mayor shall be president of the board of dermen"-certainly quite another office or position under the government of said city,
 It is a minor criticism that this con- templated deputy mayor act declares that such official shall reside in the city, during his term of office.-Fortu- nately there is no penalty provided in case he should violate this prohibition and conclude to make his abode else where.
 Whether a self-respecting gentleman, possessing the high and noble qualities and qualifications requisite to one who may aspire to the mayOralty, would be willing to sacrifice all his opportunities of being a sure-enough mayor or of , holding any other office of "honor, trust or profit" under the city govern