The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-05-25
THE WEEKLY JOURNAL. Issued Thursdays. one Dollar a YenI
LOCAL oHARAorEn1s11Cs

In its adverse report upon the pro position to have the general assembly enact a uniform municipal charter for all cities to live under, together with the right to in other unspecified ways legislate for themselves as their needs express themselves, the commission gave as one argument why this is not practicable the alleged fact that leach city in Connecticut has a character and genius of it's own" and "has de- yeloped along lines which are but the expression of the needs, the environ rnent and the industrial and social life of its citizens" This view of the con- ditions which are said to have con fronted the commission will bear analy- sis, though the conclusion we shall reach will not tally with it's conclusion,
 The city of New Haven may as well be taken as an illustration of what ap- pears to us to be the mistaken logic and theory of the commission as any other. New Haven has had no indus trial and social experience so unlike that of any one of the other seventeen cities that it can be charged with pre- senting difficulties particularly favor able to the upsetting of the commits sion's position. In fact it has grown very much as all Connecticut cities have grown, and very much as all New England cities have grown, more by the help of foreign born immigrants than by that of the old New England families President Roosevelt may well be said to have had the old New England families in mind when he in- weighed against race suicide. It is not so many years ago that our col- umns were used to uphold the dignity and commanding influence of "the town born" To-day in considering the industrial, social and educational needs of the city, the town born must give way to the new conner, who num- erically outnumbers him. Should he suddenly realize, as the horse has fre- quently been chided for not doing, his strength, his power, whatever char acteristics and qualities of genius the uniform charter commission attributed to New Haven would be abandoned for his characteristics and qualities of genius.
 We will admit that each generation has those qualities which are quali- ties of it's own making, which is only another way of saying that the charac- terstics and qualities of genius which the fathers had are not ours. Had we attempted to retain them and had we succeeded, we should have missed al- together the very influences which have stimulated us to become one of the largest cities in New England. It Is by adapting ourselves to the new conditions as they arise, rather than by stubbornly insisting upon condi- tions which no longer count in the struggle of existence, that we court and gain progress. The characteristics and qualities of genius which con. fronted Henry e. Lewis when he was first made mayor of the city, gre not only not the characteristics and quali- ties of genius which will confront Mayor Studley's successor, but charac. teristics and qualities of genius which no one would endure the revival of Ills were duties of an elementary character compared with those whicf are to more and more confront mayors yet to be elected, and it was the hope of the advocates of a uniform city charter that it would play large par In making their tasks easier and more intelligent. It may be added even that they had in mind the possible elimna. ton of the local conditions, which ir the evident estimation of the commis sion are valuable, but which in theil Judgment are positive obstacles in tho way of desired local progress. Tht origin of the uniform charter move ment, it must be remembered, started with unprejudiced men who have stud led to some purpose the weaknesses O what is acknowledged to be the poor est of all American political institu tions, the municipality.
 Here in the city of New Haven, a. in the cities of Hartford, Bridgepor and Waterbury, to widen the scope 0 the inquiry, the characteristics anC qualities of genius which belong to tn town born can justifably be neglected in order that we may the more intelli gently care for and adjust the charac teristics and qualities of genius whicl have been brought here by our nev citizens of foreign birth. The educa tional experts are already realizing that school architecture and schoo methods must be altered to meet thes imported characteristics and qualitie of genius, if we are to lead these peopl