Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-08-27
ALLEN 1O PREACH
HIS NEW DOCTRINE.
New York Man With New Ideas
as to Democratic Government
Coming to Iowa
EFFICIENCY ABOVE GOODNESS
Allen Has No Use for Inefficient Men
Altho They Arc Honest - Civic
League Of Des Moines Secures Au-
thor and Social Worker for Free
Lecture-All Iowa Interested.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times-Republican.
Des Moines, Aug. 27.-F,very city
and hamlet in the state of Iowa VIII
be interested in the action of the CIVIC
league of Des Moines In bringing 10
this city William H. Allen OF New
York city, who breaches new doc-
tripe as to democratic government
When the civic league took up the
matter of securing Mr.. Allen for
lecture 1T was told by the assoc1a-
ton with which he Is connected that
his services were valued so highly that
the association would not think OF SELL
ing such services, but that il the
league would pay his expenses MS "Trip
could probably be arranged.
The doctrine that Mr.. Allen breaches
with relation to city government is,
in brief, that it is not so much good
men that are wanted in office as eff
cient men. not so much church MEM
His point is that goodness in itself
Is not standard and has nothing 10
do with the matter, but that efficiency
has everything to do with the problem.
His position is that efficiency should
be the one test alike to electmg
church deacon or a market master, and
that many very good moral and religious
men have no efficiency either to teach
a Sunday school class or to act as
street commissioner of city
He not only sets out his ideas of
efficiency in public office but also sets
out plan for insuring efficiency, a
plan whereby the man originally eff
cient when put into office will be
hedged about with safeguards and
scrutiny that he will have no oppor-
tunity to be dishonest, his position be-
ing that the good man inefficient will
he good and honest in office without
watching but still inefficient and that
the efficient man whether good or not
/ if put in office and watched will be
efficient and honest and that it is
neither safe nor proper to make good
ness the test without efficiency.
Mr.. Allen has been general agent
of the New York association for i'm
proving the condition of the poor, and
secretary of the committee on physical
welfare of school children. He has been
much in contact with public affairs.
Thru the publication of book outlin-
ing plan for enforcing efficiency
wealthy New Yorker was interested to
the extent of endowing movement
for carrying out the plan. The organi-
zation has already been perfected and
thru it's efforts one public official Of
the city Of New York has lost his job
because inefficient. This effective and
early activity Of the association speaks
well for the practical workings of the
theory of Mr.. Allen.
While the arrangements by the civic
league for bringing Mr.. Allen to this
city to deliver an address have not been
fully perfected the arrangements have
practically been carried so far that it
is practically definitely known that he
will come some time the coming fall to
deliver free lecture in which he will
expound his theories. Since Des
Moines and other Iowa cities have had
an awakening along the lines of eff
ficient government thru the agitation
for the commission plan of government
and thru other agitations, his lecture
will undoubtedly attract a large at
tendance and it is the expectation that
many persons from other cities inter-
ested in the matter will attend.
In outlining the reasons why Good
ness is a fallacy when put as the test
to an official, Mr.. Allen gives three rea-
sons: "First, we cannot agree upon it's
meaning. Second, it does not prevent
the continuance of bad government
Third, other tests have been proved to
be more trustworthy
AS to the first he points out that to
some the ward heeler is the incarnation
of all that is bad and evil while to 9TH
ers in the alley he is the incarnation of
good. That to some playing golf on
Sunday is an evil worse even than
smoking cigarets and using profane
language while others cannot believe in
the goodness Of anyone who is not
regular communicate of some church
and in good standing. He points out
that the dressmaker is measured by her
ability to make dresses, the tailor by
his ability to make clothes the caterer
by his ability to serve. the photogra-
pher by his ability to make pictures and
even in friendship congeniality is not
conterminous with friendship. In pub
lie schools now goodness has given
away to efficiency as the avowed test
for both teachers and janitors but not
for the school trustee who is elected
by the people. To the trustee the at
tempt is to put the test Of goodness and
morality and neither the bublic nor the
trustee seem to realize that there is
just as much reason for his being eff
ficient; and goodness has not prevented
egregious waste and error in school
management.
An illustration is given In the Lyman
School for Boys in Ma ssa achusetts. For
years its directors Landed 1t for its
characte building influence. Then 1t
was decided to make a chart and DEM
onstrate this character-building iahu-