Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-03-04
Members Of Commercial Club
Say Warm Things About
Certain Aldermen
General Roast for Those Who
Voted for Selves Rather
Than Public

The members of the Commercial
club paid their respects to the six
members of the city council who de-
feated the proposal to submit the mat
ter of bonding the city for $4,000
with which to build a city hall to a
vote of the people of the city. There
must have been six pair of ears which
burned in good shape. The matter
came up after all the other business
had been disposed of and came about
through the remarks of Secretary
Young jigging up the members fer
letting the matter go by default, while
the opponents Of the proposition were
busy bullyragging the members of the
council against the plan. In reply
to this number of the members made
excuse that they never imagined that
the mere matter of submitting the
proposition would be turned down, as
it seemed but fair that the people
be given an opportunity to express
their opinion on the matter, not
thinking that six men would prevent
such thing, all of which goes to
show that the longer they live, the
| more they find out-in Bismarck.
Mr.. Wolbert said it was hard to ex-
| pect an alderman directly Interested
in the rental of the council chamber
to vote $35 a month out of his peck
ct; nor was it fair to expect
| father-in-law to vote away $25 a
month from the pocket of his son-in.
law; that it could not be expected
| that another man should vote to de.
prive his side partner of such light
mate income, and things like that.
It was just simply, he said, a matter OF
the people being up against it when
they put such men in office; men who,
the record shows, never yet, while in
office, ever voted for a proposition
| for the public good, but who got there
with alacrity when there was some
i thing in sight for themselves.
/ Mr.. Orr said the trouble lay with
the taxpayers themselves, especially
with the business men, who seemed
afraid of losing a dollar in trade. If
the men of the city were Independent
and stood up for what they believed
was right, a better condition would
prevail.
| Mayor Smyth said the members of
| the club should not blame the alder
men too much. These aldermen were
put in Office, not with the expectation
they would vote for the peoples in
| terests but for the interests in the
background. They were legally elect.
ed to their Office and had a right to do
those things they were elected to do.
In this case nve of the aldermen made
no bones of what they were doing.
but did it without word of explana
to say, but even he said he was in
favor of the city hall, yet he got
there against it just the same when
it came time to vote. He believed
that up to late in the afternoon a
majority of the aldermen were in
favor of the proposition to submit the
matter to a vote of the people, but
Influences we're brought to bear which
made at least one of them change his
l f0l IF oil
public spirited ana patriotic citizens
he knew they were patriotic, for
he had heard them say so on many
occasions-hold up aldermen with
threats or promises OF political
preferment if they should vote against
the proposition, and of one alderman
so approached who was promised the
position of mayor next year if he
would vote no on the resolution, but
that this alderman wasn't the kind to
change his mind for any such bride.
On the other hand, none lent encour-
Iagement to the aldermen in favor Of
the proposition and therein the mem.
bers of the club and other citizens
who desire this thing were at fault.
They allowed the matter to go by de-
fault and the patriots" got in their
work. But said the mayor, 81 have
known business men to change their
minds just as rapidly as any alder
man the city ever had" He stated
that there had been times when a
| proposition was before the council
members were expected to violate
their oaths and the hall had been pack,
ed with enthusiastic spectators, and
aldermen who would violate their
oath at one time would do it at an,
other
i President Conklin said that the
club might pass resolutions until it
was black in the face and it would be