The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-01-29
TEACHES A LESSON.


play is being produced this week at
the Salt Lake theatre. 1t deals with
American politics and gives the OBJ
server a peep behind the scenes. A
young man who has inherited wealth
and some high ideals is chosen by a
political boss and his financial hacker
as nominee for mayor for a large city,
1t is believed by both the boss and the
f1nancier that the young man can be
handled" in the sense that politicians
use the term.
He makes a great campaign and is
triumphantly elected. Before he has
been in office long it develops that the
financier and the boss want passed
through the council a franchise that is
palpabIy a donation of the rights of
the people to a corporation. The fran
chise ordinance does pass the council,
and the mayor decides to veto it.
Pressure of the most powerful kind is
brought to bear upon him.
He is told that the fortunes of the
girl he loves, a niece of the financier,
will be wiped out unless he signs the
bill. lie is informed that he viii be
driven into political oblivion, that his
career will be ruined and his charac-
ter besmirched. AS a last resort the
boss secures proof that the young
mayors father was himself guilty of
grating as a contractor under a for
NOR citx adr,ip;ctra.io and tbraatapS
to publish it,, The father has been
long dead and the boy has been taught
that he was a most honorable man.
He is called upon to decide between
his conscience and his fathers memo
ny. and in the crisis he asks his
mother for advice. She tells him that
he must do what he believes to be
right. The bill is vetoed. and the boss
is unable to pass it over the objections
of the mayor. The love episodes of the
play are not important. The big thing
is the test of a strong man and the
triumph of his conscience.
Whether or not the play is a real
picture of American municipal life is
open TO question. We all know that
there are bosses; that there are finan-
ciers who profit by their deals with the
bosses, and we know the way of the
reformer of politics is made very hard.
Also. we know that the reformer does
win sometimes. At least he wins often
enough to inspire others TO similar
and whether he wins or
not he has the satisfaction of having
obscurity he goes there with his own
his conscience unblunted.
1t is very hard often to resist the ap-
peals of party, of self-interest. 1t
takes a strong man to throw away
things that seem to make life worth
living. The public forgets very easily
the man who is honest, because the
public does not go to the primaries
and the conventions and support the
men who look after the public's well
fare The boss sees that his men are
there; he sees to the packing of the
primaries and of the conventions. He
sees that the ticket he can depend
upon is nominated. The solid citizen
who thinks he has ideals-and does
dave them at his fireside and at his
it is too much trouble for
him to turn out and mingle with lot
of Iow-brOwed heelers in a contest to
name delegates to a convention. And
that man will talk most bitterly
agains graft and corruption in our
state and national govern
ments. That the people do rise occa-
sionally is an encouraging sign. We
have the example of San Francisco,
Minneapolis and St. Louis to guide and
encourage us, but until the substantial
citizen everywhere takes an interest
in his city government. and demands
that it be conducted along business
lines, there can be no hope for perma-
nent municipal reform in this country.