The morning journal-courier., 1908-04-09
THE HARTFORD ELECTION.


For that reason the local election at
the city OF Hartford can from that
sessIng no significant interest There
are, however, certain features OF that
contest which are full Of interest
from the standpoint Of a higher and |
more reliable citizenship A record |
was written, a manifesto was issued |
and a state OF mind established which |
will fer a long time have a healthy
effect upon the political life Of that
community.
The defeat of Mr. Hooker. the Re-
publican candidate for mayor was in
conceivable in spite of the fact that
his antagonist had been the head
man of that municipality and had not
made bad mayor, and in spite of
the fact too, that 1t has been the moro
or less reliable rule that the political
outs" find their best opportunity as
against the political "irs." when the
pals are either empty or rapidly
emptying themselves For four years
the city Of Hartford has had for It's
mayor man Of rare executive and
administrative ability. He entered Of
flee With a new conception Of duty and
remained true to II until his retire
ment Yesterday His methods we're
difficult to understand only from the
standpoint Of those who regard polit
leal office as a private snap Natur-
ally and logically, where all things
were equal, those of his political faith
were preferred for Office, but In no
one instance that we can recall lila he
ever disregard the principle which lies
back Of a government administered
for the benefit Of the public as op-
posed TO that Of his own political
party II was Mr. Hooher's pledge,
voluntarily given. that II elected TO
succeed Mr.. Hcnney he should be
guided by Ike regard for tho pub
lie welfare This put II squarely up
to the voters Of that city to choose
between a continuance Of a policy
which was known to be- In actual ex-
perience, beneficial, and one proposed,
/ the representative OF which declared
/ time and again during tho campaign
would be managed on exactly opposite
/ principles II was that voluntary CON
trast which made It inconcevable to
outside observers that city. justin
ably Boosting Of first rate citizen
ship, should tolerate any but the con
cluson which finally came So much
for the mayoralty end Of the CON
nict.
Another feature Of the Hartford
election lay concealed for a time IN
the license issue. It was nconceiv-
able from the point of one having
/ knowledge OF the cosmopolitan char
aeter of that city, the second largest
in the State Of Connecticut, that It's
citizens, who lacked preparation for
the experiment involved in no-llcense
and who were given but a few days in
which to consider what would amount
to a social revolution, would suddenly
reverse the prevailing policy of H.
cense with all that license means
While the license principle carried the
day by tho largest majority II has
ever received, no-license polled n vote
which was almost twice as large as
that cast in 1906, when a now record
was made by the temperance people.
Had the attitude Of those who have
never paid much attention to the
license question in the past, taking IT
as a foregone conclusion, been the
same attitude this year no-license
would have been adopted with all of
its serious consequences for the peo-
pie of that city As it was. after a
battle Of the liveliest character on
the part of both the advocates of
license and those of no-liCcnse, over
five thousand voters, who visited the
polls, ignored the question altogether.
1t is virtually a fact that as many
failed to vote for license as voted for
It, while two thousand moro failed to
vote at all than voted for no-llconso.
This shows, perhaps, if it actually
shows anything, that a very large part
of the population of Hartford has no
interest in the license question and
offers an open field for either side tc
SOW its seed of dstrust In. It Is
rather perpleXing to find a community
of the Intelligence of Hartford dis
eliminating with such care as between
2 candidates while possessing to such a
: large degree an utter Indifference az
to the temperance question If thai
number Of people Is to be eliminated
from all participation in the consider.
alton Of the license question, a con.
stantly heavier burden will he put up
on the relatively few who take al
, interest, with the chance some day o
) the Jealous no-llcense party catching
the majority mapping and having
: things its own way, quite regardless,
= Of the consequences Of the sudden
, imposition Of a dry" policy