The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911, 1908-09-23


OF the Men Who Board of Local I'M
80. o-,u-- prOvementS, and,
How Prestige Is ( t erwa ard s, as
Gained BY Being mayors secretary,
brought me daily in
contact with vari-
GUS members of the city council. This
body had for some years previous to
my sudden elevation to Office enjoyed
the reputation of being 'Out for the
stuff" Not that there were no honest
men in the council-far from it-but
there was a clique of men in it who
managed. one way and another, to put
over" ordinances which carried with
them the strong suspicion Of being
crooked" BY cajolery. by party leaa-
ings. by straight-out bribery, by trick
cry and by many other methods there
had been Smooth work" done, with
In my official existence the council
had an honest majority. OF course
when | say honest. l do not mean to
accuse each individual alderman of be-
ing honest. But one thing can be said
for every individual of them, they
were as honest as their constituents.
They suited their wards. and if an al
derman w0s1d not hesitate to take
his bit whenever he got a chance, you
may rest assured that his "constits"
were of the same caliber.
Ii was intensely interesting to watch
the different methods they employed
to gain a favor if they wanted one;
and they usually did. Sometimes it
was the hailfellow-well-met salutatiOn
OF Hello, b." or How axe you, pal?"
from the free and easy kind, or the
pouter-pigeOn assumption Of impor-
lance of others as they stated their
wishes. Occasionally a cigar was
handed out, but when they found l
did not smoke, this avenue of approach
was abandoned.
There was leaven in the council Of
aldermen of genuine ability, lawyers.
business men. politicians. who really
made up the backbone of the body.
They were usually the heads of the
most important committees, and were
not only good takers, but men of af-
fairs. executive ability. thinkers and
workers. But these men could be
numbered within a score Of the 20
members.
Ii spoke well for the frankness Of
the predatory class among the alder
men that they thoroughly respected
ability, steadfastness and honesty. You
could hear one alderman who was sup
posed to be mo better than he should
be-" break out into praise Of some 9th
er alderman whose reputation was
fiawless. l remember my amusement
on one Of these occasions. One Of
the aldermen. giving vent to his feel
ings about honesty, remarked: "YeS,
sir. I like an honest man. Give me
an honest man. Give me one that will
stay honest l don't mean merely mon
ey honesty, but outside and inside hon
esty." Then he added rather irrelevant
ly: There's so and so, referring to
a certain well-known and justly hon.
ored alderman) he's the only honest
man in the council"
Very ignorant and generally newly
elected members of the council had
an idea that everything was graft
and that a five-cent cigar was the
open sesame of the city hall and that
the mayors secretary was a person
age of secretly great power-which he
was not, in my time. So they might be
expected any time to drag in a wild
eyed looking "constit," ask for me. shove
a cheap black cigar into my hand, in
rroduce the "constit'' as most par
ticular friend, and then ask TO have a
city ordinance violated, or a state
law abrOgated. or the constitution of
the United States set aside for the
benefit of the said .'cOnstit." AS for
the mayor. these fellows did not be-
lieve there was anything on earth he
could not do if he wanted TO.
In the council you could hear more
varieties of Oratory than Demosthenes
ever dreamed Of Some Of the alder
men were "wind-jammers," making a
hellowing, frotbing harangue. such as
they were in the habit of making in
their campaigns, but outside of their
admirers in the gallery. they never
amounted TO anything. This body of
20 men. mind you. was shrewd as the
very devil. They knew hot air." when
they heard il, and the bunk" the
con- the specious argument. was
. something they detected instantly
Even the most ordinary among them
had been educated in the school of
men. and while they might be induced
now and then to sell a gold brick. it
was against their principles 10 buy
one
OF Wit. there was enough and to
spare. Sometimes coarse kind,
sometimes biting and keen. Two or
three of the aldermen We're pleasant
to listen TO. for they always prepared
themselves for their efforts and We're
very clear and terse in their state
ments. One of them in particular
was very happy in his way of stating
a proposition. He never wasted a
word. and when he was through the
council understood the situation ex-
actly. Others foundered painfully
about. knowing what they wanted. but
word bound as to vocabulary and slow
in thinking on their feet. Some of
them were thorough parliamentarians.
and would remorselessly tangle up an
opponent to gain an advantage The
helpless look of a new alderman when
his motion. or order or request was
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