The morning journal-courier., 1908-05-04
MONEY IN ELECTIONS.

'Nhe amount of money required to finance the recent municipal election at the city of Hartford, from tho re- publican end of tho political contro- versy, continues to he a subject of comment. not from any lack of faith in the personal character of tho sue cessful candidate for mayor. Mir. Hooker, but from tho extraordinary explanations given for the need of tho expenditure. The Iournal-Courier. among others. fig taken to task for very seriously questioning the iudg ment which sanctioned it
 We find our views interpreted In this way: "A man of Rockers clean record and high personal character should never haze allowed such a sum 10 be spent 10 secure his nomin- ation and election; that's the song Better have had Sullivan or McGov- orn then? ?" IL Is very difficult. if not either Sullivan or McGovern has to do with the expenditure of this relatively immense sum of money. except upon the theory that the people of Hartford would have deliberately saddled them selves with mayor, alleged to be un- desirable. had not some one with the money needed spent it to arouse the sense of Hartford to i's own dan ger This view of the generous judg ment used by Mir Hooker in that con nection would seem under most cir- cumstances to present for study the electorate of the city of Hartford In a disagreeable light. At this distance t appears inconceivable that the vot- CTS Of the capital of the state of Con necticut, where the pressure of the weight of practical politics equals that of the atmosphere, have so little com prehenson, of the undesirahility, not to say danger, of eleyating to execu- tive office men who lack public con fidence in their usefulness and integ- rity without the educational help of large sized bank account. It would seem on general principles a rather difficult job under such circumstances to protect an electorate against itself The sudden elimination of rich young men, or rich old mon, who stand ready to finance the community out of an impending distress, would threaten the community with destruc. ton of self-applied sort.
 It is further said of MT. Hooker "Once nominated he was facing multitude of adverse conditions and | took lot of work to get the vote ou to overcome these. This was don' and he was elected. If MT. Hooker had sat back and declined to make the fight he did make, he would no have been elected" Here again con
 fusion overtakes the philosopher. is hard to see the obligation whcl confronted the individual, though { candidate for office, namely MT. Hook CT, which did not in the same degree confront the people of the city o
 Hartford, who were to be save' through his election. If the languag' is Mr. Hooker, who has saved the peo
 pie of Hartford from distressing DO
 litical situation, from which they wer
 at no moment ready to save them
 selves. Had he sat back and de
 clined to make the fight, the peopl
 would have gone to the polls an
 elected somebody else. Repubica
 institutions can scarcely be said to b
 in their best condition when the poe
 ketbook of a rich young man Is neces
 sary to protect them against ignoran
 and perhaps vicious attack Republi
 can institutions may be said to be |
 a bad way when the people to Whor
 they belong care so little for thel
 perpetuation that they keep thei