The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-09
Thursday, January Q, 1908.

The Hartford Times is justifiably impressed by the note of warning sounded in many of the inaugural messages and addresses of newly in stalled New England mayors. It re- calls the recent utterance of Mayor Hubbard of Boston: "Our financial sit- uation is not only serious but threat ening." Mayor Wardell of Cambridge has put an expert accountant on the books of that city to ascertain it's ex- act financial condition. Mayor Grim mons of Somerville told his people that the financial outlook there was far from reassuring. Mayor Shea of Quincy declared that the already high tax rate would have to be further in- creased to meet pressing expenditures Mayor Parsons of Gloucester said that that city is rapidly increasing it's debt and that a higher tax rate would prob ably have to be laid to meet current expenses and pay unpaid debts
 Mayor Martin has not as yet ad- dressed his fellow citizens formally. but hA has declared in newspaper in- terviews and in informal talks with city officials that the most rigid econ only must be practiced during his ad- miniStration. The interpretation to put upon this is that unless such econ omy is practiced the city of New IIa. ven will be up against higher tax rate itself In other words, no matter where one turns flor consideration of the American municipality the discov- cry is the same. Expressed in a few words, the American municipality is an expcl sive and troublesome luxury. It not only does not do cheaply the work required of it but 1t refuses to respond to the demands upon i, in an efficient manner. If one will take the trouble to run ever the history of city government a; it has been written in this country he will discover that most cf the time has been given to elim- mating it's confusing features and sub stituting simpler methods. The city of New Haven, for example, thought fer 
 many years that it must have two leg iSlati,e bodies, one to countsract the stupidity of the other. Its attention was frequently drawn to the falseness of the theory and assumption, but with characteristic New Eneland stubbornness it held fast to the cum bersome organization. Now that 1t has got rid of the common council it is preparing to consider the possible elimination of the Board of Aldermen, whose powers have been whittled down practically to nothing. It stum- bled along for years under the weight of the mischievous bipartisan sysrem of administrative government and e, en now refuses to eliminate 1t from the police board.
 illustrations of this sort might be multiplied, all showing the hap-hazard manner in which the business of gov erning our city has been done, and the experience of New Haven is the experience of every other city. It is not source of intelligent wonder then that money has been wasted and ex- penses enormously increased. The real wonder is that a larger debt has no, been rolled up with correspondins tax rate The fact has got to be recog- nized and dealt with that the city government as we have it is a failure and that some substitute must he found It is not coincidence that SC many mayors have been found who sing the same sad song of impendine bankruptcy or vexing tax rate. Nol is it necessarily due to dishonest gov. ernment It is necessarily due to the system under which the task of doine business thing is undertaken. It is a common saying among business men of experience who have undertaken rc participate in the city government that
 
 could be kept alive if it employed sim. liar methods It is not so many year, ago that a business man of the city oi New Haven said he would gladly un. dertake to run the government on the money then appropriated, which dic not carry with it an excessive tax rate and pay dividend of six per cent. i he could keep all in excess of tha amount for his work. He was laughed at and yet he may to-day look for hi vindication in the complainings of tn, average New England mayor H, virtually says our municipal govern ment is failure because it is not run on business principles, which is exact ly what Mayor Martin says, if we un derstand him alright.
 We very much question Whethe Mayor Martin with all his determina tion will be able to make much of al improvement upon past practices. G'h failure will not be his if it has to b -ecorded. It will he another achieve ment for Inc cumbersome system U government we are obliged to live un ae- i,ers,lss il seems so ne infpnssibl