Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-05

WONT
Home rule does not contemplate an cleo
tive excise board. Home rule. to my no
ton, means that the Board OF Fire and
Police Commissioner shall be appointed by
the mayor, and I think / know as much
about what home rule means as anyone In
Omaha, the members of Douglas county's
delegation to the state legislature to the
contrary notwithstanding"
This is the statement OF Mayor Dahlman.
who Is incensed over the action of the leg
islators and says that an Indignation meet
ing will be called to protest against their
action and to show them and the man who
whipped them into line that the people of
the two cities do not want elective boards.
He says he will be willing TO wager any
amount that 35 out of 500 voters will de-
clare that they understood home rule to be
An excise board appointed by the mayor
and not elective by the people as a whole.
Further, he has in mind a plan to form a
large committee to be composed OF several
hundred men to go to Lincoln and appear
before the legislature and demand that the
contention of the Douglas county delegates
be rejected and that the people of the two
cities be given what they voted for-ap-
poIntive boards.
OAA III OA Nothhhk "OEbes
ct cannot imagine anything worse than to
have a fire and police board elected" said
Mayor DahIman after having read in The
Bee OF Sunday that the legislators from
this county in their final meeting on Satur-
day had decided upon an elective board.
III the board is elected the departments OF
fire and police will be thrown directly into
politics. against which we have been work
ing all along. If the board is elected II
will be a bid for every fireman and police
man to become a politician. II the board
IS elected any person who wants anything
ana is turned down by the board will say
to the members OF that board: All right,
look out for me when you come up for re-
election
1.-THE mayor Of the city is responsible. but
with an excise board not in sympathy with
him and not In his control in any sense,
his hands will be tied and he will be
nothing more than a fifth wheel.
What II there should be a strike next
May or a riot or something of the sort?
What could the mayor do with an excise
board elected by the very men who are
striking OF rioting? But the mayor is re-
sponsible.
BIames Hitchcock and
The decision Of our legislators to have
an elective board is directly traceable to
the WOrld-Herald and the brewery inter
ests,' continued the mayor. Il went before
the delegation a couple of weeks ago and
the members were unanimous on the
proposition to have the board appointed by
the mayor. Later, the World-Herald and
the breweries saw the delegates and con-
tended for an elective board. You know the
result. The legislators, or a major. ty of
them. bowed to the liquor interests and
Hitchcock.
This is fine for the brewery interests
which do not want simply a liberal govern
ment, but a wide-open town. The breweri s
have the money and they can nominate
any one they please and elect any one, and
we will b. in danger of having a governing
board which will shame the city and which
will give the city absolutely no govern
ment at all. Should the mayor appoint,
he would be in duty bound to appoint
good men, for he would be responsible and
he would not give power TO men who would
bring him into disrepute.
The Board of Fire and Police Commits
sioners OF the city of Omaha simply must
be appointed and l will do everything in
my power TO bring this about"