The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1909-12-02
PASSING OF PARTISAN GOVERN.
MENT
(Barton Monitor.)

(BartOn MOnitOr)
The city of Boston by referendum
vote recently adopted a new charter
which reads into the organic law the
passing of partisan politics in it's
purely municipal matters. By the pro-
visions of the new charter the gov
eminent of the city will be vested in
a mayor and council of nine men,
bers elected on general ticket.
Nominees to fill the two elective pos
itions can have their names placed
upon the official ballot by petition of
at least 5000 voters (about five per
cents of the electorate), and are to
appear without any mark, emblem
or political designation whatever.
The government will be chosen for
four years, and will be subject to re-
call after two years on a petition of
majority of the registered voters.
The problem of government for
American municipalities has reached
the acute, and the experiment of the
metropolis of New England will be
watched with interest both by the
academic theorist and the man with
the good red blood in his veins, who
goes ahead and does things. Other
cities are trying plans that appeal to
them for better government, but
none of the experiments have been in
vogue for sufficient time to be accu-
rately judged by results. Galveston,
Texas, delegates the whole man
agement of her city affairs to a COM
mission composed of three men, two
or three of the Iowa cities are work.
ing under similar plan, while in
California the initiative and referen-
dunn with power of recall Is being
tried out as municipal makeshift.
In our own State the city of Rutland
is working for the first year under a
charter which is at least radical or
retrogressive, according to the view
pont. There the eleven aldermen
are elected at large on a general
ticket. ward lines being obliterated
except as a figure of speech, resi-
dence in given ward represented not
being a qualification for membership
in the board. 1t is claimed by the
sponsors for this charter that this
move would give the city the ablest
board of aldermen possible to procure
and the names of some of it's members
certainly look well in print but judg-
ing from the press of that city they
have assayed most disappointment.
Three months ago Rutland was
stricken with an epidemic of typhoid
with it's attendant deaths and com
mercial paralysis. Chemical analysis
sustained the opinion of physicians
that the plague was due to impure
water Rutland still has it's typhoid,
its select aldermen, and drinks dis
ease germs, but no steps has been
taken to obtain pure water supply.
But we have depressed somewhat
from the thought of government with
out political parties. II 1t should be
enlarged in its scope what would the
result be to the State? Take YER
mont, for instance. If we should
abolish political designations anG
choose our candidates fCr State Off
GELS from among eligibles by petition
where is the profit wno could fore
tell the result?
It's advantages might be an awall-
ened Interest among voters to matters
of vital concern; as it is only about
Iwo-thirds of the men vote, and of
those who do we hope half have some
conception OF the functions Of govern
ment and for what they are voting.
Our rcn partisan ca ldidat,s might