Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-10-20

ment was created against the slate.
This feeling grew in intensity wth
/ the approach of the final ballot and
when TIE votes We're counted it was
found that not one candidate Of tae
commission forces mad been success
full
Tie Slate Defeated.
This created feeling of the utmost
gloom among the advocates Of good
government. who felt that ter la
bors had been wasted. but experience
proved they had baildei better than
they knew; that they had erected a
system of government tat was bigger
than the indiYfdual.
! At the same time the old ring" wac
jubilant. The theory of the reform
element that the gang was On top
was shared by tie gang itself, ard
there was a joyous celebration. It
did not last, however, for time proved
that the victory was not TO the gag
any more than it had been 10 the re
formers" The peop,e lad triunphod
and from that day to this they remain
in the saddle.
The man elected to the Office D
mayor was-A j. Mathis, who received
the solid support Of the ring" and
the liberal element. 1t was thought
that he would stand for a wide open
town" just as the old crowd had. bat
there was disappointment here, as ii
all other expectations OF the %
crowd. The mayor and commissioners
gave to Des Moines the best govern
ment it had ever knOwn-a govern
ment so efficient and 50 full of actual
benefits TO the taxpayers and peop'e
generally that the attention of tls
entire country was attracted to Des
M0ines and TIRE plan under which it
operates became known far and wide
as the model" DIring the two years
of this administration crime was re
ducei TO a greater extent than during
the fifty years preceding. a result due
to the establishment of a police
Pertinent whose function is to pre-
vent lawlessness r1ther than play IT,
interesting game Of politics. Nor
streets were built than during tie
previous ten years ana a total Of one
hundred and sixty-nine thousand dol
lars was saved by the Inauguration
economies in the various departments
Under the old system the streets 81
Des Moines were cleaned "once in d
while" Citizens could not remember
when the alleys had been cleaned
Now Des Moines is one Of the clean
est towns in the country, and, more
over, it is becoming one of the most
beautiful
1t was rude shock to the follog-
ers OF the old machine when they dis
covered that the defelt Of the com
missi9ns1ate did not mean a victory
for them, and when the second elec-
ton came about last spring they gotI
busy and put out a slate" of their
own. They induced tie mayor, Mr..
Mathis, to head this slate, and, with al
congenial group for the office of com
missioner, they entered tle fight am
bilious to regain control. Again tie
cry, Down WITH the Slate was rails
ed. and once more it went down, car
rying Mayor Mathis with it. The peo-
pie were again on top.
The present mayor is James i.
Hanna, a college professor, and his
associates are Zen c. Roe, J. Wesley
Ash, Charles w. Schramm and john
MacVicar. Hannaand MacVicar are
widely known as students of munich
pal government, the latter having
been secretary OF the Leagle of
American Municipalities for a number
Of years. Ash is an ex-coal miner.
while Roe and schpmm are plan
business men,