The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-02-10

when something has to be done "a
Strengthen out the tangle and many Of
the cities are taking up The form OF
government by commission,
Smith then proceeded 70 describe lust
exactly how the Des Moines plan IL
made up and how il works cit The
manner Of selecting the candidates and
the way IN which the elections were
carried ont being fully dealt with. HAY.
ing outlined al the details he pro.
ceeded:
The Advantages.
SO much for the outline Of the plar.
Now what are some Of Sine sdgant gat
elaimd for it by its adherentsl At The
time l was in college, Prof. William
James occupied the center of the
philosophical arena, with his now sys
tenn of philosophy, which he cali d
Pragmatism. It's Fundamental prime e
was this; If a man came to yOl th
new scheme for running the universe,
you were to look him in the eve end
ask him, "What differen. e does il
makei' and unless he could talI what
difference his scheme does make in
the inter.relations of the universe, you
told him to go. Now what difference
does the Dies Moines plan make ir mimi.
cipal government
First: 1t abolishes the Ward .ys-
tenn. The scheme of having representa-
ton by wards is another relic Of tia
federal plan, having its analogy in the
State. 1t has Always been a " eak spot
in the municipal patchwork Not onlJ
does a city father have to look fest to
the needs and demands of his own lrd
IF he doesn I he will lose his job
but no matter how much care may be
bestowed upon the ward divisions, thefc
is always at least one ward in nearly
every city, and certainly in eS ely city
Of large size, whose representatives ex-
ert an unwholesome influence rpOn
municipal politics The theory of wards
is indefensible. A city is physically
and socially and economically unit
1t occupies certain territory geOg aUh-
ically and is the abiding place of a
definite population. There is a commor
mind in the community and a dominant
public sentiment on every question
pending in the community. There is
not a city in the United States in which
the dominant note of public opinion is
not in favor of honesty and eiiiei ncy
in administration and the councilman
elected by the entire city and looking
to the whole electorate for the reward
of approval and reelection, is Under
constant pressure of obligation to the
city, as a INIT. His position forces him
to right point of view and crit It
post-election virtues as we'll as pre-
election promises The ward system in-
vited conscienceless scramble by the
citizens among log-folling alderman fot
unfair local advantage. The new sys-
tenn does away with this because the
individual seeking what he ought rot
to obtain must approach an official OBJ
ligated to him only as a member of the
community at large, and airy, unfair
advantage given or concession granted
will bring the entire public down upon
his neck.
Partizan Politics Abolished.
"The question of party lines is a trou-
blesome one here in Honolulu, but in
the average city the question natlr lily
arises as to what use there is in nom
mating candidates for any city Offices
on account of their views on the tariff
question, or their membership in any
special political party, The party poll
tician's monopoly of participation in
the average city government begins
but does not end, with his machinery
for controlling nominations. The party
caucus or primary at which the nOn,in-
ations are held is in charge of ward
committeeman or precinct or di' tIist
captain, whose position as such, is itaelf
reward for partizan or fractional serv-
ice, and badge emitting him to fur
ther recognition. Back of him are a
small army of ward workers, more or
less respectable, as the requirements of
the organization are merely votes, or
the violence and fraud which overawc
decent voters and neutralize their bal
lots. AS far as the respectable citizen is
concerned, he is usually satisfied t. ote
for that candidate for mayor or council
man whose soundness ON the tariff or
currency or trusts appears 70 be in the
least question. If he scratches his
ticket as have heard it whispered that
some few are supposed to have done
here at the last election, he psaally
feels like crawling into the cyclone
cellar and pulling the door down, until
the rest of his party have forgotten the
incident. And more often than not,
the regular or straight voter can't help
entertaining sneaking suspicion that
while he and his well-meaning ne gh-
Dor of the other party were engaged in
killing each other s votes, the boss and
the political jobber, though shouting
party warcries from the hOusetops:
were quietly voting together and sesur.
ing the results they desired. Under
the Des Moines plan, il candidate as
pires to a place az The head of one of
the departments, his ambition can be
realized only by the deliberate judg-
ment of the voting body that he is one
of the eight best men in the list of
candidates. Party designations and
what an eastern boss used TO term
Symptoms do not appear on term
ticket The voters 60 TO the polls as
one body, and the machines are rem
dered practically innoeuous, The Des
Moines plan has not been known so far
TO fail Of It's object in keeping the gov.
eminent nonpaTtizan. Instead Of false
issues being sprung upon the voters, the
questions discussed concern the best
interests Of municipal bookkeeping,
what sort Of police, health and Ore
protection the city should enjoy; how