Middletown transcript., 1911-06-10
NIDDEET0wN, DEL, JUNE 10, lsll
A NON-PARTISAN GOVERNMENT

A NON-PARTTSAN GOVERNMENT
In the late Wilmington cleo
ton campaign the EUefy EUen5ng
contained a number OF very cred
able editorials demanding of both
parties that they cease their worn
out partisan tactics and that the
respective candidates for mayor
take a plain stand for an honest
non.partisan city government.
Addressing both Sparunce and
Howell it used the following wise
and fair language:
"Let them, honestly admit what
all people know to be fact-tbat
the partisan administrations of the
past score Of years or more have been
costly failure-and each sincerely
pledge himself, in the event of cleo.
ton, to do all that may be in his per-
sonal or official power to inaugurate
the long needed reform"
THE TRANSCRIPT is informed
that DR.. Howell was made the
Republican candidate at the in.
stance of the popular demand
and against the wishes of the
machine leaders. Excellent! 1t
also learns that since his election
he has been man enough to refuse
to let these party bosses dictate
his appointments, announcing
that he means to name good men
for the various Offices and not
mere party heelers.
This is an auspicious begin
ning-one which kept to the end,
will give Wilmington the rare
luxury of a cheap and effective
city government; something it
has not had under either party
management in the memory of
the oldest inhabitant-an honest
and efficient administration of
city affairs.
The City of Wilmington is on
the ragged edge of something
like bankruptcy-has not at this
moment money enough to pay its
current expenses - discharged
the other day, a large force of
needed employees because it
lacked funds to pay them ! All,
thanks to the time-honored par.
tisan graft that has enriched
party heelers while it has lmpov-
erished the city and ground the
people fine in the tax mill.
If Mayor Howell, of whose
civic patriotism such high expec.
tations have been aroused, shall |
indeed be true to such an exalted |
conception of his honored station
and shall use its privileges and |
responsibilities, as he should, in |
the interests of all the people and
not in the interests of the party |
politicians, then will his incum-
bency prove a great blessing to
the City and a high honor to
himself. But if he choose in
stead to stake care of the boys"
i. e. fatten the ward heelers at
the expense of both efficiency and
honesty in public affairs, the end
will be nothing else than the old
familiar spectacle of debauched
city government, its offices and
functions turned over to the pill.
fering professional politicians
"the dog to his vomit again. /"
Were all the city journals to
join the EUeTy Evening in its in
sistent demands for a non.parti-
san business-like city govern
ment, Wilmington might yet be
redeemed out of the hands of the
huckstering machine politicians
that have cursed it for over a
quarter of century.
Nearly hundred years ago
Europe in all its great capitals
learned better than this. Their
cities now are all cheaply and
honestly well governed, while
ours yet wallow in the very
Slough of Despond, thanks to
the absurd nonsense of "voting
the party ticket" in city elections
"a policy that has yielded city
governments whose costliness is
only exceeded by their worth
lessness.
CABINET TREASON
Treachery to the principles of