New Britain herald., 1914-11-20
REMOVE "H|CH-BROW," PLACE ''DOLLAR MARK"
Political Reform Organizations Must
 'tCOnc Down to Earth"


 l form organizations must "come down , to earth'; they must remove the sign of the high brow and substitute the dollar mark which alone appar- ently, is sufficiently potent to be ef- fective," according to a report to the National Municipal league today by it's committee on Plan of Political Organ ization.
 The committee has not completed it's work, and the report is described as only an ''interlocutory expression" | It was prepared by the chairman, A. Leo Veil, president of the Voters League of Pittsburg.
 Text of Report.
 In part the report is as follows:
 "A plan of political organization which relies for it's support upon that class who have reached the elevation where they look down upon selfishness and are moved solely by altruistic considerations must fail. The num- Der is too limited.
 Tt will not do for the so-called high brow to inveigh against the complacency of the average citizen. This gets him nowhere. It will not do to assume that all voters are cor ruptly influenced when they support political faction. This presupposes the preponderance of corruption. The trouble is, perhaps, that while the one form of organization follows the natural instincts of man, the other ignores them and relies upon a con- ception of citizenship as appeals only to the idealists, the theorists, the purists and the dreamers. A plan of political organization, to succeed, to secure the following required to win at the polls, must be. built upon the handspring of human action, to wit: self-interest. Your committee be- lieves that it can be demonstrated (ex- cept where the contest is purely per sonal, between men, not measures), that in the campaign for good govern ment as contrasted with the machine ] government, the selfish interests of the citizen are at stake. Too much l stress is laid upon patriotism, civic l pride and the like and too little upon what the continuance of poor gov ernment or institution of good, means to the purse and the person of the individual citizen"
 Many Failed to Vote.
 There was much Justification, the l report continued, in the charge that l a large number of those who were 1 found among the reformers, so-called, 1 did not qualify by registration or other legal formality to exercise the 1 rights of citizenship, "the mere voice l of civic obligation not being loud | enough to call them from their per- sonal pursuits to the performance of. their public obligations.
 A general awakening was going on, however, and there was an ever in creasing number who wanted good | government out of purely selfish mo- tives.
 Notes Cleveland Pan.
 As to the financing of such political organizations the report noted the Cleveland plan, and urged that it might be followed by other cities. In the city of Cleveland the president Of a large trust company conceived the plan of getting some of it's citizens of wealth to provide in their wills for bequests to foundation, devoted to the city's welfare. and a large amount, running up into millions, has been thus incorporated ill such wills The money, of course, will be available only upon the death of the benefactors. Some of these amounts, however, have already become avail able through death,, and in conse- quence an organization is being ef- fected in that city having for it's pur- pose the general welfare of the city,"
 Makes Several Suggestions.
 The report concluded with the com mittee's appeal for suggestions, as:
 How best to show that good gov- means personal good to an ..
 How to inform the community l that good government is selfish prop osition, not an altruistic dream
 How to remove from such organi- cations the sign of the high brow and substitute the dollar mark which alone, apparently, is sufficiently po- tent to be effective.
 How to bring such organizations down to earth where they will ap- peal to inhabitants thereof"