New Britain herald., 1915-09-04
WHAT OTHERS SAY
Views on all sides of timely questions as discussed in ex- changes that come to the Herald office.
Looking Back Over 40 Years.
(Springfield Republican,

The most striking speech so far de- hVered in the New York constitu- tlonal convention was that of Elihu Root on Monday, in which he adVo- cated the short ballot as at least f1rs- step toward the elimination of the long existing system of 'bossism' ana invisible government" or the rule Which, to the speakers knoWl- cage, had dominated the Empire state for 40 years Mr. Root understood what he was talking about for he was an organization man in the days of machine triumph. Under that order or things there was a boss and dis trlouter of patronage who could make and unmake men and control the &C., ton of Legislatures. MT. Root made the distinction that bosses rule by pa tronage, while elective officials seek tU appoint men to office who will make good records The law of self-pres- erVat1on applies there as elseWhere MT. Root named the men who stood TOT type of politics that is rapidly passing and indeed has come near to the vanishing point because the power of public opinion has been so heartily brought to bear upon it. He speci- fled Messrs. Fenton, Conkling, Arthur, Cornell and Platt on the republican side, and David B. Hill, whose phrase, T am a democrat" meant party first, and all the political trading that was necessary to take care Of his follow CTS. MT. Roots history was right and his leadership in a new period does him credit.
 The short ballot which MT. Root advocated would include only the gov ernor, ieutenant-governor, controller and attorney-general The original plan as presented to the convention provided that the people should vote only for the governor and lieutenant governor, but there was a compro- mise by which the controller and at- torney-general were retained as cleo tive officers. The aim of the short ballot is to concentrate responsibility and to make it less easy for what IS called the Invisible government to put forward candidates about whose character and qualifications the aver age citizen can know little. Other department heads hitherto elected would be appointed by the governor, whose responsibility to the people would be made direct. The many existing state departments would be
 
 heads directly accountable to the gov ernor. In this way responsibility would be fixed and governors could be looked to for results. These rad ical changes have been indorsed by the constitutional convention sitting in Albany
 MT. Root holds that a great ad- vance in the efficiency of the govern ment of New York state will be made possible. The tendency of the time
 is toward placing responsibility in fewer hands. Those who have been familiar with political conditions dur ing the past forty years will be inter ested in this development at Albany. The fight on the spells system which was led by George William Curtis and others has gathered a momentum Conklins, Platts and Hills, and has in increasing measure returned control of their affairs to the people. Mug wumps have been known under va rious names, but the fight for honest government which they began has gone forward year by year until the power of patronage in the hands of bosses large and small has become less than ever before in our national his- tory. Nor should it be forgotten that ,independent newspapers have had their large share in making democ- racv in the broad sense more efficient in the affairs of government, state and nation