The Ocala evening star., 1915-02-10
AN ANSWER TO MR.. ANDERSON

AN ANSWER TO MR.. ANDERSON
In another place, our learned friend,
Mr.. r. L. Anderson, asks if we are IN
favor of the proposed amendment to
the city charter, which, up to the time
Ocala contains 10000 people, will en-
able the city government to make con-
tracts with its own officers.
Owing to the fact that the Star has
!, been up against the present law, it is
much in favor of having it changed.
Several years ago, the general man
arer of the Star, in an unusual fit Of
good humor, allowed himself to be
elected as member of the city council,
which position he held down for a
number of months which seemed .
great many to him. During that
time he put in an average of twenty
hours work month for the city, for
which he received no pay except an
occasional cussing from some of his
fellow citizens. He could not, during
that space of period, do any city
printing, or charge for any city ad-
vertising which appeared in his pa
per. All these things he bore with
which those who knew him would
never have otherwise supposed he
possessed.
But one day, unbeknown to him, and
al o+lo 4Iao
minor city official bought wheelbar-
row or dump cart or some other such
vegetable from firm of which one
councilman was member, whereupon
the whole bunch of aldermen was ar
rested and would have been put in
Jail, if their friends had not bailed
them out. Then, to their great terror
and dismay they were held under bond
for months, with the view of a jail
sentence ever before their eyes, and
were finally yanked into court, tried
and found guilty, and if the judge had
not had thousand times more sense
than the law, they might have been
heavily fined for an act they were in
no wise responsible for.
The same thing is liable to happen
again any day in city the size of
Oca4a. Our people have for years fol-
LEVIED the policy of picking out their
leading business men to act as mayor
and councilmen. With ten such bust
ness men in the government, it is diff
ficult for the city to buy anything al
home without buying from some firm
in which one of the ten is not inter,
ested. We have had two out of three
hardware firms represented on the
council, at one time; if all three were
(which is entirely possible) the cit!
would have to send to Gainesville fo1
an ak for the fire department or ;
shovel for street work.
The proposed amendment is prin
cipally intended to prevent such oc
currences. It is much more for tn
convenience of the city than for an,
revenue that may accrue to its offi
GERS.
The Star does not view the pros
pect of graft from this source wit
any apprehension. We do not thin
that any member of the council woul
graft on the city, charge the city an
more for goods or work than he woul
anybody else. There is not enoug
profit in any city work to cause an
man of the class we usually elect t
office to strive for election or re-eleC
ton on account of what he may &c
out of it. Election of mayor an
councilmen in Ocala has so far bee
mostly a gentleman's game in whic
the candidates have been out for th
fun and the honor AS long as tt
people take proper amount of intel
est'ein their public affairs, it will r.
main so.
The Star would not favor any men
Der of the city council taking the col
tract to build the new electric plal
or water works or put in the new sev
erage system. AS it happens, I
member Of the city government, if i
deed any citizen, is in position to tai
such contract. When such a Co
tract is let to an outside firm or co
poration, the Star can see no reaso