New Britain herald., 1916-04-01
T0un Topics

It is not surprising to those familiar
 with the political situation in this
 city that the childish, insulting, crit | ical boastins and personal campaign l being conducted by Mayor Quigley
 and Q. F. Curtis for the republican
 nomination for mayor is becoming 1 highly offensive to many G. 0. F. , mem bers. It is easily seen that they | are weary of all the dissatsfa ction ap- | parent during the Quigley administra-
 tion and are disGusted with the tao tics employed by both candidates. l From either candidate they fear they I have nothing better to look forward 1 to. On the other hand they see In | Ernest w. Felton, the probable demo- | cratic nominee, q quiet, unassuming l inoffensive yet withal efficient man. ! He wastes no time making rash prom | ises or making asinine attacks on | his opponents. And there are great | many of these dyed-in- the wool re i publicans, men who will vote the re- 1 publican ticket both statewise and na- l tionally who feel that the republican 1 party policies in the city have so far | deterioratod that their only hope of ] getting a peaceful and husincss-lill administration lies in tho democratic l ranks. They plainly sec that by vot- | ing for F. W. relton. if he is named, l they will in no way affect their stand l ing as republicans on state or national issues and by so doing they will be rid Of distastefu1 politicians locally. These thinking republicans realize that for two years the city of New Britain has been held up to ridicule because of the acts of it's chief execu tive. They also know that the meth nf1ac ,1ny- 1>,- hot 3 Curtis go far towards making the.
 present campaign the laughing stock, of the state, They see a solution in going quietly to the polls on April 11s and. without dcserting their party, but with a conscientious regard for tue oath they took as voters, casting their ballot for F. W. Pelton, thus raising. the position of mayor above the standg ard Of petty politics and restoring It to mertcd position Of dignity ra- thHr than to the place in the comic | supplements 1t now deserves. And it is certain that there are a large num- Der of these intelligent, self-thinking republicans who are planning to do just this thing,
 So great is the interest in the cleo tion for mayor and other officials that majority of the voters, both demo- cratic and republican, have lost sight of another important matter which WILL be decided at the polls on April II. This is the vote on the state con- Stltutlonal amendment which provides for the payment of full mileage to
 members of the state Legislature. Most of the towns and cities in the state,
 With the exception of Hartford and New Britain, have already voted on this question and the majority have seen justice in the proposed amend
 ment and have voted for it. To cor rectly understand the situation one
 must be familiar with existing condi-
 tions
 At present every member of the leg
 stature receives $500 as his salary and
 mileage of ten cents per mile for
 one trip to and from the capitol. In
 nearby cities such as New Britain the
 mileage does not mean so much to
 the general assemb blymen, but those
 mem bers who come from Greenwich
 New London, Putnam, Canaan, Dan
 bury and other places for removed from Hartford find their railroad mile
 age an important item. Most of them have homes and business that need part of their time. so find 1t i'm
 possible to live in Hartford. But as
 the law provides for but one trip the
 rest must be taken out of their own
 salaries and in many instances their
 railroad tickets more than eat up their $500.
 In olden days the general assembly was far different than at present. The
 business sessions Were not as long
 Transportation was not as conVenieIlt and a mileage of ten cents per GaifAs for one round trip was deemed fairA Now times have changed and the gen
 cral assem blymen, and a majority of their constituents. feel it is no more than right that they should get full mileage and not be compelled to dig into their own pockets for it.
 It will be for the New Britain vot- CTS to say whether or not they feel dis posed to grant this, when they march to the polls on April Il. The consti- tutional amendment will be listed on the voting machine Yes" or No" A yes vote will favor the passage of the amendment, providing transporta- tion to and from their homes for the members of tho legislature. This is not salary grab" amendment, but is simply justifiable andA reasonable request, especially since the salary of $500 minus car fare is not particular ly alluring to the efficient representa- tive who may not be a man of money.
 While there seems to be but little doubt that the republican town com mittec will sec fit to rCnominatc Fred Wrinkle as one of the party constables. there is known to be an active fight on to oust Constable George A. Stark