The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1916-08-31

made all the difference.
And so it is, | claim, with com
mission government. It's the cash
register in town government. Our
present system is the open till. No
body knows how much goes in, how
4much is taken out, or who takes it.
Commission government keeps
check on every man and immediate
ly enables US to detect the man who
does wrong. Now, why shouldn't
it make as much difference to our
town as the cash register makes to
the business of the man above men
toned?
Again some people will say, You
can't change human nature no matter
what you do" | never met a man
yet fool enough to think he would
ever be able to do that. Of course
you can't change human nature, but
isn't that the very reason we are
always trying to find a system that
will reduce the expression of human
imperfections in our government to
a minimum This human nature
argument is the strongest kind of
an argument for a change to some
thing that will put more effective
check on human frailty. The man
with new cash register never eX-
pected to make his men more virtu-
Gus. They were just as bad at heart
afterwards as they were when they
used the open till but they no long
err dared to let their evil inclinations
express themselves in theft So far
as the master was concerned then,
he was about as we'll off as if all his
servants were as virtuous as could
be.
We are not pretending at all that
commission government will make
men morally better. All we say is
it will make the bad man do what
is right despite the evil incIinations
of his his heart, and that if he should
make bold enough to do wrong he
will be sure to get caught.
This argument of course is meant
to apply to only those men we hap
pen to get who are inclined to do
wrong. Just as the cash register
was meant to apply only to those
servants who were inclined to do
wrong. But as said in previous
article commission government will
make it to the interest of our of
ficials to give us a better govern.
ment than they have ever given US
before. We are going to pay them
for what they do. You can't expect
something for nothing and the things
we do get for nothing are not worth
anything anyway. It's human nature
to give your time and thought to
the fellow who pays you. If we
don't pay our officials somebody else
will. Tha means somebody else
will get the service we alone ought
to get and it also means debauched
officials. No man can serve two
masters. But i f the people pay
their officials the people will get the
service, and they will get the un-
divided service of their officials for
the people are in a position to make
a better bargain with them than
anyone else. It's business PROPOSE
ton pure and simple.
The petitions were handed to the
Clerk Tuesday evening. That means
the special election will be held Sep
TENDER 10Th. We would have held
the election primary day if we could
but the law requires a special cleo
ton. The object of the law o f
course is to keep this matter free
and clear of every other issue. The
people are going to be given a chance
at last to vote on a matter that has
been talked of for several years. We
have never before seemed to be able
to get beyond the conversation point
and | thought it was about time to
stop the conversation and give the
people chance to act.
Here is the opportunity then for
J a good, clean, efficient government
, and if the people avail themselves
of the opportunity all well and good.
If however they refuse to avail them
| selves of the opportunity it will be
incumbent on them to hold their
peace forever after.
G. A. MALLOY,
Lambertville, N. j. Aug. %, 1916.
e WANTED 1920 acres farm with