The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-11-02
THE NEW YORK ELECTION
By HOLLAND

Fly HC New York, November 1.--(Special 1.-TWO
 days after the AS states food conserva-
 tion campaign is ended and 10 days after the subscriptions to the second liberty loan were closed an election is to take place in New York city which apparently has attracted almost nation wide atten- ton.
 This is not due to the fact that John Purroy Mitchell is a candidate for re-elec- ton as mayor so much as to the relation
 which this election will bear towards the growth of municipal nonpartisan ad- Iministration. It has often been said that it is impracticable if not impossible to secure an adequate and sincere nonpar- tisan municipal administration excepting
 by means of the commission form or gov ernment Therefore, should the major ity of the people of New York city cast their votes for the candidates who rep
 resent the partisan government prin- ciple, the result will be looked upon as confirmation of the view that only by the commission form of municipal govern | sSSNASS
 The interest in this election is certainly national and not purely local Ordinarily 1t would be, from the national point Of
 view, of little consequence whether can didate of tho republican party or can didate of the democratic party were elected mayor of New York. But the prin- ciple of municipal efficiency and reform px-fTc Cynynr ment Is to be so tested in the local cleo 1 ton that other communities in the United States which have adopted nonpartisan forms of government or that are con templating the adoption of government of that kind, are very closely watching the campaign in New York, and 1t is ap- parent that the hope is general that the nonpartisan administration which IS iden- titled by Mayor Mitchers name will be SO well supported by the people that na- tion-wide influence in the direction Of nonpartisan municipal administration will be immediately felt.
 The situation in New York city is some
 what peculiar and for that reason it Is impossible to forecast tho result of the election Four years ago the citizens
 elected by a handsome majority public
 officers committed to nonpartisan admin listration Now 1t is alleged by those who support this policy or principle that the results achieved in New York city by this administration fully justify all the claims that have been made for nonpartisan government of municipal ity. Possibly if there were no European war and no sinister influences created III the United States by those who are called pacifists the reelection Of the nonpartisan administration would be cer- tain.
 There arc in New York large number of voters who either openly profess to ba pacifsts or who secretly arc aiding the pacifists. Ono of the candidates for election as mayor is an averred pacdfist Ia is at tho head of the socialist ticket Rut the socialist party Is believed to be sn,,t upon this issue. Charles Edward Russell, who has been twice the candidate of the socialist party for governor Of New York and four years ago was cam ldtdate of the socialist party for mayor Of New York, is giving all his time to the
 support of the nonpartisan ticket chiefly
 on the ground that. if that ticket be de-
 feated, the result will be accepted in Germany and by pacifists all over the
 United States as indicating that public
 sentiment in New York is against the
 war.
 There are . good many voters who ] never fail to support the regularly nomi- mated candidate of their party for mayor
 or any other office. The voters of this kind who are republicans will support the candidacy of William l.. Bennett for mayor. So on the other hand the demo-
 cratic voters who never fail to cast their
 votes for a regular democratic candidate for office will support the nomination of Judge Hylan for mayor It Is the inde- pendent voters and those who In munici- pal election do not regard it as impera- tive that they support the regularly nom mated party candidates for mayor, to , whom the community must look for suc- cess in case the non-partisan form of , government which has been carried on for four years under Mayor Mitchell be retained. Nobody can estimate the num-
 Der of these independent voters. Nobody
 can with accuracy make an election ] forecast which would show how many socialists do not agree with the socialist