The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-10-06
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

The rule of the great city is
 twentieth century problem that is growing more serious every year. r.
 It is getting to be more difficult to
 be represented politically by the best
 men, for frequently the picked men
 refuse to run. They do not fear abuse and criticism for themselves, but balk
 at the idea of having their families and their business exploited in a mud
 singing campaign.
 1 Now the situation is a serious one, and it's commonplace to repeat that unless men of high character and
 moral worth are put at the head of a city, the city will become in our na- tional life as great a curse as Babylon and Rome were to their empires. Carlyle or some other thoughtful
 Englishman said that Americans had solved the problem of government so 1 far as the state and the national gov ernments were concerned, but the test was coming in the way they were municipally governed, and any student of civics knows that 1t has been our American shame, the manner in which our great cities have been misgov- | erned
 The reason I have urged in this column that the campaign should be lively was to try and induce more peo- pie to take an interest In the coming election. It is sad fact but 1t Is frequently impossible to get the very class of men to vote who have most at stake in the continuance of good government or in the overthrow of an incompetent administration. Good citizens are in the majority everywhere, and if they choose to be misgoverned-as they claim to be-by selfish minority of professional poli- ticians, one can hardly bestow much sympathy Qr lose much sleep on their account when they are too indifferent to rise up and assert themselves at the polls and put in men of probity and worth. Our city government is just as good as we are and no better or worse.
 Getting office has been allowed to degenerate too largely into a matter of greed and grab. and voters are ruled too much by their prejudices, and will not take time to size up candidates or listen to fair and open discussion of issues. The present way of electing
 
 and disgrace to our intelligence. We give too much latitude to the leather lunged, and reward too frequently the self -assertive.
 NJ. de TooQueyille who visited our country over 100 years ago, and the Hon. James Bryce, the distinguished English publicist and friend to this country, both looked on the American city as the great est peril to the American republic. We know that It Is the weakest spot in our national life and knowing this it Is up to us here in Birmingham to remedy it or our city will not take its proper rank among the cities with which 1t has to | compete.
 In the coming election every serious minded lover of Birmingham ought to l want to place at it's head the best type of , our citizenship, one who will administer | It's affairs economically and honestly, for [ the common welfare of all its people. l Let's put at the city hall man who will | be fair to the corporations. but who will | have courage to see that the people get | square deal.
 Let's choose a man for head of the | commission. not for oratorical gifts, much | less for social prominence, but solely for his integrity of character and business ability. The need does not call for the tool of any special interests or the leader | of any political party, but it does call | for man with business acumen and | ability to surround himself with compe- | tent helpers. Now. it Is not for me to | name the man. leave that to the judg- | Consider well the men offering for the | place and take time to select the one best l qualified to govern city the size of Bir- | mngham.
 , am mercy SIriVlIlS tO OO my part III | developing a civic conscience. I stand | for public as well as private morality. | We will never get respectable city gov- ernment until we put men In office whose i lives are clean. It is high time for us to | quit taking our ideals of civic righteous | ness from people without any civic con- sciousness We will never get well gov 1 erned city until we cease taking our standards from people who flout nor | ality It is high time to select men to rule over Us who are noted for their re- spectability and irreproachable character.
 We voters have 1t within our power next Monday to settle the way in which this city is to walk during the next four years Let each mothers son of us feel both personal responsibility and civic pride in our city's development. plead for the creation of strong civic con science for righteousness in the breast of every man who casts ballot on the 9th.
 eAsxAaItlEl@aaxN.
 HE MET HIS WATERLOO