Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-07-21
BUSINESS BRAINS PLUS
POLITICAL INSTINCT
Without This Combination in the New
Mayor and Council the Same Old
Things will Go On

Things will Go On
| John FISHER. vice president Of the
Manufacturers Club, speaking at
! Republican Alliance meeting in West
| PhjladcIphia said that the business inter-
csts have determined to have hand in
the government of the city. at is a bill
| lion dollar corporation" he continued,
| land We propose to have It administered
! on a huSnpsslkc basis
The city is billion dollar business cor
| poraton, with a president and. under the
new charter, a boarl Of twcnty-onc
| directors. But no moro gricvouS mistake
can be made than to assume that it is
merely q business corporation. Il cannot
be run as Baldwjn's or the Pennsylvania
Railroad is run, because it is engaged in
different kind Of business. It's function
j; not to sell government to other cities
at a profit, as the function of Baldwin'S
is to sell locomotives to men who are not
shareholders. Its function is to sell gov
eminent to itself and to supply quality
of government which will satisfy the
shareholders, who are all the people.
1t is Of primary importance that the
| Mayor and members of Council get this
| idea into their minds. A successful COR
pOraton president. who has been aCcus-
toned to running the affairs of the COM
! pany to suit the controlling majority Of
the shareholders as represented in the
! board Of directors, and who counts him
self successful when he can show a safe
margin Of profit, might be miserable
failure as Mayor The chances are that
he would be failure unless he had had,
along with his business training. some
experience in the arts Of pOlitics-that
is in conciiatory dealing with great
masses Of people who regard themselves
as masters and not as servants. Coun-
Cilmen selected from the boards Of direc-
tors of railroads and other corporations
who were mere business men would fail
as lamcntably.
Dave Lane, who is political philoso-
phcr Of great acutcness, has reminded
the reformers Of this many times. 1t is
true not because Dave" Lane says it,
but because there is a radical difference
between the methods that must be en-
ployed in public and in private business.
Yet it is of vital importance that the
new Mayor and the members of the new
Council should be men of business ability
and experience. There are men seeking
nomination to the Council who would NOT
be employed at $40 a week by any re-
sponsble business man in the city. They
would make good orrand hovs but # is
prcposterous to trust to their judgment
N. fxiro If businnss noIicv ~. to do-
mend an their discretion IN snendinr mil
ion. of dollars
Thore are mon mantio,nd for thn
r,.,.o,.I+,. wbo ara cuod bard-.b,l,o,..
aud or,i,IIo i,I,in,.. Inn, tba diror+c,... or
, f,, bnrdrGd th,n.ard doI1or co,nn,.o-
,;or uuuld ro .olnor tbinl, Of rrtti,o,
them at il, head than they wouIL think
of pIrvatinU thui, office how +o tbe manap-
ING dircctorship.
Men Of this kind are political experts.
| They know how to get out the vote. But
! their Qualifications are all on one side.
! just a, the qualifications of the mere
| business man are all on the other side.
What we understand that Mr.. Fisler
means and what we understand the
/ Chamber of Commerce had in mind when
it pollcd business men on the qualifiCa-
tjons of the new Mayor, is that greater
stress should be laid on the business
qualifications of candidates for office than
has been laid in the past
1t is not necessary to urge the mere
politicians to offer themselves. They will
take care of that without any sugges-
tions from any one. But there will not
be that improvement for which we are
all hoping unless the new Mayor and
members Of Council are politicians plus,
with the emphasis on the plus.
1t will be necessary to insist on this
emphasis if we are to get the right kind
of men. The salary of $4,000 attached to
the councilmanc office is attractive to a
lot of little men. 1t seems large to them.
Rut the kind of man to whom the salary