Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-09-25
A CANDIDATES.


Alderman Wilson'S program for
municipal development. should he
be elected mayor. sounds nne. When
it is considered that under u pres
emit system Of municipal government.
however, the mayor alone does not
count for much his pledges do not
carry much weight. We have had
+ candidates for mayo before who
have pledged everything from a
bridge to T~ottsnvills to the building
Of a comfort station, but that Is
sbout as far as they ever got.
A mayor may present his annual
message to the Board of Aldermen
filed with all kinds Of recommends
tions for the welfare of the city, but
nothing can be done without the
necessary appropriation of funds,
which IL entirely In the hands of the
aldermen. But even when the alder
men make appropriations. the hand
ling Of the funds thus appropriated
Is entirely in the hands of still an
other board, which the aldermen
may or may not have a hand in
appointing. 1t is all 81 complicated
that the pledges of any one candi-
date may really amount to nil. Mayor
Dorsey has realized this and it was
after his two years experience with
the city's Anticipated charter that he
came out in favor OF commission
government for the city when that
campaign was on q month or two
ago..
It Is safe to say that we all favor
rogress for Perth Amboy in n
way or another. Some favor the de-
velopment of one thing and some
another. 1t is the inability to get a
unity of action, to concentrate on
: any one thing in order to put it
across that prevents real progress
here.
This is where the commission form
IF government has its advantage.
E rhe commission is elected from the
sity at large so that each n Of the
: five men looks at every municipal
problem from the point OF view of
! The whole city rather than from any
Gone section. Then, there are but
i've men to bring to an agreement
and each man has his own work to
perform. They all work together In
making the appropriations and each
one has the direct spending of GER
tain parts of the appropriations for
specific purposes.
But the people of Perth Amboy
were not interested enough to even
4 vote on commission government let
alone vote for it. The result is, We
have got to worry along under our
present hodge-podge system with no
one directly responsible for anything,
and with no one person able to do
!. very much along any line no matter
how ambitions he may be.
Really. the only way for any sort
z Of a program for municipal develop
ment to carry weight with the peo-
pie under our present party govern
ment is for a political party as a
whole. not any one particular candi-
date. to adopt a definite program and
pledge every member of hat party.
il elected, to the fulhllment of that
pledge. This would mean that If that
party making the pledge controls the
city government the people could
hold the party responsible for the
carrying out of the program.
Alderman Wilson, as the Repub-
lican candidate for mayor, says he
favors certain things. But his pledge
alone, as experience has shown, does
not amount to much under our pres
emit system Of government. But II
the Republican party in this city
should pledge itself to carry out GER
tain things of that party is given
control Of municipal affairs then the
people would have some reason for
voting the men of that party into
office. If we are going to have party
government let's have party respons-
ibility. Alderman Wilson merely
pledges himself. not his party.
As a matter of fact. there is little
o be gained n way or the Other
Is far as party government in loca
lfFairs are concerned. Under oul
resent system Of municipal govern
nent the only ones really interested
a h success of n party over an
ther are those who will hold tn
nces and secure the city Jobs. I
he Republicans win men of tina
,arty viii be in: il Democrats vii
he plums go to the men Of tina
,arty. There is little difference a
ar as the average taxpayer is con
.erned. which side wins.