Norwich bulletin., 1921-05-28

safety of the people, and trains them for the still greater responsibilities or state and national elections.
 Noupartisan Elections.
 Many persons say with much force that politics is the bane Of clty govern ment. There are even those who say inc same thing of state and national government. I do not believe this. It is true that the appointment to of1lce of unfit persons as reward for political services, is a crying evil which must be condemned by every friend of good gov ernnaent. Civil service reform, under an adeQuate state law, would cure this ana ought to be adopted. so as to provlde d fairly permanent staff of under-othclals to conduct city business continuously in spite of changes resulting from elections But charter reformers ignore this re- form and propose nonpartisan ballots, with candidates named by petition and not by political parties. I submit that such a change would be merely fictitious and will not correspond to reality. The commissioners as they know will name 1 but if so the people will vote for such 1 commissioners as they kno wWill name | the city Executive the people want. Bos- 1 ton, in it's charter of 1909, constructed | like that of Indianapolis on the federal ! cessful in eliminating politics from school elections, it utterly failed in city cleo tions. Political parties saw to it that their man was on the ballot and the peo- 1 pie voted their political opinions, regard 1 less of the absence of party emblens. l The election of the city executive
 whether he be called mayer or manager
 by commissioners is called indirect cleo tion." The people do not vote for the mayor, but for the men who make the mayor. This country has tried indirect election, and has rejected it after tho
 most thorough trial. The electoral col Ilege was just such device to keep poll tics out of presidential elections, but the American people soon found the wa! to get around the electoral college anC make their own choice for president. So too, for a hundred years, United State senators were chosen indirectly, that Is by state legislatures. After thorough trial the plan of indirect election ha been abolished, by constitutional amenJe ment, and the people choose their owl senators. I submit that the so-callet lnonpartisan feature of commission gov lernment holds no substantial promise fo the removal of party politics from cit, appointments, and is far inferior to
 civil service law.
 Friction Between Council and Mayor. The most effective criticism of tn federal plan for city government is tha
 friction. or what is worse. deadlock, ma
 arise and does arise between the exc cutive and the legislature. In othe words, the mayor and council do no agree at times on appropriations I is true that some discouraging conflict of this sort have taken place in Indian apolis. At times I have thought tn council was obstructive. Nearly ever
 mayor has had trouble of this sort. Ye after thirty years trial in Indianapolis. am inclined to think that the chec which the mayor and council exert O each other is necessary and helpful. secures the advantage of having pubIi expenditures passed on by two independ ent authorities before they are mad, , Even where friction and conflict aris
 they secure publicity and draw publi attention to the matter Opinion formed through such publicity. This
 the democratic way. I admit that con mission government may be relative; frfctionless, secret and swift in levyin . taxes voting appropriations, ordering e, penditures and creating debt For m
 part. do not believe that the safet of the people lies in that direction IT. ! ! federal plan of government now existin in Indiana cities. with all it's faults ! safer, more scientific and more Anne, lean form than commission or manap, 8 charters