South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1921-04-24
APRIL %. 1921
WHY THIS DISPLAY OF CASH AND OF
POLITICAL RANCOR IN MAYORALTY
CONTESTP A RECOMMENDATION
FOR A CHANGE IN OUR CITY
GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM

0ONEfNINNiEINI AL d > I'M.
why all this display Of cash. INDUCED by the
various candidates for office at this time: who IS
putting it up and why. MayoraIty candidates ass
particularly in question; take for instance Mayor
Carson and the candidates opposing him and each
other. One might wonder If there isn't something
IN the office OF mayor. even aside from the now
greatly increased salary. the glory. the desire to
serve, yea partisan entrenchment One
hardly conceive of this orgy OF spending with
out some Interior motive. 1t is beginning make
think OF the Newberry campaign in Michigan.
We viii assume however. for the sake Of neigh
borlness and not to be hypercriical that the mos.
sinister Of the motives behind spending is the
salary and the partisan entrenchment. Maybe it is
because, the organ Of the party INDUCING it re-
Gently exclaimed as a reason why the commission
manager movement should be delayed there is u
De a senatorial election next year. choose
cessor 20 Sen. Harry s New" Possibly these Mayo
atty candidates represent cliques divided on who
that senatorial successor should be. and they a-e
being helped financially from the headquarters o.
their favorite? Anyhow. the remark serves a tip,
and the question as TO whether or that what
we elect mayors and other city officials for.
naturally arises?
Ordinarily the people, the common people, those
who pay the taxes. and are paying them plenti-
fully these days, that their city officials
atorial seats Washington yea also gubernatorial
chairs in Indianapolis concern them in such con-
ncctiou not at all. our home city is a little fam
i,y affair. that would like TO have
ironically, without waste, yet in progressive way.
giving as the largest measure of return for
money. We are members of all parties. but can't
we rest our faith in party principles and forego
rarity maneuverings when it comes TO this little
home affair, must go and paying our
money into the municipal exchecquer. ostensibIy
for improvements but only to have it misappro-
priated the building of party machines. for the
nomination and election of senator's etc. and to
perpctuate itself as a leech upon our pocket
books?
1t is this sort Of thing with the disgusting
rivalry for mayoraIty and councilmanic power and
influence. that has driven 200 cities of the United
States-141 by charter. and 90 by civil service
0inance.-to the abandonment of the partisan sys-
tenn substituting non-partisan commissions and city
managers to transact the municipal business. and
leaving politics to take of itself. And not
a. city that has ever tried it. not even Kalamazoo.
has ever gone back. and many Of them cities
larger than South Bend. Kalamazoo has no more
gone back TO the old aldermanic and mayoralty
system 10y virtue of that revise its charter.
than South Bend went over to the city manager
system when the state legislature made it possible
for us 20 adopt that system should want to. We
sJil have 10 vote on the city manager plan AMI
Kalamazoo still has TO vote on its revised charter.
after charter convention has revised it.
The situation IN Kalamazoo merely means that
che politicians. bootIegeers. gamblers. prostitutes.
etc. are sufficiently numerous over there. in their
opposition TO scientific city government and law
enforcement that they have brought about char
Ter convention TO revise the city charter under the
Michigan home rule law. in the hope that the
new charter. after being voted on, Will take them
back TO poliuco-partisan normally" They want
campaigns motivcd more after the fashion
ss the one now on here. Il is disgusting. They
promise. on yes they promise. our candidates do.
how they VIII run the city without party consid-
eratione. with no party machine building. but put
up to them the legal proposition, Of putting the
city on a buzinessIiSe uon-partsan basis and that
Is different
Happily the people OF south Bend are waking
up They are tired Of being the goats" They
.,arzc. the masses OF them. that this municipal
government as We now have &c, Is merely a case Of
playing the politicians game. dancing his music.
and paying for the privilege That is what it
amounts to- IL would make little difference who i
nominated or elected or Of what party. under the
present system: it is inherent in the system.
POLITICAL malaGministrauon and misrepresentation
a. the reople's right and money and viii
vorm-eat rs way in, IN spite Of them, II necessary
Hence the answer; dump the old. worn-out and
cishonored system; set i'm the procession OF progress
svo cities. No one can follow the examinations and
rccrimiratious that the candidates hurting az
each other so openly. without suspicioning that
there IS considerable truth in all OF them. regard
less OF the source. and regardless OF whom they
nit They know the game, these politicians do. and
arc able TO read each others motives quite
curately. regardless OF the outer pretenses. They
expose the untovard motives and undtnesses OF
each other, but each oonceals his own. There you
have IT, The answer. we say get rid Of the sys
tc-l and thanks 10 the popular sense. 1000 OF our
hest citizens have nausurated The way Let the
30 heard