New Britain herald., 1922-02-18
THE OBSER YER Makes Random Observations
 On the City and Its People

sake of party harmony Sheriff Marsh
 would be one of the compromise can- didates whose aspirations could not he
 ignored, Because of his announced willingness to lead the party, the sheriff will be in a position to demand
 consideration.
 Until he took n stand in favor of Il
 10 per cent, cut in all city salaries, Councilman II. $. Hart of the first ward was looked upon as being in line for the G. Q. P. nomination, Whether this would be an suspicious time for manufacturer and an employer to seek the office Is open to question. Regardless of his ability and exper- fence. manufacturer could expect little support from the rank and file because they have resented wage re- auctions no matter how necessary those reductions were and 1t is more than likely that they would work off their dissatisfaction by voting against manufacturer-can
 On the democratic side of the fence there seems 10 be great deal of hes- tancy about announcing candidacies. Alderman 4. NJ. Paonessa is waging an active, although unofficial cam paiGn for the democratic nomination and 1t is easy to interpret his sudden interest in affairs. t,x Mayor Joseph
 NJ. Halloran is said to be willing to carry the party standard if it is ten. dcred him. Thus far, there are no other names mentioned although the democrats show that they intend to be in the campaign this spring by the organization which they are whipping together.
 By voting against the ten per cent. cut in salaries suggested by Council man, Hart, the Common Council no doubt reflected the sentiment of the majority of the voters and property owners. The saving effected by such a cut would have been of so little consequence that in the final analysis
 il would do more harm than good. In other words, the actual saving in dollars and cents would be offset by the loss in morale among city em- ployes
 The fact that the council voted against the reduction should not be accepted as final judgment for the years to come. There will be reduc- tions when the next budget is pre- pared and those who draw their in- come from the city should bc pre- pared for such action because within the next twelve months wages and salaries will come down to d more uniform level and public salaries will be among those to feel the shrinking effect.
 One obstacle to cutting salaries that all conncilmen experience is the in huence of some officials, through their friends higher up. When the pairing begins, there is objection to including these influential officials and it is difficult to cut some without cutting all and rather than incur the of the few, enough coun cilmcn vote against any cuts being made.
 Tine year 1922-23 must be one of rigid economy in city government affairs If new administration IS elected there is a better chance of this economy becoming an actuality. A new broom sweeps clean. A new head of the city government would make thorough search for leaks and would leave no stone unturned to plug them up. old governments are a pt to be lethargic and dawdle along without making any serious efort to become a shining model or wisdom in the administration Of publlc a affairs. The present administration has not shown any special ablIlty to keep expenses down and at the same time give the voters the improve ments that one looks for in a pro gressive city. There has been very little betterment which shows on the surface. There has been some mis- directed energy, and valuable tune has been wasted hurling commlssloh- CTS out of office and looking about for recruits to take their places and pick up threads of management.
 Whoever is elected in April should give full cooperation to the speclal council committee which is preparing a charter amendment to take care of the salary question. What is needed more than anything else IS re- ad diustment of salaries by which aI more nearly correct balance could be brought about by granting suitable salaries to those who deserve them and by reducing salaries where they are now too high.
 Little criticism has been heard Of the decision to keep salaries at the present level during the coming hscal wear. But criticism will not be lacking if the question is not gwen serious consideration by the next ad-