Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-25

Recall Of Mayor Edwards Of Seattle
by a large majority, after he had been
elected ard reelected by fattering
votes. is interpreted with radically diff
fering opinions by the press. The
mayors removal of the chief figure in
the municipality electric plant
of the city is held nominally to have
been the cause of his removal. Other
interpretations OF the vote point to
the conclusion that the battle was one
of political organizations.
THE outstanding cause Of the &C
tion," according to the Oakland Til
bune, lis said to have been the re.
moval from Office of a man who had
served efficiently as head of the city's
light department. A recall election Is
expensive and usually does munich
pality little good. Seattle, for a num-
Der of years, has endured patiently acts
of political patronage. Its protests
were not SUFFICIENT to prevent the re-
moval Of the president Of the Uni
versity Of Washington, but when a
similar instance appeared within the
narrower limits Of the municipality, 1t
acted"
Indorsing the results Of the recall
vote, the Portland oregon Journal says
of the defeat Of q mayor who was
originally elected by the biggest ma
jority ever given mayor in that city
and was reelected last year with q
ma jority almost as large as his original
remarkable vote: There is no way to
misinterpret or misunderstood the Seat
tie vote. The group that has all along
fought the municipal system Is very
much in the minority. nearly 2-to-l
vote against a mayor OF great pop
ularity, who Is thrown out Of ONCE on
-. ~ 80
and light, Is an overwhelming decision
against the group who have all along
opposed the municipal system. 1t Is
the peoples own denial of the stories
that have been circulated against the
municipal system. 1t repudiates the
statements of those Seattleites who
have spread tales abroad Of bank
ruptcy of the city, the loss Of its
credit and the implied threat OF
its financial downfall 1t is, OF
course, true that Seattle has built an
expensive plant. But 1t has built for
the future Its outstanding bonds will
be paid in part by the consumers IN
the future"
AS to the dismissal Of j. D. Ross
superintendent of the power and light
department of the city government
by the mayor, the Eureka Humboldt
Times remarks: Ross Is the man I'M
der whose direction and supervision
the light and power plants Of the city
have grown up, and the jealousy OF
the people for their municipal plants,
and their almost fanatical opposition
to the Boston company which has been
supplying them with light and power
more or less for several years has de-
veloped out of that company's attitude
for q quarter Of q century toward the
city government"
%very likely" according to the
Iynchburg News, "there Is no need fol
many cities now supplied from private
sources to establish their own plants
but 1t will be q sorry day for all cities
when all municipal plants 60. They
are such q splendid gauge with which
to measure the efficiency of privately
owned plants" The News also state:
on the subject of city ownership: "A
city-owned electric plant is just ~
practical as city-owned water system
Either will be q poor investment fol
any city If it does not take the trouble
to keep inefncient OF crooked men Out
Of public once; but neither need bt
a r1oor investment II the consuming
public takes the trouble to guard against
incompetency and graft In public
office"
Mayor Edwards" rs viewed by the
Hartford Times, seems to have done 8
politically unwise and unsound thing
In firing Engineer Ross, for rs year.
head of the city-owned light system
The latter thereupon was engaged b,
New York City as advisory engineer
on the projected st. Lawrence River
power project. Recently he returned
to Seattle and took active part In the
recall campaign. It Is safe to assum,
| that the popuiace which turned agains
the mayor In q ratio Of Z 10 4 n wei
pleased with Is ahilitv 10 cay how lcne
m unacceptable mayor may hold ofiee