The Municipal Club

Editor Reoistkb: We often hear the question asked- 'ís there substantial reason for the existence of a Municipal Club?" Let us look at it. Our several official city boards, and numerous city officere are elected to care for the material interests of the city and the well being of its citizens. To these boards and officers we must look for good schools, lighted streets, comfortable walka water supply, sewerage, freedom from immoral houses, gambling dens, offensive slaughter houses, lawless saloons, etc. Now these are important trusts, grave responsibilities, whose proper conduct requires native competency personal honor, and a good degree of special fitness. And when we need men to execute these duties, and to take in their hands some of the dearest interests of our lives, it would seemjto be but the most common place wisdom to select for these official positions men who have the mental and moral fitness for such service as these particular duties demand. But such is not the case. It is the unexpected that happens. Men are selected for these duties first because they hold this or that opinión about the tariff, silver coinage, land grants to rail roads, Indian policy, annexation, or what is worse because they have been active partisans and perhaps have made stump speeches on these state questions. Can political folly appear in more glaring colors? Nay, isn't there something in such f olitical action worse than folly? When local interests are set aside or subordinated to the demands of nati onal parties whose aims are wholly foreign to the needs of our city, what can we name such action but disloyalty to our city's highest interests ? It is often times better not to vote at all than to perrait one's ballot to be so diverted from its proper end. It is hardly too much to say that the greatest obstacle to good city government is met in the national party organizations. ïhey thrust themselres forward, and practically seize the reins of city government, if they are strong enough, as though the city's local interests were proper prey for their partisan ambitions. No man or set of men have moral right to attempt to put the common good of a local community to such an unhallowed use. The highest patriotism says,"In all concerns purely municipal, drop your national party spirit and aetion, and cast'your influence and your vote with reference solely to the welfare of the city." If history teaches anything regarding the matter, it is that the tovvnship government of early New England was the type and seed-bed of the purest government the world has ever seen ; and it is pretty c ertain that we shall best hold to this type when we cast national parties and everything alien out of our city politics. We think we have local interests that havejustified our state legislature in conferring upon us by charter certain powers of self-government. We have accepted the responsibility and now no duty ought to appeal to us with more f orce than that which conimands the good citizens of this highly privileged town to drop all political differenct s when the concerns of the city are at stake, and work as one man for the common good. Let us have home interests managed on home principies. To divide on bonding the city for sewers is eminently appropriate, but to elect men to office in this city because of their opinions on the tariff, or their fldelity to their party is the height of absurdity, tinged with an appearance of disregard for tl e city's welfare. Can any body teil why democratsor repnblicans, as such, should cut a figure in the common council any more than the city school board ?