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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 28, 1903)
Municipal Usurpers Uy Charles Richardson, Vice President of National and Philadelphia Municipal Leagues T- rapid Increase In tlio proportion of city to country voters has . , made It evident that the time Is j near, If it lias not already arrived, i" when tlio political conditions pre vailing In our cities will determine the character and conduct of our state and national governments. It may therefore ho aid with truth that from a national as well aa from a municipal standpoint tlio gradual substitution of ring rule for popu lar sovereignty in American cities Is one of the most serious and alarming evils of modem times. There Is no resident of tlio United States for whom It Is not a matter of direct personal interest, and no member of a state or city government for whom It In not an Imperative duty, to ilo what he can to prevent the fundamental principles of democracy from being undermined and destroyed by men In whom tlio desire for power and plunder has taken the place of civic virtue, and the fear of causing u po litical revolution or of being made to suffer ns criminals la the only substitute for con science In dealing with public rights and assets. In theory the supreme local authority in each city is still vested In the people, but as a matter of fact the voters In some of our cities have been so shorn of their right ful powers that they can only make their wishes known or respected upon rare occa sions and with great difficulty. They are still permitted to go through the old forms of choosing their own officials and law makers, Hut these nominal servants of the public are really selected in advance by a small ring or cabal of partisan leaders, and are little more than so many obedient tools or henchmen of those upon whom their positions depend. These leaders or bosses are the actual rulers. Without a shadow of legal right or responsibility, they gather into their own hands the powers which be long to the people and to such officials and representatives as the people may volun tarily select. They and they alone decide what the city shall do or not do, what taxes shall be levied, what money Bhall be borrowed and for what purposes, what franchises, contracts and special privileges shall be granted and to whom and upon hat terms, what persons shall be elected, appointed or employed by the city, what bribes or political services shall be required I "SEW YORK, June 24. (Special Cor I I respondence.) With the vast ln- I crease of urban transportation jy3d lines, due to the use of electricity as power, the surface car litis become more than a mere means to an end. It has become a vital clement In the per sonal daily life of almost everybody in a community of any size. As a consequence, anything that Inter feres with swift transportation Is viewed almost as a catastrophe, however tempo rary Its effect may be. Different folk take the troubles of each day differently. Rome threaten to move out of the country every time thero is a "block" on the line. Others breathe forth their desire to skin the president of the company alive nnd very slowly. Others brood over thoughts of punching the con ductor. And there are others who work out simp.e hut satisfying schemes of re venge. Kvery now and then somebody arises and complains that the public Is supine. Per haps, as a body, it is. But it has cham pions who do good (or 111, according to the trolley officials) by stealth. With fine dis regard of means they use Pnclo Sam's mails and the telegraph and tho telephone Indiscriminately to harass the trolley com pany and express their innermost and least cordial feelings to the officials. They worry the heads of health and police departments. No method is too simple for their avenging plans. "No, sir," said tho general superintendent of the largest surface transportation com pany In one of the biggest cities of our country the other day, after an accident that smashed two cars nnd broke various limbs. "No, Hlr! It Isn't accidents like this that worry me the most. They break me up, to lie sure, bu we all know that they are bound to happen In our business. What's driving me Into nervous prostra tion is the petty, diabolical roasting and soaking that I get from the time I awake until I go to sleep. Oo to sleep, did I say? Well, that was wrong. Why, listen: One night I got to bed at alntut 1 o'clock, dog tired. I had liecn out over ttie line trying to repair a broken feed wire with a green crew and Insufficient material, and I left word to wake me up at 6 so that I could get nut again. "Well, sir, at about ! o'clock the tele phone bell rang like mad and woke rue up. I called my man and told him to see what was wanted. After a short talk witfi the person at the other end of the wire, he hurried Into my room and reported that It was a man who said that he had to talk to me immediately on a matter of the highest Importance. There was an acci dent on one of the divisions, he said. I rushed to the Instrument and, without ask in exchange for the toleration or protec tion f vice and crime, what laws or ordi nances shall l3 passed, repealed or Ignored, and what measures shall tie adopted for the supply of public necessities, maintenance of public health and safety, and the regulation nnd advancement of public and private business. Under the despotic sway and demoralizing influence of these usurp ers the people nave been rendered almost as helpless as a man who has been hypno tised, or as Gulliver was when the I.lllpu tians stole upon him while he slept and fastened every Joint and muscle, until Ids body was like a lifeless log on which they could climb and dance and work their will. The powers and assets of a modern city are necessarily great and It is not surpris ing that In the absence of wise laws, and of Intelligent vigilance and u-,l:el actl m on the part of the citizens, municipal govern ments should become an irre.lstlble temptation and an easy prey for the venal and unscrupulous classes, who are always striving to control and use them us means for obtaining power and wealth, or rom9 kind of personal or partisan advantage. The first essential for the suecesj of these predatory elements Is that they should be combined and thoroughly organized and disciplined as a political army or m tchlne, under the absolute control of a few leaders. These leaders, like the pirate captains of former days, direct the movements, win the victories and divide the spoils. Public plunder Is the llfeblood of the machine. The authority of the leaders and tho servila obedience of their followers can only be maintained by a careful distribution of rewards raneing from a glass of liquor to a bucket of coal, to a high office, a fat contract or a public franchise. Of course all that is paid or given in exchange for political work Is taken directly or Indirectly from tho pockets of the people, who are thus compelled to furnish the me.ins for their own enslavement. Any cMVc'.ual re sistance of united action by the voters is prevented partly by keeping them divided on party lines, partly by giving the city much needed services and Improvements (at prices which are exceedingly profitable and strengthening for the ring and Its fol lowers) and partly by measures which con vince a large proportion of the people that it is as useless as it la dangerous to Driving Car Officials ing who was talking to me, I asked where the accident was. " 'I'm sure I don't know,' replied the voice. 'It's this way, old man. I thought I'd call you up to tell you that maybe there Is an accident. You see, I had to wait three-quarters of an hour for a car, nnd so I thought that when I got home I'd tell you about it, knowing that with your magnificent management It would bo quite Impossible for cars to run so Infre quently unless pomething terrible had hap pened to the whole system.' "Of course I was hot all through, and, without thinking, I yelled: 'Do you mean to say that you dare call me out of bed merely to tell me tfiat you had to wait for a car?' "And then he got foul. Wllh the sweetest kind of voice he said: " 'What! Do you mean to tell me that the general superintendent of the road, drawing a salary of $10,0(0, Is so In different to his duty that be will abuse a man who Is thoughtful enough to call him up at 2 o'clock In the morning Just out of good nature and unselfishness? By Joe sir, I shall write to your directors and teli them what a return I got from you for my trouble and tho expense of telephoning to tell you things.' "And then he rang off and left me jump ing up and down. And the beauty of It Is that ho had the glorious nerve to fulfill his threat and write a letter to the direc tors. Ho didn't write It at once, either The villain was too cunning for that. Ho had found out that there was a split com ing In the board and he waited until the meeting at which the trouble was due. Then his letter was delivered nnd it came Just in time for one of the factions which wanted my scalp. I got a rubbing that took tho curl out of my hair for a month. "Well, when the trouble was over 1 was so sore that I actually worried over some way to pay that man back. He had signed Ms name and address, and I kept a mem orandum of It. you bet. "One day I met him at a reception, and, 8 things usually happen, the man whom I had pictured as a mean, low, sneaking codger turned out to be a pretty good kind. B'i I contented myself with complaining to him about his behavior. And then he said: " 'I ok here, my dear fellow. Your com pany worries me morning and night. I wait for cars until I feel like slaughtering sometody. I stand on corners In rain and mud wasting my precious time. I've missed dinner engagements and business engagements because ef your Kgyptlan schedules. (Only ht didn't say 'Egyptian.') 'And I've Joined citizens' associations and reform associations and formed a com mltteo by myself to try to remedy things, without avail. So now Tv taken things in my own hands. antagonize the powers that be. Huh vic tory of the machine adds to Its power nnl greed, spreads discouragement anion lis opponents and augments the numl cr of citizens of all classes who support It be cause it rewards them with olllces, fran chises, contracts or special privileges. Tho successes which are won by bad men and dishonest methods are always tending to lower the moral standards of the people and to make reform movements more diltl cult, but on the other hand every ad ditional burden tends to arouse Indignation and resistance. lOven If the spoilsmen win every battle nnd capture every public po sition, their exactions may at any moment lead to such a combination at the polls as will Inaugurate a new era. Bo long as th it possibility remains, and the ballot can bo preserved from pollution, there can be ni sufficient reason for Inaction or de-pair. No amount of inisgovernment, no extreme of moral or political decadence, no 1 ss of public spirit can be a valid excuse for ceasing to hope and strive, as the brave anil good of all times have hope) anl striven, to protect and promote the rights and interests of the people. During the last twenty years many lines of work have been widely discussed, and to s-me extent tested by experiments. Among those most likely to be effective In con tending with municipal marauders are ef forts to enlighten, arouse and organize the voters, and movements to procure the en actment and strict enforcement of carefully devised laws, for establishing tho civil Bervlce reform or merit system; for regu lating primaries, elections, ballots and tho personal registration of voters; for inlllct lng much heavier penalties for crimes af fecting elections; for limiting franchises to definite periods, providing for municipal ownership and operation of public utilities, und establishing a referendum system of a reasonable and practical character. De tailed Information and references to the available literature on these subjects may be found In various publications and es pecially In the proceedings of the National Municipal lengue, which has its office In Philadelphia. In each city the choice of methods should depend largely upon the special conditions prevailing In that community. " Off Their Trolleys " 'I'm going to flght you by myself. You worry me and I'm going to worry you. If I am delayed In getting home I'll call you up on the telephone nt early hours of the morning preferably nnd tell you about It. I'm going to do the same thing to your president. I'm going to spend a part of my bright young life In your midst, In seisin and out of season. No bad feelings, you know. It's Just business.' "And, sir, he did It. Single handed, that man, who must have had the patience of Job) tho revengcfulnoss of Cortcz and the Ingenuity of Maehlavelll, nearly drove me Insane. And as for the poor president, lie became so furious at last from the constant prodding that he actually applied to the company's counsel to see If he couldn't get nt his persecutor through the courts. Put he couldn't. The man was too smart for him. "You see, maddening as It may have been to be called away from a dinner party or a cozy chat In your house by the telephono bell only to hear that chap's hearty, merry voice Informing you that another car was late again, he was within his rights. We couldn't do anything. "Ono day ho called up the president's private office, nnd when the secretary told him the president was out, he said th it he wanted to talk to htm on an urgent family matter. Of course ho didn't give his namo, but gave only a telephone number and said: 'For goodness sake, don't forget now. Tell Mr. to call me up the moment he comes in. It's tremendously Important.' "The president was scared when he got the message. His family was away and lie didn't know what might have happened. Ko he dropped everything and called up the number himself, only to hear tint voice which had become absolutely a nightmare to him. " 'Glad to hear from you,' said our perse cutor b'andly. 'This family matter I wanted to speak to you about is this: I-ist night my family had a dinner engagement with me at my club, and your old cars were so slow that they were a full hour behind time. I thought I'd tell' "But the president had rung off nnd the next moment he rushed Into my o!flee. '.See here." I:e shouted, 'this thing's got to stop! It's got to stop' I'll appeal to th.; polle-!' "I had a fine Job pacifying him. At last I convinced him that he would only make Idmr.elf and the company a laughing utoek. It would have been a peach of a story for the papers, wouldn't It? "Well, you may think that It's funny ti.at one single man should bs able to drive lite officials of a big company like ours crazy without their being eh!o to help It, but so It was. At last we actually had to or der the telephone company to tike our private addresses out of tha boolc. And furthermore. If you ever call up that ral- There Is. however, one point which should be defended t any cost as long as a man tan bo rallied or a blow tan be struck, be cause if that should be captured, it would be difficult to llnd a footho'd for further resistance, or a sufficient basis for our con fidence In the ultimate success of republican institutions. That point will he lost win-never tho lords of misrule can run. tiol the selection and conduct of as sessors, policemen and election officers, to such an extent that an act mil majority of honest votes can be converted Into an npparent minority, by such methods) as the padding of assessment lists with fictitious nanus nnd the employment of re peaters, stuffed ballot Ixixes, wholesale fraud, violence, perjury. Jury fixing and other crimes. The election returns are tha only authoritative expression of the will of the people. If they are so vitiated or falsi fied by fraudulent voting and counting that they represent only the wishes of the spoils men and not tho bona fide votes of the) honest citizen it Is hard to see how tha latter can regain the power to make their Voice heard or their will respected. Their condition might be likened to that of soma unfortunate, sovereign bound nnd gagged by conspirators and compelled to look on In Impotent wrath while tils captors counter feit his signature and In his name Issua decrees banishing his friends and dividing Ids rights und possessions among his worst enemies. An examination of some of nnr cities will show that this terrible depth of rlvle degra dation If not actually reached, Is neither Im possible nor Improbable In the near futura. We may rejoice that the number of urban communities which have thus gone from bad to worse Is ns yet very small, but it Is a matter of vital consequence that their deplorable condition should be made known and utilized as a warning for the Ameri can people, nnd especially for the Inhabit ants of other cities. If the latter can be brought to realize the fate that will lie theirs if they fall to protect the ballot from pollution, they may lie able to save them selves from the foul quagmire of municipal corruption. In which some of their sister cities are now floundering or sinking slowly and despairingly Into unknown depths, with no apparent means or hope of rescue. Philadelphia, Pa. 99 road company, you will And that the op erators will not connect you with uny of ttie officials until you have been crosi examined. It makes lots of trouble, for many people have imjiortant things to say to us that they cannot explain to sub ordinates. And many big ineu have been mortally Indignant because they couhin't talk to us over tlio wire without submit ting to examination by the girl at tha 'phono first. Kvcn some of our (11 recurs have called us down hard for what thoy called out Idiotic red tape. "And this lellow wasn't contented with his own little revenge. Ho put up a lot of other people who have telephoi.u.4 in their houses to do the same thing. Ono day ha uctuirlly got forty-three men together win n a car was delayed, and 1 11 bo liaugdd if one of them after the other d.dn t c ill us up with the very same formula, word for word. Ami they didn't call us up at our olllces or houses. They were too clover. No, sir, they called us up at thu cub where we were giving a dinner to a vis iting trolley president from another city. And, of course, they got us. First one would ask for our president to go to tha instrument. A few minutes ufterward a call would come for me. Then thu see ro tary was culled up, and so on until tha dinner was nearly spoiled, becauso every time anyone started a story or a speech ona of us would bo called away. And, of couiw, we didn't get onto it until we h-id each been caught two or three times dur ing the evening. "Another crowd of avengers bothered us in a different way and one that was nioia expensive. They went after us for litlla viola lions of ordinances not ordinances connected with the running of cars, but entirely ottier things. For Instance, ona of our power stations stood Just outside of the cily limits, and had used soft coal ever since It was built. We never thought of it, but a change In the city map put it Just within the city, and one of tlie a kickers got onto It. "Well, he Just about lived In the offlca of the Health board after that until thoy got so sick and tired or it that they ac tually begged us to burn hard coal so that they could git rid of him. And then ha wrote to me and told mo that if our ears didn't run more to pleuse him he would look for something else to tackle us on. "Another man who worried us did It with a thing that was so absurdly trivial that It is amazing to learn what he man aged to make of it. We happened to put on a lot of open cars that we had bought from another company. The bucks of tha seats had on them the stenciled warning: 'Wait until the cur stops.' Nobody In tha company noticed that the word 'until' was spelled with two 'lis' or If anyone noticed (Continued on Page Fifteen.)