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LOOKING AT THE MUNICIPAL FIELD
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While we are of the candid opinion
that Dr. Leonhardt, who has been act
ing mayor for several weeks, is inclined
to be obstinate to the point of bullhead-
cdness, Ave are also of the opinion that
he has had to deal with a lot of council
men 'who dearly love to act like a flock
.'
of school children. Dr. Leonhardt is
extremely "sot" in his views which same
can not be said of a majority of the coun
cilinen. The council men. are about as
shifty as the sands of the desert. With
most of the councilmen the duties devolv
ing upon them as officials are given very
perfunctory attention. Of course this is
natural, considering the fact that we ask
them to transact a couple of million dol
lars' worth of business a year on a paltry
salary of $25 per month each. But Dr.
Leonhardt takes his job very seriously.
He digs and delves, and when he takes a
position it is generally after he has well
fortified himself.
In the matter of ordering the Commer
cial Club to take down its canvas signs
from across the sidewalks, , the acting
mayor was absolutely right under all the
circumstances. The Commercial Club,
has no more right to violate the ordi
nances than the Typographical Union, or
The Iletail Grocers' Association or the
Methodist church. To say that the Com
mercial Club's signs were for the conven
ience of the people is to beg the question.
A beer sign in a similar position would be
a convenience for a lot of people, as
would a restaurant sign, or any other
sign. The whole trouble lies in the fact
that there is altogether too much of this
"City Beautiful" rot being inflicted upon
us. Perhaps -we love the good, thf beau
tiful and the true about as much as the
average man, but to date we have man
aged to suppress our feeling to the extent
that we do not allow that love of the beau
tiful to be evidenced by our making a con
demned Jerusalem pony of us.
We are of those who believe that art
may find expression in a sign as well as
in a statue. And so far as offending the
aesthetic taste of the community or its
visitors is concerned, there is one sign
on () street properly placed that is
vastly more unsightly and ungainly than
any sign we have yet seen displayed
across the sidewalk space. Not being
desirous of dealing in personalities we
refrain from specifying the sign men
tioned; but will show what it is, merely
substituting a ficticious name:
MRSXOdSON'SMILLlMERY
civic refinement and beauty! As Arte
mas Ward would have said, "This is tu
Mutch l
We had a sample of this "city beauti
ful" tommyrot in the case of the First
National bank. That institution, about to
engage in expending $300,000 in build
ing improvements, had a fight on its
hands when it asked permission to hang
a temporary sign across the sidewalk. In
the name of commonsense, what harm
does a sign across the sidewalk, far above
the heads of passersby, do to the city or
to the people? They discommode no one,
and do benefit many. The Commercial
Club should have been allowed to main
tain its temporary sign. So, too, should
all other permanent and reputable in
stitutions have been allowred to maintain
overhead signs, temporarily at least.
For a sample of municipal mismanage
ment, to say nothing of an exhibit of in
competency on the part of officials, we
have but to look at the so-called ornamen
tal street lighting system. Even little
Fremont outclasses us in respect to the
ornamental lights, as well as in having
commonsense enough to put all the wires
underground while putting in the street
lights. We still have the unsightly and
dangerous overhead wires, and we put
the electric wires for the street lights in
iron pipes just inside the curb cutting the
pavement to pieces to get the conduits
in. What we should have done was to
.lay tile conduits in the streets, then force
the public service corporations to )v,i
their wires therein, paying the city a
minimum rental therefore. That woulc
have been a "city beautiful" stunt .worth
while. But our councilmen are so in
fernally busy playing like children and
quarreling with each other that they over-,
looked the opportunity.
Another beautiful sample of the handi
cap imposed upon Lincoln by an incom
petent lot of officials is the grading on
East O street, east of Thirty-third. The
first engineer set grading stakes and the
property holders on the north side imme
diately came down to the proper level. A
little later some more grading was done,
necessitating another change of the side
walk level this time at the expense of
the municipality. Now the third chang"
of level is being made at public expense,
and this time the city must put in a. re
taining wall. If another change at public
expense is made within the next year or
two no one need be surprised.
That sign on the main street of Lin
coln, the home of the state university, the
seat of western culture, the center of
The whole trouble is that we have a
dozen or fifteen men managing city af
fairs when they haven't any business of
their own to attend to. When private busi
ness demands attention the city's busi
ness may go hang. There isn't a mercan
tile or manufacturing institution in Lin
coln that wouldn't go broke in six months
if it were managed as Lincoln's vast
municipal business is handled. The vol
ume of Lincoln's municipal business
amounts to upwards of a million dollars
a year. It is managed by a dozen or fif
teen men wiio give it attention only when
their own business does not interfere. Un
der the circumstances is it any wonder
that things are continually in .a snarl?
That business is bungled? That progress
is retarded?
A few days ago a couple- of reputable
gentlemen appeared at the police station
to complain against an automobilist.
Thejr offered to put up a cash forfeit that
they would appear to prosecute, but in
stead of being accorded proper treatment
they were answered curtly and given lit
tle consideration. Of course wre may not
expect Chesterfields for policemen at the
ridiculous wages we pay our peace offi
cers, but certainly there is no reason why
a citizen should not be treated with ordin
ary courtesy, nor should the mere fact
that a man arrested is garbed as a work
ingman and perhaps slightly uijder the
influence of liquor prevent him from be
ing -accorded just a bit of courtesy. Last
Saturday night a couple of mechanics,
slightly intoxicated, had a little scrap in
a doorway. They were arrested and
hauled to the station. Either or both of
them could have secured cash or personal
bond inside of ten minutes had they been
.allowed to use the telephone. But this
was refused them. Why? Had they been
well dressed and artistocratic, and ar
rested for violating the speed limit, the
police officials doubtless would have al
lowed them to use the telephone to the
limit, or permitted the offenders to put
up a cash bond. Is a well dressed violator
of the speed limit entitled to any more
consideration than the violator of the or
dinance against intoxication?-
Is the municipal water department run
for the benefit of the community, or is it
run as a source of profit? Was it ever
contemplated that a municipally owned
plant should pay a profit in cash divi
dends? Is it not true that it is the func
tion of a municipal plant to render the
best possible service at the least possible
cost to the patrons? If it is, the munici
pal water department of Lincoln is lack
ing a great deal of measuring up to the
standard. In the first place the service
is not nearly so cheap as appears on the
surface. In the second place the service
is now such as would bring down upon
the heads of a privately owned system
the anathemas of the people. And while
the service is absolutely rotten and the
water not good, the city council is wrang
ling like a lot of kids about what kind