The Dominion. MONDAY, APRIL 20, 1908. MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 176, 20 April 1908, Page 6

The Dominion. MONDAY, APRIL 20, 1908. MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES.

Although. the remarkable resolution in whiqli the Tramways' Employees' Union calls upon its'members to vote fov Mr. Hislop. in 'the election frill be highly gratifying to the Mayor and his'supporters, it cannot be viewed without concern by anyone who wishes our municipalities to remain free from tlw form of corruption that is unhap 7 pily rather common in some American cities. The tramways employees are concerned—wre. do 'not say maiiily with the wages they receiye fiom the Corporation, and the reason for' their support of Mr. Hislop is quite patent'. In.presentiiig its demands for au increase of pay at the present juncr t.ure, the Union supplied appointed illustration of one of the evils, which we had recently bqen discussing in quite another connection, of allowing municipal employees to esercise; an influence in municipal elections. To a Union of municipal employees the most desirable man for the Mayoral office is he, who will assist theia to obtain, higher wages and fewer h<?urs of work, and by exerting their votes in his favour they maiy sectire his election, an<l. through him obtain what they require. As it is the general public, who are not, municipal employees, who find the money, it is manifestly unjust that a bocly of mimicipal employees should thus be able to exercise the dual functions of and employed by infliiectly fixing their owii wages. That a person in receipt of pay from a public institution, or depend'ent for financial benefits upon-such an institution,' should not have a vote in the decisions of that body upon matters affecting him is a rule so commonly, in piactice that the principle may be considered established, although nps generally operative. Its propriety at any rate is beyond question. The principle behind,it has received recognition in the regulations governing the Civil Service in New Zealand. The following is Regulation No. 22, which has ■frequently been enforced: "In order that officers of pi)'ranks may bo enabled to render loyitl and'efficient tiervice to Government, it is necessary, and tliey are hereby ' expressly required and enjoined, not t-o take any part in political affairs'otherwise'than by recording their votes at elections; and every violation 1 of this regulatiou will bo forthwith visited with such penalty as tho circumstances, of, tho case shall appear to demand." This is a most wholesome rule. v Not being vote-less, the Civil Servants must at any rate be voice-less. The rule is required, not only for the securing of loyal and efficient service, but for the prevention of one kind of corruption in the machinery of government. Some such rule as this is as urgently required for the guidance of municipal employees as for Civil Servants. The Tramways, Employees' Union stands in , the same relation to the Corporation as

a Civil Service Association does to ,the general Government, and what would be improper in such an Association, and punishable under the regulation we have quoted, is equally improper in the Unioii. That the impropriety is pioclaimed an offence in the one case and not in the other does not affect the equality of badness. As the tramways employees are not debarred from the municipal franchise by their employraent/they have a perfect right to vote for the candidate who seems most likely to forward their demands upon the Corporation purse. And in default of any rule to the contrary, the Tramways- Union is at liberty to exercise its power as ail electioneering machine in the same way. "What we complain of is that this liberty should, exist. Most people, we believe, will feel scandalised at the sight of an organisation of city employees openly working on behalf of a candidate for the. highest post of city government. Coming upon the, heels of the Union's demand for higher pay, the resolution has . a most unpleasant appearance. Even if the ; pay of the men were a matter settled and beyond disturbance for twenty, years to come, instead of being a matter of current negotiation, the resolution would be contrary to good government. The matter will serve' to demonstrate to the public the necessity fora reform of the conditions pf municipal service along the lines of the regulations governing the Civil Service.