1639-5 Politics lq 6q
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BEHIND THE FRONT PAGE
. Poli
tics end' Pub/k1969
SusjiIions'BY JOHN pE1VNEKA1Np
I DONfrom the fact that people in
'T a office public determination by t
there was so much RECALLstrast time when office
decisionsonunpopular self-serving are efforts to lethelci holders as f
cisco of so many public officials and theirpeople make E
manof the conduct of so have little or any recourse.the people Polls of the telling decisions at the ,
offices. many Public
"You can vote them out of of-
All of it is a fice,"is the response. een ears ago, for exampl�'
part Lee Powel , Miami
of this disheveled era
But the fact is that the man, wBeach council-
,
Investigations are o en was vice mayor, tired
c such as now matters of the finger
going on all r have the people dis- public officials.
Pointing confronting
around turbos, seldom rise to the surface in
the place and innuen �s 4 _�' 4 a political campaign when the voters' He proposed to the Legislature
does are a part of minds are directed to that it adopt
many conversations. and Personalities, other issues P a bill which woldcom
pel state, county arra municipal offi-
The public service * * * cers to file a
and its copy of their income tax
practitioners returns each year with the-clerk of
could do with some MANY competentthe Circuit Court.
kind of contrivance in Pennekamp en who would like to offer andmen worn-
The
their own behalf such as office, and who on the basis o public The return was not to become
they's young folksDade Coun- private accomplishments public property; it was to be avail-
kind
Bowlpresented in the ideal choices, refuse do so.would be able for inspection itt
Orange last Sunday to let the only by legislative
world know that the biginvestigating committees, state
attor-
their numbers have nomajority of They do not want to get into the andneyappointed
po and grand juries. Those elected
pot. gone to maelstrom of intrigue, alleged ble ed officials handling
actual, nor to subject their reputar exercising sums of gap"
The whole thingtions to the connotation which now exercising public public money wereor
Public officials raise is out ofir own sheer. accompaniesPowers alone
the word "politician" in
ies without so much as a b too many minds.
leave and at the same timet'your- It got nowhere, although
new taxes on a assess Politics noe longer is the science of officiathe PPort of several highly it had
of them with a people who — many public service; it has been subverted g Y Placed
—must pay the increases ed incomes wh le also into something with evil implications.
attempting * * *
to survive under record
high living costs. * * ASIDE from its value to
PUBLIC officeholders have lic interest, said P° the pub-
*
* affordwell, "it would
* little to remedydone public officials some measure
of their the situation. Some
of immunity from innuendoes and
FEW of the investigations ever brazen. public acts approach false
are fruitful in the sense that they the suspicions resorted to
bringpugn the character to e, "
about reformation, A those willing and honesty of
convict the guiltyaccuse and fraternalism of sorts shields g to enter public service."
evil. ' or eliminate an many of them;a "but for the grace of argument that
God there His
Theygo I,"Philosophy, qualified togive people best
succeed in abilityof their time and
tions, but in scaring reputa- * * * in public office would be more
just.
many cases this is un- willing to do so was shunted aside.
A major EFFORTS to "look at the record" From time to time similar efforts
part of the evil emerges foughtdom get anywhere. made at all levels of government _
with the same Theynare lotheal, state and federal—
persistence and their way to the same obscurity.fOund