Note 259 — Chapter XVII · Schmitz Ousted From Office.

Mayor Taylor, the day of his election, issued the following statement:

“I accepted this office with much reluctance, and only because I believed that any man who was requested to serve the city in this capacity in the hour of her need should heed the request, no matter what the personal sacrifice might be.

“Had any pledges been exacted of me by those who tendered the office, I would not have considered the tender for one-thousandth part of a second.

“I would not submit to any dictation in the administration of the office, nor do I believe that any one who knows me would attempt to dictate to me.

“If I am called upon to appoint a Board of Supervisors, I will select the very best men who can be induced to accept the offices, and I shall exercise my own judgment as to who are the best men.

“I am going to do the best I can for the city without regard to partisan politics, and, so far as I am concerned, there will be no partisan politics.

“As Mayor of this city, every man looks just as tall to me as every other man.

“The first essential to good government is perfect order, and I shall employ every arm of the law to the end that such order shall prevail.

“I believe in autonomy in every department of the city government, and I believe that commissioners should be permitted to administer the affairs of their respective departments, free from dictation, as long as they demonstrate by their acts that they are honest and competent.”