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munities in this area where it’s difficult to even find out when public officials meet, much less what they do when they meet.
THE PUBLIC must share a large portion of the blame, as well. The bad voting habits of Americans are well documented, and anyone who regularly attends local public meetings, as newspaper people do regularly, is struck by how seldom members of the public take enough interest in what is going on to actually attend a meeting. Oh, there will be occasional emotional floods, when a hearing room is packed in response to some special outrage or opportunity, but by and large the public stays away from public meetings, in droves.
Mr. Hess and Mr. Kilpatrick were right, though. Government should be kept as close to the people as possible, where direct causes and effects can be observed, and where direct action can be taken, if required. If we don’t, there are legions of bureaucrats and politicians at other levels only too willing to take over what should be local options.□
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