Talk:Tom L. Johnson

respect of NPOV

Hello, I have discovered this article today, and read it with great attention. It is very interesting, and I am pleased to have read it. That is partly because I agree with Johnson's political views, and regard them, as this article suggests, as "great examples". But me agreeing so much with it probably means a lot of people disagree with it, and hence, disrespects WP:NPOV guidelines. In fact, one of the main sources, if I understand correctly, is Johnson's autobiography, which contradicts WP:Self Published Sources.

Here below are quotations from the text I find non-neutral :

The city was frequently cited as a model in many fields of government efficiency and social reform.

Here, this quote states other governments were less efficient. This is true in my opinion, but may not be true for people with liberal point of views, typically Republicans.

Though Cleveland's elites would never come around to sharing Johnson's political ideas, his example did much to build a sense of civic duty and cooperative spirit among them. Typical of these was Frederick C. Goff [...]

Here, this quote implies, for me, that Frederick Goff and others did NOT have a sense of civic duty and cooperative spirit before Johnson. This could be true, but could also be Diffamatory.

Rubbish collection, then in private hands, had been a big campaign issue. Johnson eliminated the haulers' franchises and replace them with a municipal department; he hired back all the men who had lost their jobs, and demonstrated how a public service could provide better performance at lower cost.

Here, I think this quote needs a short explanation on what was different between the city works and the previous privately owned companies : on what ground was Johnson's department more efficient? How much lower was the cost?

To improve housing conditions, the administration established the country's first comprehensive modern building code in 1904

Here, I question the term "comprehensive", but mostly out of ignorance : I do seem to remember something about an incomprhensible city planning at one point in the history of the US, but I feel it is not common knowledge and should be explained in a short description in the same sentence (e.g. "Before this, building codes were proper to each city and influenced by competing interests" is my guess for this context).

Johnson's vision of a more honest, efficient and humane city government inspired Cleveland politics for decades to come. The years that followed his death were perhaps the most creative period in the city's history [...]

This quote sums up the journalistic tone of this article. I find it is not quite Encyclopedic, but rather like a long, subjective article one may find in a magazine (Times, New Yorker...).

Thank you for your consideration.
I stand available for comments on my opinion. (@Michael Pauls, @Rjensen, @Whomyl: I see in the version history that my comments mostly concern you)
I am quite a new person to Wikipedia. I have read a lot of convention pages (particularly in french Wikipedia, where I come from), and discussed good manners with wikipedians. Feel free to correct me and give me advice!

Good day, Blocktomo (talk) 15:40, 25 July 2024 (UTC)