Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-01-20
THE CITY C9AETER.
Reasons why More ower should
be Lodged i'm tl4e Mayor.

America is well governed. Every
where municipal politics are re
proach to our system, md from then
spring poisonous weds whose infu
ence is ever penetrating our highe
political life. Our fr&eholders have
an opportunity, in framing charteI
for Los Angeles, to distinguish them
selves in a very exceptional manner
1t seems frequently harder for us t.
see plain proposition, with simple
illustrations under our noses, than Il
understand more recondite questions
Upon this theory we can com prehend
how it is that the fundamental vice ol
city government has 30 long escaped
notice.
This vice is that the city executive
is an executive in name and not in
fact. The mayors Of our cities hold g
sort of advisory position. They car
talk, complain, admire or advise but
executive power to keep the city
officers straight they do not possess
The illustration which is so plain
under our noses is that of the Presi.
dent of the United States the only
executive officer in the Federal Gov,
ernment elected. The executive oil
our country with all its power ovel
foreign and domestic affairs we
have deliberately placed in the
hands of one man. HI
nominates his cabinet and he
controls and appoints all the higher
civil, naval and military officers in
the nation The power ofthe Presi
dent is very great, and his RESPONSE
bility is equally so. Our federal Gov
ernment, with the exception of few
short intervals, has been very well
conducted under this system.
Our city system reverses this. Ir
large cities. OF which Los Angeles will
soon be one. we see some executive
officers dealing with city affairs ap
pointed by the State, some by the
Council and some elected by the peo
pie, while the city Mayor, who
ought to control every one Of
these executive subordinates
appoints few or none. Ex-Mayor
Toberman has had experience OF this
difficulty, and understands the point
fully. Mr.. John 7. Humphreys,
chairman of the City Council, has
also experienced this vital weakness
in city government. He tells me that
while Mayor of Leadville he re-
peatedly had chiefs Of police forced
upon him who we're entirely unfit for
the Office, and over whom he had no
control. We generally have good men
as mayors of our cities, but the city
governments remain bad because these
men are powerless to make them good.
The responsibility for, let us say a
bad Chief of Police, if placed on the
Council, is easily shifted and shirked.
1t is not 30 il the appointment com es
from the Mayor, and equally it is
is much easier for the Council to main
tain in place bad Chief of Police
than it is for a Mayor to do this. The
popular resentment can fix itself on
one executive where it can not so we'll
on number of Councilmen who are
supposed to be legislators and not a
part of the executive. No private
business could be conducted as our
city business is, and no public busi-
ness has ever been we'll done under
this plan. Mr.. Robinson could not
conduct the business of the Boston
store if his clerks were appointed by a
Council composed of Coulter, Hale,
the Peoples store and the CITY OF
Paris; neither can Mayor conduct
the. business OF a city if his officers
are appointed by other people whom
he cannot control.
The duties of the Executive and
Legislative Departments should be
kept seperate and should not be mixed
with each other. AS things are now,
the Mayor is a legislator and the
Council is the executive and every
thing is mixed. Our Federal Govern
ment which works we'll, maintains
these departments destinct and each
one in its sphere.
Ii | understand the report Of one of
the committees, the Freeholders have
committed them selves to that
palpable error. The report places the
appointlpen OF practically all the SUI
ordinate city executive officers in the
hands of the Council. Under this
system when citizen votes for a
councilman he does not know for
whom be votes. The councilman may
be only the figurehead for the election
of chief OF police, city surveyor, OF
what not All sorts Of trading will GO
on at elections, and the Legislative
ability OF the proposed councilmen
will play but small part in their
election. This system must fix boss
rule upon us, as it has fixed it upon
every American city, and Los Angeles
will have its Tweeds and Buckleys
its McClures, Higgins and Chutes
Our taxes will be levied for plum
der and not for the public good
The remedy is plain; elect q Council
as Legislative body. Elect one ex
ecutive officer to be called mayor. ,
Hold him responsible for the manage
ment of the city's business and thu
execution of her laws, and give hin
the powers necessary for this, that il
the appointment or control of every
executive officer in the city and of thu
city judiciary also. The city election
is then simple and for few officers
The Council is responsible fo
the laws, the Mayor for thei
execution, and the Mayor will posses
the power to do good.
We all expect to see Los Angeles
great city, and ws all desire to see he
we'll governed. We do not mind higl
taxes. or, l do not, if they be honestl
applied to the development of the city
but everyone objects to taxation fo
plunder. Our new charter will fl.
one of these systems of taxtion upo
us, probably for many years. 1t is
therefore, important that the charte
should be sound in principle.
ABBOT KINNEY.
The Native Daughters.