Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-09-04
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.


debt aggregates. Municipal extravaganza
and waste are the crying shames of the
day. 1t costs more of trouble, annoyance,
litigation and political friction to govern
an American city than it does to conduct
the administration of national affairs
The reasons for these things are few and
plain. Most city rulers view a municipal
ity as something to be plucked. Most
city legislation is open to the suspicion of
venality as its genesis. Municipal Office is
looked upon as a means of political re-
ward rather than as a trust calling for
especial fitness and trustworthiness. Mu-
nicipal legislative bodies are responsible
to no one, and thus become the ready
tools of the corrupt.
These are the chief reasons, not at
tachiug to all, but to seven out of ten, that
make municipal government in the United
States shame. As a rule the well-gov-
erned cities in the United States are the
most cheaply administered. Where econ
omy prevails there is meager picking for
the jackals; but where there is great
expenditure there is great stealing. One
of the most fragrant forms which this
pil(erlng takes is the assessment by the
local boss of a percentage upon the price
bid upon all those who supply a city with
goods needed in her departments.
Thus, the Fire Department is made the
means of contributing SO much per foot of
blood-money upon the hose purchase, and
the shaving is charged to the people
IN the end. That is to say if the
XXZ hose can be furnished to a city at a
given figure and pay tribute to the boss
Of ten cents foot for exclusion of the Xxx
hose the city is compelled to pay just ten
cents more than it should And in city
not thousand miles distant this identical
transaction took place not long ago. The
ZZX hose was excluded by instructions
given by the "boss" of the city to the pipe
men when the hose was used to close the noz-
zles without notifying the engines to cease
playing, and as matter of course the hose
burst, was pronounced worthless and re-
jected.
The same venality runs through the
furnishing of supplies for hospitals, pris.
ons, Offices, machine work, ETC., in most
cities. In nearly every case some one
must be 4seen," percentage must be
shaved, and venal officials fattened, be-
fore public business can be transacted 1t
has been said that it cost the surface roads
OF New York city more money disbursed
in bribery to secure the franchises than to
construct and stock the routes, and it is
not probable thas there is much, if any,
exaggeration in the charge. 1t is known
that in the city of San Francisco tribute
paying in one form or another to the local
boss is the rule in the city departments,
and that not even in the city school de-
partment is there freedom from it. So
open and unabashed is venality in that
city, that the price is practically listed
upon the market place for which special
Legislation can be had, and other municipal
fayors won. Yet San Francisco is not
specially awful example" there are scores
OF cities where the intermarriage of politics
and municipal government results in the
same kind of malformed issue, and it does
not appear to be necessary that there shall
be dense population to breed these evils.
Small cities, on the contrary, are very
often quite as ilI-governed as their large
sisters.
Mr.. j. De Perry Davis, writing in the
Aread of municipal government as the
foulest blot upon our political system, sug-
gests remedy. His idea is to give the
Mayor of city all the powers now pos
sessed by councils, but guarded and con-
trolled by the Swiss referendum system.
Under that system all laws would be sub
mitted to popular vote on the demand
being made by about 80 per cent. of the
electors. His claim is that almost all the
work done by the city councils is routine
work that can be better done by one than
several men.
In other words, he would do as the
Directorates of great industries do, COM
nit the conduct of their business to a gen.
cral manager, holding him directly respon-
aibIe to them. Where there is undivided
responsibility, there is more probability of
honesty Of administration, and it is for
that reason that great railway corporations
transfer their routine business TO the iudg-
rnent of single head whenever there is
anything OF unusual Importance to be done,
however The managers views are approved
or oyerruled by the Directorate
The idea o Mr.. Davis is not new 1t
has frequently been advanced and few
cases have been put into practice. The
theory is that while the plan creates one
man power, it results in the people choos-
ing municipal executives in whom they
can trust, and the responsibility Of the
Mayor to the people is such as to make
him extremely circumspeet and careful.
There are, like most questions, two sides
to this one, and while il is not probable
that municipal government could be any
worse than it now is in the United States,
we do not believe that the people are dis
posed to adopt so radical view as that
reflected in Mr.. Davis paper. But if city
officers and boards were chosen upon the
business plan-selected as the commercial
house chooses its employees, and the Mayor
were given over all OF these as absolute
control as the general manager of great
business has over subordinates-we believe
that most of the scandals now attaching to
city government would disappear.
Of course, such reform means divorce
ment of politics from municipal trusts.