The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-11-11


The similarity Of conditions often en-
ablcs ono city &c draw lessons from the
experience of others. and IL is obviously
the proper thing for us to do
Johns Hopkins University studies for
January and February. 1891, define the
principal duties of city governments
as
/. Collection of taxes.
2. Public schools
3. Administration of justice.
q. Police supervision.
$. Fire department.
&. Care of streets
:. Street, gas and electric lighting.
S. Sewerage.
o. Water supply.
10. Public parks.
II. Sanitation and public health.
IL. Prisons.
10. suppression of the liquor traffic.
IA. Regulation Of street railways
Is. Taking and enforcing building
regulations.
Ii. Supervision OF charities, hospitals,
asylums' etc. ysgtssas
This enumeration, though possibly
incomplete, is sufficient to give an id ca
of the various duties of city govern
ment. 1t it national reproach thas
our cities are ill-governed in fact, the
worst governed in the world for ma
ton of our commercial importance.
The conclusion almost universally
reached is that our difficulty lies in the
fact that we do not look upon the gov.
eminent of our cities as q business mat
ter; that we regard them in tho same
light as We do national and State leg
islatureS, and not as We should, in tho
lightin which we would look upon any
private corporation in which we were
interested. Nine -tenths of the oues-
tions coming up in city government are
purely business questions, and failing
to so trca: them explains our failure.
Americans are accustomed to the
management of business corporations,
more so than any other nation, and
keenly alivo to business necessities
Why, then, arc not city governments
modelled after the simple and almost
uniform plan of private corporations
In one important particular the ANALYSIS
will not hold in city government.
There is nobody corresponding to the
stockholders in 4 private corporation
In the latter the voting power is held
by those that furnish the money, and
in the proportion in which it is fur
nlshed. venture to say that IL city
run on the Same plan would be properly
governed. The fact that it is not so is
cussing municipal governments and is
by some regarded as an Inherent weak
ness of a democratic form of govern
ment.
Mr.. Denniston quoted from Andrew
ID. Whites article in the Forum, favor
ing the election of aldermen on q gen
eral ticket instead of by wards, thus
requiring candidates to have city re-
putation, and further advocating a
board Of control, elected by property
owners, without whose permission no
franchise should be granted and no OK
penditure made. But under universal
suffrage this latter feature is regarded
as impractical and other plans must be
devised
The tendency of our cities is strongly
toward giving the executive compre-
hensivo powers, and the plan of trust
ing largely TO the honesty and sagAcity
of one man elected by tho people
has worked we'll. On this line the
charters of the cities of New York,
Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Boston
have been reformed. The mayor has
generally been given the power of APP
pointing heads of departments, but not
always, subject to the approval of the
council. With the power of appoint
ment the power of removal ought to go,
but does not always. Tho mayor IS
frequently given the veto power over
acts of council, his veto being over
come by q two-thirds vote.
The consensus of opinions Of several
mayors were read. Several cities have
checks upon extravaganza expenditure
in restraining appropriations not recon-
mended by the board of public works or
the heads Of the various departments
President Eliot, OF Harvard College, at
tributes the shortcomings of city gov
eminent not so much to corruption and
dishonesty as to a want of knowledge of
the subjects in hand by city officials
Such matters as sewerage, paving,
water supply, care of highways, light
ing and cleaning of streets, taxation
and control of corporations performing
public functions require expert know
ledge in high degree, and persons not
trained n these lines cannot be ex-
pected to act wisely in regard to them.
TO come down to the subject in hand,
charter for Roanoke, the Virginia
statutes must first be consulted to find
legal basis upon which to work, and
the present paper is intended merely to
pave the way to the actual work Of per-
fectinl details for q revised charter.
Mr.. Denniston's remarks were warmly