Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-17
GOVERNMENT FOR CITIES.
Like Men. They Outgrow Their suits, and
Must Have New Ones.

Must Have New Ones.
From the Kansas City Star
Cities, like men, have also outgrowu the
ways and wisdom Of the heretofore. Schemes
and plans Of municipal government which did
well under conditions past and dead 200 years
at the best are lame and halt when placed in
practice now. Times have changed. A city
government today has hundred claims upon
it where century ago it had but one. It must
meet these claims and its scheme or organizes
ton must make the meeting possible. 1t is
nonsense to say that what was sufficient for our
fathers is good enough for us. Our fathers
had no such surroundings a. ours Theirs
were simple; ours, the climax of completely,
made so by the march Of civilization and the
push OF inventive genius beckoned on BY need.
One might as well say, what was care for sun
dial is care enough for q clock; or that tine
same commands and Sea knowledge which sue
cessfully trimmed the scant sails of Columbus
could prosperously be invoked to spread. furl
and handle the ten acres of canvas OF a Balti-
more clipper.
Men are iocking to cities to live. Every year
urban population gains on the non-urban.
Cities are growing larger and larger and the
duties OF municipal government more numerous
and onerous. The old charters and schemes no
longer MI the bill. There is more life, more
property to protect, more wants and needs to
1ulhll, and old theories as to city government
fall. This is being discovered as true on all
sides. Failure here and failure there has set
people to thinking. From one ocean to the
other cities all over the land are becoming
aware that the present system. with its mob
boards and boards of officers-with its wards
and ward heelers-is neither a safe government
nor cheap one; that it wastes a treasury while
utterly failing to compass municipal ends.
This woe Of sticking to old methods comes
chiefly from politics and politicians. peliti-
for mil
ends; who is a partisan rather than patriot
and firmly believes the purpose of all govern
ment to be the creation Of Offices beyond num-
Der at stipends exceeding hope That is what
politician is, and as the more cumbrous the
system. the greater the number of officers, the
better 1t suits the tastes of your politician, for
thus are the spoils of victory increased and so
will there be more to feed to his ward wolves
when the smoke of the party triumph clears
away.
Communities are finding this out and becom-
ing restless. They find that while taxes are
high and fortunes turned in yearly to the pub
Tic bin to pay for good government, still, some
how, governments don't seem to govern: they
ind every inch of the municipal body COW
cred and claimed by some official ieech sucking
his salary; they find that if some simple i'm
provement Is wanted it takes decade to obtain
ia decade through which the poor improve
ment Is forced to run the gauntlet Of every form
OF robbery. jobbery and public plumber. Men
CO. oNSi ZIG NofAo HFe StttiHS urea OF tIls
Cities all around are agitating the question of a
change. government. where business will
be the watchwOrd and sentiment left out where
the politician will be cut of from his prey. is
being asked for. Efforts looking to these ends
have sprung up in New York, Pbila-
delphia, Pittsburg and a dozen other
large cities. Indianapolis now pro-
poses radical changes in its government
and committee having matters in charge has
just completed charter. the passage of which
by the legislature will be strongly urged with
no doubts Of its success. Indianapolis has dis
covered in her past that much of the trouble
arose from weakness and lack of power. That
while every one could say stop very few
conld say go on and then only feebly. So
Indianapolis determined to make man of its
mayor under this new scheme and give him
something to do and the power to do it.
The proposed indianapolis charter consists
In only 13o sections-nOt at all a threatening
document as to size-and briefly divides the
city government into three branches, legis-
lative, executive and judicial, defining in a
terse way the duties of each and fixing their re-
sponsibilitles and salary. The charter is the
output OF committee of nine, appointed by
the board Of trade, the Commercial Club and
the mayor. And while, perhaps, not the best
and most compact plan which could have been
devised, it comes a hopeful. sign as evincing
growing disposition on the public part to have
a government, govern and get something done.