The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-09-03
Emphasizes the Importance of
Municipal Reform to Lo-
cal Progress.
THE PRESENT SYSTEM rs TOO
COMPLEX.
What Is Particularly Needed, Says
Mr.. Gaden, Is Honesty of Purpose
and Activity in Execution.

We have lived 100 years and have not vet
learned TO govern large cities In the begin
ming we had none. A few small cities of the
period OF the Revolution have grown enor-
mously and the number has increased. They
viii continue TO do so.
To the City of San Francisco especially. the
question of municipal government is press
ing one. Nearly one-fourth of the population
OF our whole State lives in San Francisco. and
by reason OF her geographical position and
mercantile importance in another generate on
she should have the majority OF votes and give
laws TO the whole State. Our Federal Govern
ment is founded upon the divine right of the
people TO govern their own affairs but we'll
founded only when ability 10 do so exists, and
without it can be claim OF right The voice
OF the people may be called the voice of God
only when 1t IS the utterance of intelligent
patriotic, disciplined minds, not the selfish
greed of political bosses, of the despotism of
corporations or OF the ill-thinking bigot or
fanatic.
Unsettled problems of government are not
10 be settled or solved merely by the spread of
what we call popular education. The trained
and sharpened intellect is often used for self
ISM ends, regardless OF the general good
knowledge is not wisdom, but it is the path by
winch we obtain wisdom. knowledge is not
virtue but 1t is the means whereby we may
more readily and accurately distinguish be-
tween right and wrong.
suffrage itself is no panacea for political
evils. II ignorant 1t is entirely controlled by
combinations OF money and-power. Neverthe-
less, general suffrage is the best guarantee to
both governors and governed-the best pro-
lection at once TO liberty and order A COM
munlty may get on with a suffrage exercised
In part by ignorant and vicious men, so long
as the proportion of these be not so large as
10 hold, as it were, the balance of power, and
enable them to effect temporary corrupt ALI
anceS with the bosses and leaders of contend
Ing parties, now on one side, now on the
other. In this republic the people is king
and as is the character of the king, such will
be the character of the government. When
the dospotism OF money power and curse of
corporate rule is so largely infused into our
civic institutions as now, q government by the
people is impossible.
When under any leadership these elements
become well enough organized to control the
politics OF the City and State the Government
will be bad in tendency and despotic in rule.
Thus even in this, the most popular Govern
ment known to history, does power steal away
from the many to the few and often turn to
one political chiettain. Here, where we have
so holy horror of the f'one-man power" the
interests OF the community are often guided
by one man, and frequently one not IN official
life This is the "one-man power" rcasserting
itself, an essential element of every Govern
ment, whether OF party organization. of a
railroad company or any branch OF private
business. We have unTisely shut it out from
our State constitution and our City charters.
Still it makes itself felt, because in the very
nature OF things it is q necessity.
We refuse the necessary undivided executive
power to the official openly chosen by the
voice OF the people and 1t is seized by some
one else, selfaDpOinte ted or elected in secret by
few. In framing of late years our forms OF
government, both State and municipal, we
government before US, viz; the constitution
of the United States, under which the admin
istrRtor is the man who has been chosen Pres
ident by the people. He has around him ad-
visers OF his own choosing, but no equals. The
executive branch of an effective Government
must always consist OF single head, ana TO
that head must be accountable the officers In
trusted with every actual administration OF
the Government.
A despotism is the rule of one man for an
unlimited period, and subject to no law save
that OF his own villa power to be dreaded
In a free government there must still be one
man who is chief ruler, but there can be no
dangerous "one-man power" in republic
with its frequent elections. The chief magls-
trste is merely the temporary agent OF the
people to enforce their laws, not his own-aYs
prescribed by them through another agency.
He, himself subject to these laws is in power
for a short time; is in fear of public con-
demnation at the end of it; may be removed
even before it ends by impeachment; may be
otnerwise punished ike other men lot ABUSE
II we viii not have this regulated "one-man
power IN the Government we shall have it
cropping up lrregularly, as have described,
and as we all know from experience. What
we should most dread is the irresponsible
'one-man power" which may come in as the
consequence OF bad government, resulting
from the weakening of authority and confG-
sion OF responsibility. No good substitute can
be found for single executive power. Substi-
tules have been tried In New York in the early
eighties. The distribution of administrative
power among independent heads OF depart
ments proved a failure, and the distribution
of power and responsibility in this State
among boards and commissions and other de-
pariments has been most costly experiment
To promote good administration under any
form of government one man (subject to the
laws) must be, for the time being, chief,
whether he be called prime minister presi-
dent, governor or mayor. A single executive
has this advantage, that, Independent of the
restraints of law, tn ere are certain moral re-
straints which act upon an individual, but
ineffective when we seek to apply them to
bodies of men, or TO a number OF men among
whom responsibility is divided. Conscience is
not thing that can be safely distributed-a
little bit Tor the separate use OF each lndivid-
ual member of numerous body. man IS
capable OF shame. a body OF men, as is well
known, feels in much less degree THIS natu-
raj restraint upon human conduct.
Under the State and municipal laws now ex-
listing it is impossib BILE to have good govern
menI. Those which we are supposed TO work
under at present did nothing when framed
but break apart and disconnect the machinery
whereby the State and municipal government
was carried on. They provide Tor a Mayor
whose duty is said to De 10 execute the laws
and administer the affairs OF municipality,
and then give 10 the people (Wnlch really
means the political bosses) not the Mayor, the
power TO select all subordinate oincers on
whom we must rely in their several depart
ments Tor the performance or the acIuaI de-
tails of administration.
tenn, and no one sees il so plainly as the bosses
ana the corrupt powers that stanu Denlnd
them who under such laws are protected in
their nefarious business of 'dolng politics"
Apply their methods TO our Federal Govern
ment and see how they would work in WASH
ington. What is true OF the Federal is also
true of the State and municipal affairs. Sup
pose all secretaries and the AItorney-General
were elected by the people, independent OF
the President, at different times and by differ
ent parties. We would then have eight or ten
Presidents instead of one-a hard-money Presi-
dent, perhaps-a soft-money Secretary OF the
Treasury, q nam by-pamby, peacefully dis
posed Secretary OF State, who would like 10
keep us out OF war with foreign powers, and
warlike Secretary OF the Navy, who would
like to plunge us into one, secretary OF War
who would be undecided and hesitate be-
tween the two policies. while the Attorney
General would be overwhelmed with calls
from all sorts of people for all sorts of
opinions, while the chief magistrate himself
would sit in dumb show in the White House
wondering what else he was there for. From
any such Federal admins tration we would
expect nothing but confusion and ruin. 1t is